Try one of these seven recommended flowering plants for your container gardening. While lantanas are usually advertised as drought-tolerant plants for the garden, container-grown plants will wilt if the potting mix is allowed to dry out. Either treat them as annuals or try growing them in a sunny windowsill over winter. They are tricky as houseplants because they love humidity, but will easily rebound when planted back outdoors in spring.
USDA Growing Zones: 8 to 11 (grown as annuals elsewhere)Color Variations: Mixtures of red, orange, yellow, or blue and whiteSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: In the garden, medium-moisture well-drained soil; in pots, any general-purpose potting mix
Each variety has a nice upright habit, making them excellent as centerpieces and focal points in a container garden. Be sure to give full-grown and arching specimens a little bit of support by inserting garden stakes in the container’s potting mix and loosely tie a loop of string around the stem. If you choose to keep hibiscus plants indoors through winter, be advised that they’re very difficult to successfully grow indoors and are best kept in a greenhouse or sunny bathroom where they can get ample humidity.
USDA Growing Zones: 10 to 11 (grown as annuals elsewhere)Color Variations: White, yellow, orange, red and purple, often mixed in the same clusterSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: In the garden, medium-moisture well-drained soil; in pots, any general-purpose potting mix
Bottlebrushes are relatively drought-tolerant but should be watered thoroughly if grown in containers. Bring your plant indoors before the first frost and overwinter it as a houseplant in a cool and sunny room. It will continue to bloom sporadically until its grand finale of fireworks in spring.
USDA Growing Zones: 9 to 11Color Variations: RedSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: In the garden, dry to medium-moisture well-drained soil; in pots, use a peaty potting mix with sand mixed in.
Princess flower is available in a compact dwarf form, and its relative Tibouchina heteromalla has impressive fuzzy leaves over 6 inches wide. These tropical plants may bloom year-round when grown outdoors in a frost-free climate or greenhouse, but will otherwise bloom from May until January if overwintered indoors.
USDA Growing Zones: 9 to 11 (grown as an annual elsewhere)Color Variations: Rose purpleSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: In the garden, plant in rich moist, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic; in pots, use loose, well-drained potting mix
USDA Growing Zones: 10 to 12 (grown as an annual elsewhere)Color Variations: RedSun Exposure: Full sun (tolerates some shade)Soil Needs: In the garden, plant in medium moisture, well-drained soil; in pots, use general-purpose potting mix.
‘Caribbean Coral’: fiery orange-red blooms’Mexican Bush Sage’: fuzzy bright maroon spires‘Black and Blue’: luscious deep blue and purple flowers‘Limelight’: feathery chartreuse-colored spikes
USDA Growing Zones: 10 to 11 (usually grown as an annual)Color Variations: Red, blue, purple, green, orangeSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: In the garden, plant in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil; in pots, use general-purpose potting mix.
Reed stem Epidendrum (Epidendrum radicans) resembles milkweed and pretty much blooms nonstop all summer whether grown in shade or full sun. The reedy stems may get lanky under their own weight by late summer, so tie them to garden stakes inserted into the potting mix for additional support. If you’re seeking a more behaved orchid, Philippine ground orchid (Spathoglottis plicata) is low-growing and bears colorful clusters of flowers ranging from deep pink to yellow atop graceful arching leaves. Both orchids are tender to frost but can be either grown as annuals or overwintered indoors as houseplants.
USDA Growing Zones: 10 to 11Color Variations: All colorsSun Exposure: Full sun to full shade (depends on species)Soil Needs: Orchid potting mix
All of these plants will bloom in summer, and many will bloom from spring until fall. While these tropicals can tolerate drought in the landscape, container gardeners must keep them watered at all times to keep them from burning to a crisp in the hot sun. But don’t let the extra care stop you— they’re totally worth it.
