Croton 'Petra'

‘Petra’ makes a bold statement

Look at these big glossy leaves—you can count on a tropical to make a bold statement. Dark green, red, yellow, orange, bronze, and pink—every time we look at ‘Petra’ we see another color. Add to that the prominent veining: it’s a shade lighter, like an exclamation point to make us sit up and take notice.

‘Billy’—hot pink and purple bicolor flowers

For a quick splash of color in the shade one of our favorite go-to plants is fuchsia. Whenever we can manage a huge payoff for very little maintenance we’ll take it, and that’s what we get when we fill a hanging basket with these elegant, dangling flowers: instant focal point.

Compact Sunbeam fuchsia delivers quick color that lasts. Plants bloom early and are covered with flowers continuously all summer long, into autumn. We have four graceful selections from the series and they’re all reliably uniform—stick to one variety or combine them:

‘Ernie’—rose-colored outer petals with white inner petals

 
‘Lambada’—pretty pink outer petals with fuchsia inner petals

 
‘Samba’—hot red outer petals with cool lavender inner petals

These semi-trailing fuchsias spread anywhere from 8 to 20 inches. We use them to fill window boxes and tall standing planters in addition to hanging baskets. As you can see, the delicate blooms are eye-catching as they tumble over the edges. Keep the soil moist for an unending display of color.

Our Sunbeam fuchsia selections are available in the 4.5-inch pot.

Unusual fuzzy texture in trendy bright green

Well, now I know where Horton heard the Who. If you’re looking for a unique modern focal point, go with our new ‘Green Ball’ for some unusual fuzzy texture in trendy bright green. These perfectly round puffs rate right up there with ‘Bat Face’ cuphea on the intrigue meter—they look like they’re from outer space. 

Fluffy flowers keep coming all the way from early spring to fall and as a dianthus, ‘Green Ball’ has strong, sturdy stems to hold up the 3-inch blooms. Notice the dark green, glossy foliage—it lets the bright green flowers take center stage. For all its kitschy interest this is truly a striking plant.

You’ll find that glowing ‘Green Ball’ has the chartreuse effect: it magnifies many brightly colored blooms placed beside it in a sunny border or window box. We like mixing in some of our other dianthus varieties, especially ‘Jolt Pink’ and ‘Amazon Neon Purple’. Of course, a planter or bed filled with ‘Green Ball’ alone is a site to behold.

‘Green Ball’ comes in the 6-inch pot. ‘Jolt Pink’ and ‘Amazon Neon Purple’ are available in the 6-inch pot as well.