Re: wedding plans

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Nancy -

 

Several local nurseries grow cannas in pots for Easter sales -- filling the greenhouses now, between the poinsettia season and the geranium/annual season -- so the answer to your first question would be "yes."  I can't find anything here, though, that gives the time frame.   There's got to be some place on the Web that has that information.  The people who create flower show displays are clearly expert at this sort of thing.  ;-)

 

The modern hybrid glads are usually pretty predictable, but since you're aiming for a specific weekend it might be a good idea to plant a LOT of them over a couple of weeks like they advise in the catalogues.  The Dutch Gardens catalogue says "February until May for southern states...will provide flowers from early summer until late fall."

 

What about Asiatic lilies?  I have several ('Lollypop' the only one I can name at the moment) that are all blooming in early June. You could start them in the greenhouse just to get them going.

 

For a vine, annual sweet peas come to mind.  Maybe even scarlet runner beans, though the bright red flowers might be more garish than you're looking for.  Again, the greenhouse will be helpful here.  Morning glories and their kin (cardinal climber, cypress vine, etc.) might not have enough heat once planted outside to really get going that early in the season.

 

Just in case, it'd probably be a good idea to keep a last-minute trip to the local farmers market as "Plan B."  ;-)

 

Dean Sliger

Warren, Michigan, USA

Zone 6B