I live in the upper northeast corner of Ohio. The deck on the back of my house isn't conducive to entertaining - we use another area for that. This deck gets ALL AFTERNOON SUN from noon on, and faces the west. I put a swing there for evening enjoyment, but the deck is otherwise BARE. Hot and dry. Yeah, I know....succulants, right?! I want it to be appealing to the eye, more than anything, and will tend to it if I have enough potted on it. Any suggestions? (Please, no herbs. They'll go to waste!) Also, I have a hydrangea that needs to be moved yet again. It hasn't done well in the sunny spot where I've planted it. I know they like water, but apparently part shade, as well??
African daisies! (Osteospermum, Dimorphotheca, Arctotis, and Gazania) They love the full sun, and are a great deal more appealing than pure succulents - often they're available at the big-box stores (ie Mall-Wart has them) for fairly cheap, and there are a number of colour combos to choose from. Can't help with your Hydrangea - I don't grow them. Others here, though, will pitch in their expert advice, I'm sure.
oh, hydrangea need at least partial shade as well as nice moist soil!! if they get sun, it should be morning sun (east exposure) or late, late afternoon sun that is partially blocked (northern exposure). other exposures will work if there is a fair amount of shade or dappled shade...too close to a tree's roots would be detrimental though (as i learned the hard way, lol). for the deck, are you talking using planters on the deck or do you have beds that surround it? if you're planting right in the ground you have TONS of options for full-sun. even planters would give you some good options - especially if they're on the larger side. as lorax said, african daisy is good. so are mums - they can be pinched back to keep them from blooming until fall or let them bloom and deadhead for reblooming. coneflower is almost ideal as they are VERY drought tolerant once they are established and they start blooming mid-summer and, with deadheading, you can keep them blooming throughout the season and then let the last bunch go to seed so the birds have something to eat over winter. you could also do stonecrop sedum - the usual is 'autumn joy' and now they're coming out with a lot of varieties that have different coloration to the leaves (a lot are purple which makes me happy!). stonecrop sedum blooms late summer/fall...in the mean time, the leaves are nice.
yup, portulaca is one that i neglected to mention...they'd be an annual in ohio as opposed to the others which would be perennial and i just figured they wanted perennials... although portulaca (aka moss rose) are annuals, they easily reseed or you could collect seeds for planting the following year. they do VERY well in full sun! i've had mine spread out two feet when in spots where they get full sun all day and they'll bloom all summer and right into mid-fall and with no assistance like dead-heading either!
Wow. What an awesome website this is gonna be! So much help already! Thanks for the recommendations for my sunny deck. I will DEFINITELY try the portulaca, because I know they grow low. I will be using pots on the deck - maybe some marigolds, too. Since I'll be using pots, I'm concerned about things that might get too tall, i.e., cosmos. I grow them out of the ground, but they get gimungus. I also grow the cone flowers, but they get tall as well, and I'm afraid they'd start to break, unless I'd find some taller pots, maybe. To the lady who responded about my hydrangea - THANKS! So much for my know-it-all brother in law who INSISTED it would want FULL SUN. It only bloomed on the back side that faced the fence, but never in the front of the plant. Hope I can replant it yet AGAIN, as I've already moved it twice! Thanks, friends!
you'll be very happy with the portulaca...they're one of the most carefree plants! coneflower, too, which is why i suggested it...they can get tall though and if that's an issue, then they wouldn't be workable for you. you could also do some bulbs - various types to get blooms throughout the season. move the hydrangea as soon as you see it starting to put out new growth AND make sure to dig very deep and wide so as to keep the roots as undisturbed as is possible. leave as much soil in the root ball as you can also.
Portulaca all the way. Have grown it (multicolors) in a large pot that sits next to one of the carport supports, i.e. on hot asphalt in full sun---and the plants have thrived and bloomed like crazy!
