Angelonia Serena 'Blue': A Bloom Machine

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As a part of the 2011 Wave Research Team, I planted six four-inch pots of Angelonia Serena 'Blue' in my garden in mid-May. Since that time, they've done nothing but perform and have quickly become one of my favorite annuals this summer. Their flower spikes seem almost everlasting, as I haven't once seen one that needed removal. Yet, new spikes continue to be produced from increasingly larger plants.

Angelonia is commonly called summer snapdragon and is known to be an excellent plant to withstand dry, hot weather without much care and maintenance. Its performance in my garden supports these claims. They are planted at the edge of our driveway border, just feet away from reflective concrete. Although the area isn't quite full sun, it has full eastern exposure and is extremely hot in the middle of the day. We do water this border regularly, but in between watering Serena 'Blue' hasn't shown an inkling of stress when surrounding plants start to look thirsty.

The instructions supplied by Ball as a part of the research team suggested weekly fertilizer applications. This border was recently amended with 6-8 inches of garden compost, so I've only supplemented with liquid Miracle-Gro fertilizer once this summer. The application certainly accelerated foliage growth and flower production significantly.

Serena 'Blue' is an amazing annual for the summer garden. I'm looking forward to its continued performance into the fall, and hope to combine it with other colors in the Serena series in next year's landscape.

The Serena series from Ball Horticulture is the first and only seed-grown Angelonia and includes lavender, purple and white varieties. 'Blue' is a brand new variety that will be available to growers and consumers in 2012.

As a part of the Wave Research Team, I was sent these plants at no cost to me. In return, I agreed to relate my impressions and experience back to Ball Horticulture. There was no requirement that I write about or photograph these plants as a part of the project.

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