Flowers
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Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Gettysburg falls into the 6 and 7 range which is the Average Miniumum Temperature Range of -10 to 10F
Planting tips
The best time to plant is late in the afternoon.
Before planting, water your plants and the soil in your bed well.
Remove the plants from their pots gently to disturb the roots as little as possible.
If they are in peat pots, tear the pots slightly to make it easy for the roots to grow through.
If the roots are compacted, loosen them gently before planting.
Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball, and set the plant in at the same level at which it was growing.
Carefully firm the soil around the roots.
Water well after planting and keep moist until the plants are established and new growth has started.
Once they are established, addition of a soluble fertilizer will encourage them to bloom.
Planting Drifts In Color
If you've ever dreamed of a large garden planted with drifts of blazing color, you've come to the right place. There are many perennial plants that will meet your needs. They require very little maintenance and will come back year after year. You can increase the size of the drift by planting 2 or 3 of the same plant together.
In the chart below you'll find plants we recommend for the Mid Atlantic States - generally Zones 4-10. We've listed the common and Latin names, height and spread, bloom time and color, and light requirements.
Common Name |
Latin Name |
Bloom Color |
Bloom Time |
Height/Spread |
Light |
Black Eyed Susan |
Rudbeckia |
yellow |
June to frost |
18"-30"/16" |
sun/part shade |
Goblin Gaillardia |
Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Goblin' |
yellow with red eye |
spring to frost |
15"/12" |
sun |
Pink Coneflower |
Echinacea purpurea |
purple-pink |
mid to late summer |
2-4 ft./24" |
sun/part shade |
Russian Sage |
Pervoskia atriplicifolia |
purple |
mid summer to early fall |
3-4 ft./2.5-5 ft. |
sun/part shade |
Red Coral Bells |
Heuchera Sanguinea |
red |
late spring to mid summer |
15-20"/12"-15" |
sun/part shade |
Ivory Peach Bellflower |
Campanula persicifolia 'Alba' |
white |
summer |
30"/24" |
sun/part shade |
Pink Coreopsis |
Coreopsis rosea |
pink |
summer into fall |
12"/18" |
sun |
Moonbeam Coreopsis |
Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' |
light yellow |
summer |
24"/18" |
sun/part shade |
Jacob Cline Monarda |
Monarda 'Jacob Cline' |
red |
summer |
3-4 ft./2-3 ft. |
sun/part shade |
Burgundy Gaillardia |
Gaillardia aristata 'Burgundy' |
wine red |
summer |
24"-36"/18"-24" |
sun |
Golden Marguerite |
Anthemis tinctoria 'E.C. Buxton' |
lemon yellow |
early summer to fall |
24"-36"/18"-24" |
sun |
Blue Stocking Monarda |
Monards 'Blue Stocking' |
lavendar |
summer |
3-4 ft./2-3 ft. |
sun/part shade |
Red Penstemon |
Penstemon barbatus 'Coccineus' |
red |
late spring to early summer |
18"-24"/18"-24" |
sun/part shade |
Anchusa Azurea |
Anchusa Azurea |
blue |
early summer |
3-5 ft./3-5 ft. |
sun/part shade |
Keys of Heaven |
Centranthus ruber coccineus |
red |
summer |
3 ft./2 ft. |
sun |
White Dragon Flower |
Physostegia virginiana alba |
white |
late summer to fall |
18"-36"/12"-18" |
sun/part shade |
Salvia Plumosa |
Salvia nemorosa 'Plumosa' |
purple |
summer |
15"-18"/12"-18" |
sun/part shade |
Summer Sun Heliopsis |
Heliopsis helianthoides var. 'Summer Sun' |
yellow |
mid-summer to frost |
3-4 ft./8-12" |
sun |
Achillea 'The Pearl' |
Achillea ptarmatica 'The Pearl' |
white |
late spring through summer |
24"-36"/18"-24" |
sun |
Peony |
Paeonia Lactiflora |
pink, red or white |
early summer |
3-4 ft./36" |
sun/part shade |
Red Hot Poker |
Kniphofia |
red to orange |
early to mid-summer |
3-4 ft./24" |
sun/part shade |
Shasta Daisy |
Leucanthemum |
white with yellow center |
summer |
15"-18"/36" |
sun/part shade |
Coronation Gold Yarrow |
A. filipendulina x 'Coronation Gold' |
yellow |
early summer to fall |
36"/36" |
sun/part shade |
Nikko Blue Hydrangea |
Hydrangea macrophylla |
blue |
early summer to frost |
3-6 ft./4 ft. |
sun or shade |
Blue Globe Thistle |
Echinops Ritro |
blue |
summer |
30"-36"/24" |
sun/part shade |
Caryopteris |
Caryopteris x clandonensis |
blue |
mid-summer to frost |
2-4 ft./2-4 ft. |
sun |
Autumn Joy Sedum |
Sedum 'Autumn Joy' |
red |
late summer to fall |
18"-24"/24" |
sun/part shade |
Catmint |
Nepeta mussinii |
purple |
summer |
15"/1-3 ft. |
sun/part shade |
Lavender 'hidcote' |
Lavandula augustifolia |
purple |
summer |
12"/12" |
sun |
Lavender 'munstead' |
Lavandula augustifolia |
purple |
summer |
12"-14"/24" |
sun |
Thread Leaf Coreopsis |
Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb' |
yellow |
summer into fall |
18"/36" |
sun |
Yarrow |
Achillea millefolium |
white |
spring to fall |
1-3 ft./36" |
sun |
Container Gardening on the Patio or Deck
Liven up your deck or patio with plants in containers. You can use them to grow vegetables and salad greens or create focal points or privacy screens by planting them with bright colored flowers combined with cool green foliage. Attaching containers to the rail of your deck keeps them at a convenient waist height too.
Container plantings on the patio or deck create a smooth transition between the house and the yard. They turn the deck or patio into an outdoor room.
Any container will do as long as it has good drainage. Match final plant size to the depth of the container. Short shallow containers look better with shallow rooted sprawling or low growing plants. Taller plants with deep roots need deeper containers. If your container is large enough, plant tall blooming plants in the middle and toward the back and lower growing blooming plants in the front. Finish it off with a trailing bloomer like Nasturtiums. This will give your larger container added interest and varying heights of blooms.
Use lightweight potting mix to prevent the container from being too heavy to move around.
Water and fertilizer are key for container gardens. Plants in containers dry out much faster than those planted in the ground.
Fertilize when you first put plant the container and again once a week with half-strength fertilizer. You will most likely have to water your containers every day, but this is an excellent time to check them over and give them any other attention they may need to keep them looking their best. If you don't have the time to water every day, invest in a self-watering microtube system. Just place a tube into each container, poke holes in the tubes where you want the water to come out, attach it to your outside spigot and set the timer. Viola, a garden that waters itself! Your Agway dealer has everything you need to get set up.
Place containers under hanging baskets and pots to extend the varying height of blooms and to let the containers benefit from the water and fertilizer runoff from the plants above.
Choose plants for your containers with the same light requirements, keep in mind where the pot will eventually be located. For the best success, plant sun lovers together and place the pot in a sunny location - the same for a shady place.
Group containers together for a big impact. Containers planted with a single color provide lots of punch. This can be advantageous when trying to hide an eyesore like an electric meter, gas meter, or air conditioner. Just set a container of bright red geraniums or magenta petunias in front of the offending mechanism and folks will see only the flowers.
Spring - Summer - Winter - Fall
