TWINSPUR (DIASCIA) A PLANT THAT LOOKS GOOD IN MANY PLACES

TWINSPUR, or Diascia, is in the snapdragon family, and is one of my favorite trailing plants.  I have a beautiful clear pink one, and have it in the rock garden.  It is a good flowering plant for fall, since it can withstand multiple frosts with little or no damage at all.  The pictures in the collage were taken just Friday, and, as you can see, it is in full bloom.  In fact, Twinspur blooms best when the night temperatures are lower than 70 degrees.  So if you aren't having blooms in the heat of summer, don't worry--as soon as the temperatures drop, it will begin to bloom again.  It blooms all through the summer, and will continue until a hard frost.  The ideal time for planting is in the early spring, when all danger of frost is gone.  It likes full or partial sun, and moist, but not wet, rich soil.  It is self-cleaning (no dead heading required), and if you want the best performance, a balanced fertilizer applied regularly will ensure profuse blooms all season.  I cut mine back frequently; this encourages additional branching and more blooms.   They can be used in so many places in your gardens--landscapes, rock gardens, hanging baskets, window boxes and patio containers.  It is very low maintenance, and intermingles well with other plants.  I like it as it gracefully falls over the rocks in the rock garden.  It readily reseeds, is versatile, is easy to transplant and care for, and I've never seen a problem with any pests--so I'd say it's an excellent choice for your gardening needs.