Nemesia

Nemesia is a small mound of two-lipped flowers, a bit like tiny snapdragons, in nearly every color but green, and many of the hybrids smell sweet. It adds a soft, cottagey note to a spring pot between the bolder pansies and snapdragons. Missouri Botanical Garden’s honest line is that nemesias are hard to grow well in much of the country because they want moderate days and cool nights. That describes an Upstate spring and fall, and nothing in between.

In the Upstate

Nemesia detests hot, humid summers, in Missouri Botanical Garden’s words, and a Greenville summer is exactly that. The perennial types are hardy only to zones 9 and 10, so a freeze ends them too. That leaves two windows. Set plants out around the last frost in late March for a show that runs into June, then cut them back or pull them when they collapse in the heat. Or plant in October for the cool weeks of fall, knowing the first hard freeze finishes them. Do not count on nemesia lasting a full season either way.

In a container

Nemesia is a filler for the front and middle of a pot, 6 to 12 inches tall and wide, and the trailing hybrids soften an edge. It wants humus-rich, evenly moist mix with good drainage, which a quality potting mix provides. Water when the surface dries, and give it afternoon shade as May warms to stretch the bloom. Expect to replace it at the summer changeover.

Care

Keep it evenly moist, feed lightly, and cut it back when the flowers thin, which can bring a second flush if the weather cooperates. Root rot in poorly drained soil is the only problem Missouri Botanical Garden lists, so drainage matters more than feeding. The thing that ends nemesia is heat, and the thing that kills it early is a pot that stays wet.