{"id":19065,"date":"2018-02-16T17:28:05","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T17:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/?p=19065"},"modified":"2018-02-16T17:28:05","modified_gmt":"2018-02-16T17:28:05","slug":"pentas-urge-to-grow-five-annuals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/flowers\/pentas-urge-to-grow-five-annuals\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentas &#8211; Urge to Grow Five Annuals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-19066\" src=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-188-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-188-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-188-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-188-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-188-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-188.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Pentas are semi-tropical shrubs grown as annuals that will be ideal if we have a long warm summer. (What is one of those I hear you ask?) They may last through a mild winter and gradually become a woody a 3 foot high shrub .<\/p>\n<h3>How to Grow Pentas<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The nectar-rich blossoms grow in 3&#8221; clusters over a long blooming season in vibrant red, white, pink, and purple shades.<\/li>\n<li>Bees and butterflies are attracted to them due to the open flowers and high insect food content.<\/li>\n<li>Pentas will tolerate some shade but perform best in full sun that is also attractive to the butterflies.<\/li>\n<li>Pentas appreciate a mildly acidic soil above pH 5.5<\/li>\n<li>Grow from fresh saved or purchased seed providing light for germination. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cover them with soil when sowing.<\/li>\n<li>Soft wood cuttings may be grown in a greenhouse.<\/li>\n<li>To avoid leggy growth keep in the sun and provide moisture rich soil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Pentas Varieties to Try<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Penta lanceolata belongs to the Rubiaceae family are often called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Egyptian Star Flower\u00e2\u20ac\u009d due to the flower\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shape.They are very popular in the USA where the following varieties <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespruce.com\/pentas-flowers-1315713\">may be acquired<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcButterfly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 series: Easy to grow from seed<\/li>\n<li>\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGraffiti\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 series: Compact mounding plants<\/li>\n<li>\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcKaleidoscope Appleblossom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122: Pale pink and rose on the same flower; an early bloomer<\/li>\n<li>\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcNew Look\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 series: Upright plants that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t flop<\/li>\n<li>\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcNorthern Lights\u00e2\u20ac\u2122: Continues to produce pale lavender flowers in cool temperatures<\/li>\n<li>Other common names for Pentas include star flower\u00c2\u00a0 or star cluster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-19067\" src=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-187-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-187-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-187-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-187-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-187-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Harewood-187.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Another view of the same plant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pentas are semi-tropical shrubs grown as annuals that will be ideal if we have a long warm summer. (What is one of those I hear you ask?) They may last through a mild winter and gradually become a woody a 3 foot high shrub . How to Grow Pentas The nectar-rich blossoms grow in 3&#8221; clusters over a long blooming season in vibrant red, white, pink, and purple shades. Bees and butterflies are attracted to them due to the open&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/flowers\/pentas-urge-to-grow-five-annuals\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flowers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19065"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19116,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19065\/revisions\/19116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenerstips.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}