Growing angelonias

angelonia.angelfaceblue.close.JPGAngelonia 'Angel Face Blue'

   Q: You've written about an annual called angelonia. Who in the local area would stock this? How would I care for this plant? What does it need?

   A: Angelonias are fairly new annuals that aren't very well known but are excellent performers. They're sometimes called "summer snapdragons" or "angel wings."

   The flowers look like little orchids, and they come in blue, purple, white and pink. Most grow 18 to 24 inches tall, although a few shorter varieties are hitting the market in the past few years, such as the 'Serena,' 'Carita' and 'Alonia' series.

   Care is easy and similar to most other annuals. They do best in full sun and like loose, rich, well drained soil. Work an inch of compost into the bed before planting.

   Keep the soil consistently damp for the first 6 weeks or so until the plants root. After that, angelonias are among the most drought-resistant annuals. Still, they'll grow best with one or two good soakings a week.

   With compost-enriched soil, you shouldn't need to fertilize. But for maximum performance, work a small amount of time-release fertilizer (i.e. Osmocote or similar) into the soil at planting and also add a dose of water-soluble flower fertilizer to your water every 2 to 4 weeks.

   Angelonia hardly ever run into bug or disease trouble, and I haven't even ever had trouble with rabbits or groundhogs nibbling on mine.

   Most garden centers carry angelonias. I saw them at Ashcombe's this spring, for example. If your favorite place doesn't carry them, ask and that's a good way for them to be added to the list of regulars.

   In my opinion, these are strong enough performers that they should be main-stream choices -- up there with petunias and impatiens.