Elephant Ears for Summer

We like tropicals for summer—they quickly turn an ordinary landscape into an island paradise. Our last newsletter featured Ensete ‘Maurelii’, an African ornamental banana with striking red leaves. This week we have two alocasia selections that are equally impressive in the landscape.

Cheerful lemon yellow flowers

Here’s a nice sunny daisy that blooms all summer long. ‘Butterfly’ starts in late spring and is covered with cheerful lemon yellow flowers until a hard frost. For strong garden performance this is the one to choose.

These plants are extremely weather-resistant. They’re heat and drought-tolerant but perform best in full sun to part shade with cool night temperatures. Expect them to reach about 1–3 feet tall with a spread of around 1–2 feet. 

We use ‘Butterfly’ alone in a pot or combined with ‘Cabaret Deep Blue’ or ‘Cabaret Hot Pink’ calibrachoa to brighten mixed planters. It also looks great massed in a border—the glowing golden blooms act like a highlighter for whatever plants you set next to them.

This selection comes in the 8-inch pot.

‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is another sunny plant that’s extremely useful in the landscape. In addition to its high-impact color value, this mix is drought-tolerant and sturdy—it won’t topple over in rain and wind like many other echinacea selections. Colors range from deep purple and pink to bright red, orange, and yellow, plus lighter shades of cream and white.

These plants prefer full sun and will reach 24–36 inches tall. For a sweeping display of eye-catching color we plant ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ en masse. The height of each color varies slightly but all are well-branched and bushy, so they’ll fill out containers nicely, too. 

No deadheading is required to keep the blooms coming all summer. Dried seed heads can also be left in place for additional winter interest.

‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is available in the 6-inch pot.