Saturday, December 3, 2011

Bacopa Varieties

Bacopa is an attractive filler for mixed hanging baskets.

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Bacopa is the common name for the genus Sutera, a popular tender perennial that's grown like an annual in most of the United States. It is best known for its small but profuse white-to pink flowers and trailing habit. It grows 8 to 12 inches tall and wide and needs full sun to bloom abundantly. It is hardy to USDA zone 9 and is most often used in hanging baskets and container gardens or as a bedding plant. There is also a genus of Bacopa that is a water plant and is a relative of the more well-known bacopa.

Related Searches: White Flowers

The most common bacopa flower color is white, and there are cultivars too numerous to name. Some notable varieties include Abunda Giant White, Giant Snowflake and Colossal White, all having larger-than-average flower size. Double Vanilla Shake and Scopia Double White are both double-flowered varieties, and Vanilla Shake, Abunda Giant White and Snowstorm tolerate the heat better than others. Snowtopia and Snowstorm are single-flowered varieties that have a long bloom season.

Pink Flowers

The pink bacopas range from rose to pale pink. Light pink varieties include Pink Domino and Snowstorm Pink, as well as Scopia Great Pink Ring, which has a spotted purple center. Both Scopia Great Rose and Scopia Dark Pink are actually medium pink, but darker than the average pink bacopa flower. Scopia Gulliver Lavender has pink flowers with a blue tinge. There are some gorgeous double pink varieties, including Scopia Double Pink Pearl and Double Pink Ballerina.

Blue or Purple Flowers

Bacopa's color range also includes the blue shades, which range from pale lavender to dark lilac. Some nice lighter blues are Blutopia and Scopia Great Blue Lake, which are both pinkish-blue, and Blueberry Shake, which is a light to medium lilac color. The darker shades are eye-catching and include Grape Shake, which is slightly on the pink side, and Cabana Trailing Blue and Scopia Great Blue, with vivid lavender flowers. The deepest colored flowers are Scopia Great Blue and Scopia Great Violet. Double Blueberry Shake and Scopia Double Blue both have double flowers.

Interesting Leaves

Some varieties of bacopa have interesting leaves along with their petite flowers. Scopia Golden Leaves and Gold 'n Pearls both have golden chartreuse leaves and white flowers. Olympic Gold has white flowers with green and gold variegated leaves. Some water garden plants called bacopa (Bacopa spp.) have interesting foliage. Bacopa lenagera "Variegata" has yellow leaves with green veins, and Bacopa caroliniana has leaves that smell like lemons.

ReferencesGreenhouse Product News; Bacopa Scopia Series; Chanochi Zaks; 2007University of Florida, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants: Bacopa carolinianaSunset Plant Finder: Sutera cordataPhoto Credit Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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