Crossandra ‘Florida Sunset’

Warm, glowing blooms of ‘Florida Sunset’

We’ve brought back the lovely crossandra in a pretty shade of golden orange. You might remember this firecracker plant that thrives in the heat and humidity of a Cincinnati summer. Take a look at the unique flowers—they’re shaped like moths. Now do you remember?

Jumbo elephant ears add a touch of the exotic 

A few weeks ago we discussed ‘Black Coral’—a huge black colocasia that forms a nice, tight clump. Here we have another jumbo elephant ear that makes a dramatic specimen—‘Black Sapphire Gecko’. These leaves are equally striking with a couple of notable differences.

‘Gecko’ leaves change in appearance as they reflect light

Breeder Brian Williams from Brian’s Botanicals named this variety for the reflective quality he noticed in the leaves. They have a satiny sheen that causes their appearance to change based on the way the light falls across their surface. Pretty cool—plus they have maroon undersides for added interest.

To take full advantage of these unique features, place the plant in full sun—you can expect it to reach about four feet tall. Another great spot for this tropical is in shallow water—it can be grown as an aquatic in the bog area of a pond.

‘Black Sapphire Gecko’ is available in the one-gallon pot.

A flush of ruddy red

Historically Selecta’s MiniFamous series has been more about performance than fancy colors, but they’ve taken one of the basics to an eye-catching level with ‘Vampire’. Cloaked in crimson from tip to throat, these cali blooms infuse baskets and combinations with a flush of ruddy color—try mixing them with orange and purple varieties.

Heat-tolerant calibrachoa is a reliable source of color during the dog days of summer and MiniFamous is popular because it’s consistent. Plants crank out a lot of blooms and last a long time, both in the landscape and on the retail bench—the latter being irrelevant because they usually fly right off of it. 

‘Vampire’ is available in the 6-inch pot. ‘MiniFamous Orange’ comes in the 6-inch pot as well. ‘Cabaret Lavender’ comes in both the 6-inch and 8-inch pot sizes.