Flowers of Serena angelonia. Photo by Allen Owings.
Angelonia is a great bedding plant for the warm season. Angelonias come in white, pink, blue, lavender, lavender pink and raspberry flower colors. Some folks call angelonias “summer snapdragons.” They come in both seed-propagated and vegetatively propagated varieties. The Serena series is a Louisiana Super Plant from spring 2011.
The new Archangel series are very nice. New for 2013 is the Serenita series – a slightly smaller version of the Serenas. Other series and varieties are also available and are good performers.
They make nice border plants and can be used in container combos. Most angelonias reach heights of 14-20 inches in the landscape. These can be added to the landscape midspring through midsummer.
We find angelonias do best in drier years. Minimize irrigation and minimize nitrogen fertilizer to aid bloom performance through fall. Plants need full sun and a soil pH of 6.0-6.5. Fertilize lightly. Deadheading is not needed and has been considered to slow the rebloom potential.