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Ageratums are carefree, easy-to-grow annuals. With the exception of a handful of white and light-pink varieties they are mostly available in shades of blue and purple.
I love them because they don’t have any disease problems, and they aren’t at all attractive to my main garden adversaries—Japanese Beetles and rabbits.
I’ve been partial to a number of cultivars over the years, but my current favorite is ‘Tall Blue Planet’:
The flowers appear in clusters on plants 24 to 30 inches tall. They bloom all summer for me if I keep them deadheaded.
Ageratums grow slowly from seed so I start them indoors 12 weeks before I plan to tuck them into my flowerbeds.
I’ve grown them with just about every color imaginable, but my favorite companion is red salvia.