11 Tidy Plants for Table Tops

Here at Proven Winners, we love vigorous plants - they so often go hand-in-hand with great garden performance. And great garden performance is our number one criteria when we select plants to add to our program, however, huge plants are not the answer in all situations. Sometimes a petite plant is exactly what you need! Here are eleven varieties that pack a wallop in a small package and deliver nonstop color all summer long.

Campfire^{^®} Flame Bidens This tidy plant reminds me of a fall mum, but rather than blooming for just a few weeks in autumn Campfire Flame will bloom from spring into late fall. In cooler weather, the petite flowers are a lovely golden orange, and then in the summer heat, they have a red center and yellow petal edges. They are perfect in containers by themselves and are small enough to grace an outdoor table. They are also wonderful for landscapes, especially locations when you need a well-behaved plant that will stay in its place. Annual. 8-14” tall. 10-16” wide. Part Sun to Sun.	Superbells^{^®} Doublette Love Swept^{^™} Calibrachoa Superbells^® Double Love Swept is a one-of-a-kind plant – not because we won’t have plenty of them for sale, but because it is unusual for such a small plant to be this heat tolerant and bloom this much! One of these plants in a small planter can sit on your sunny patio table all summer long. The plant will trail to the tabletop and delight you with its lovely pink flowers, each petal edged with a thin white outline all summer long. But no worries, Love Swept won’t overwhelm. You’ll still have plenty of room on the table! Superbells Love Swept will not need deadheading or trimming - all it’ll need is water and a bit of plant food. Annual. 6-10” Tall. 12-24” Wide. Part Sun to Sun.	Diamond Snow^{^®} Euphorbia This compact, double-flowered version of Diamond Frost^® is packed with flowers. Where Diamond Frost is an airy cloud of color that mingles with other plants, Diamond Snow is a denser chunk of color. Both have roles to play in your garden and Diamond Snow is perfect on your patio tabletop and in small spaces. Annual. 12-18” Tall. 12-18” Wide. Part Sun to Sun.
Sunsatia^{^®} Cranberry Red Nemesia This beautiful red nemesia is a standout color. We have improved the heat tolerance of this plant, but we’ll be honest here, it will struggle when night temperatures remain above 80 degrees. It also features a much neater habit, incredible flower coverage, and sunfast flower color. It is another terrific option for a table centerpiece. Sunsatia is available in four cheery summer colors. Annual. 6-10” Tall. 12-16” Wide. Part Sun to Sun.	Proven Accents^{^®} Charmed^{^®} Wine Shamrock This plant may well be our “best-kept secret,” which is unfortunate because it is a very cool plant. I mean how often do you see violet-purple foliage? This shamrock creates a tidy mound of leaves that thrive in both sun or shade, and you can put it on your list of plants that will winter over indoors too. It does flower, but really you are using it for the interesting foliage. It is a great centerpiece for your outdoor or indoor table, and might bring you a touch of good luck too! Annual. 6-16” Tall. 10-12” Wide. Sun or Shade.	Heart to Heart^{^®} Caladiums If you are looking for a plant that is fascinating when viewed close up, it would be hard to find something better than our Heart to Hearts. These tropical plants have colorful, ever-changing foliage which makes them a great plant to put in a table where you will view them often. Many of these plants will transform colors as they age and temperatures fluctuate. There 20 different options to choose from. Some will grow well in either sun or shade, while others are best when grown in shady spots. There is also a variety of heights within the series too. Be sure to check the details of each caladium to be sure they fit the growing conditions you have in mind. You can also grow them indoors in areas with bright light. Annual. 12-24” Tall, varies within the series. Sun to Shade or Shade, varies within the series.
Bright Lights^{^™} Purple African Daisy Selected for their natural nestled branching and a fuller, uniform habit that won’t split open, Bright Lights Osteospermum are fun plants, everyone loves the traditional daisy-like bloom! The Bright Lights varieties mix well with each other, and you’ll appreciate the fact that they are both heat and cool tolerant. They are great spring and fall plants and offer much better heat tolerance versus older varieties. Consider Bright Lights for winters in the sunbelt states. Currently there are 7 colors in the series. Annual. 8-12” Tall. 8-12” Wide. Part Sun to Sun.	Blue My Mind^{^®} Evolvulus This tidy plant is one of my favorites. Not only does it have bright, sky blue flowers it doesn’t just tolerate heat, it shows off its best when the heat is on! Fuzzy green foliage is the perfect complement to the flowers. It does trail, but with the width topping out around 12”, it won’t take up more than its fair share of space. Annual. 8-12” Tall. 8-12” Wide. Part Sun to Sun.	Proven Accents^{^®} Lemon Coral^{^®} Sedum Lemon Coral is one of the most adaptable plants we have in our program—a perfect tabletop plant. It can be grown in small pots, doesn’t get too large, and is drought tolerant so it isn’t difficult to keep happy. Watering is the only thing you have to do. It is nearly indestructible, which is good because it has soft foliage which means it is a very pet-able plant. I know I can’t help touching it, and fun for kids too. Lemon Coral is also a perfect foliage partner in the garden where it becomes a gorgeous, drought-tolerant, chartreuse ground cover. It is a super versatile color, mixing with any other color under the sun. Consider it for your containers too! Annual. 3-10” Tall. 10-14” Wide. Part Sun to Sun.
Rock 'n Low^{^™} 'Boogie Woogie' Stonecrop People love variegation in perennials, and this is an exciting new option! Enter ‘Boogie Woogie’, a fantastic summer-flowering groundcover type that will make your garden feel groovy. This sport of ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ has cream margins that make the plant look bright and it is sprinkled with yellow flowers during early to midsummer. A fantastic variegated option for a groundcover in the landscape. Perfect for rock gardens and tabletop plantings! Perennial. 6-8” Tall. 16-18” Wide. Full Sun. Hardy in Zones 3-9.	Berried Treasure^{^®} Red Strawberry Berried Treasure is a plant to be enjoyed at eye level, where its many charms can be admired with ease. The deep green foliage is pretty all on its own, but that is just the beginning. Berried Treasure strawberries delight with abundant double flowers that are available in three colors, Berried Treasure Red, Berried Treasure White, and Berried Treasure Pink. They are all pretty plants and the blooms aren’t just for show. As the season goes on you’ll find berries developing, and this is when the garden can turn into a fun learning experience for children too! Allow the berries to get deep red before picking them, which will give you the sweetest taste. They are an everbearing strawberry, so you’ll be able to harvest berries for quite a long time. Perennial. 12-16” Tall. 18-24” Wide. Full Sun. Hardy in Zones 4-9.