Two Great Flowers for Summer Outdoor Pots by Amy Norwood

Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' All photos by Amy Norwood

Outdoor flower pots are a joy of summer.  As with all plants, the rule “right plant, right place,” applies to flower pots.  Your flower pots will look their best if they are planted with flowers that match the pot's location in sun or shade.  Here is a suggestion for a pot in each place.

For shade:

The shady place flower, Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender,’ is commonly known as Mona Lavender, Lavender Spur Flower, or Swedish Ivy.  It is not a lavender at all.  It is in the mint family, Lamiaceae.  Mona Lavender is a hybrid of two South African plants, Plectranthus saccatus and Plectranthus hilliardiae.  Mona Lavender grows in the ground in zones 10 and 11.  In colder climates it grows nicely in a pot, reaching a size of 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. 

When you buy a Mona Lavender plant locally, it probably won’t be blooming yet, but that’s fine because the foliage alone is very attractive dark green with purple undersides.  The plant starts blooming when the days get shorter.  It keeps putting out new flowers until it freezes. 

Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' 

Mona Lavender can tolerate a bit of morning sun, but it requires shade the rest of the day.  I have a covered deck.  Last summer, my first season with a Mona Lavender, I kept it in the middle of the deck so it got very little direct sunlight.  My covered deck is a good outdoor spot for houseplants, but I’ve never been able to keep a blooming plant blooming there.  I was thrilled to have the Mona Lavender bloom more and more with each passing day when my other flower pots were falling off as the days grew shorter.

Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' 

I didn’t try to overwinter my Mona Lavender in the house, so I can’t say how well it would do in that situation.  The folks at North Carolina State University Extension say this is doable.  They also say the plant can be propagated from stem cuttings.   

For sun:

The sunny place flower is Lantana camara, commonly known as Lantana or Shrub Verbena.  It’s in the Verbenaceae family, and its clusters of small blooms resemble verbena flowers.  Like Mona Lavender, Lantana grows as a shrub in the ground in warmer climates.  In Colorado it’s grown as an annual flower. 

Shrub Verbena Lantana camara

Lantana is sold locally at most garden centers and big box stores in the spring.  It’s available in a multitude of flower colors, lavender, pink, red, yellow, orange and white, and combinations of those colors, so there will be a Lantana that works in your sunny place color scheme.  A single Lantana plant is a great addition to a mixed flower pot.  Multiple plants in a single pot look very attractive, too.

I’ve grown a multiple-Lantana pot for years in an extremely hot location next to my house (the house reflects the heat.)  Every other sun-loving flower burns up in this spot.  The Lantanas thrive there.  I keep the pot watered, but otherwise I do no maintenance.  The Lantanas just keep growing throughout the season without deadheading or singed leaves.  By the end of the season they are quite impressive, like the Mona Lavender.  I’m always sorry to say goodbye to them when the frost comes!

Colorado State University Extension Fact Sheet 7.238 Container Gardens

https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/container-gardens-7-238/

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox; plants.ces.ncsu.edu

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/plectranthus-mona-lavender/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lantana-camara/