Angelonia Flowers Are Perfect For A Sunny Yard With Pets

If you want to grow some delightful summer flowers in your sunny yard that are also pet-friendly, you might want to give Angelonia flowers a try. Although this plant is a perennial shrub, native to the West Indies, South America, and Mexico, it's often grown as an annual shrub in many parts of the U.S. It can grow and thrive in USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11. 

Angelonia is one of the most vibrant statement blooms that can bring a colorful accent to your yard and has a number of common names including summer snapdragon, narrowleaf angelon, and blue wings. It features snapdragon-like flowers in shades of pink, white and blue. The flowers are also lightly fragrant and the plant will happily bloom from mid-summer right through to mid-fall without the need for deadheading. But, if you cut the plant back by around half in mid-season, you should get a complete second flush of blooms in just a couple of weeks. Best of all, Angelonia is not toxic to pets, so you don't have to worry if your puppy is super inquisitive and likes to chew on plants in your garden.

Choose a sunny spot in your garden to plant Angelonia. It requires at least six or more hours of sunlight daily. The soil should be friable and have good drainage. This plant doesn't like heavily compacted soils, so make sure that you incorporate some organic matter into the soil before planting. Angelonia is perfect for mass planting in a border. Space your plants around 12 to 16 inches apart for the most impressive display. You'll find that Angelonia is one of the most outstanding flowering annuals that will last all summer long.

You can find numerous cultivars available to purchase at garden centers. While there are seeds available online, you can get a head start by buying well-grown plants from nurseries. But, if you do want to grow these lovely plants from seeds, it's a good idea to start them early indoors – around six to eight weeks before the last frost date. Once you have them growing happily in your garden, you can collect the seeds from the seed pods and then store them in a paper bag or an envelope to plant again the following season. There are also cultivars, such as the AngelMist series, that are low-growing. These are not only perfect as ground covers but they are also ideal for growing in pots and hanging baskets.

Angelonia is fairly low maintenance and doesn't require any special care once it's growing happily in your garden. The plant is drought-tolerant when established but should be kept watered when newly planted. You might also want to provide your plants with some supplementary water during long periods of dry weather. This is one plant that loves the heat, so it's great for gardeners in warmer climates. Angelonia is also fairly pest and deer resistant.

One thing to note is not to over fertilize your plant with fertilizers that are high in nitrogen as this will produce lots of lush green growth but not many flowers. Instead, you want to use a fairly balanced fertilizer that contains good amounts of potassium and phosphorus as well. It's recommended that you apply a balanced liquid fertilizer around once a month over the summer period. Choosing the perfect flower fertilizer for your garden is not that difficult when you understand how these work to promote blooming.