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The term "annuals" has expanded to include quite a few
plants commonly used in the home landscape. Botanically, an
annual is a plant that goes from seed to seed in one season
and then dies. The plant has no choice, one year and out it
goes.
In today's horticulture industry, not all the plants
called annuals would fit this definition. In fact, most of
them would not. Now, the gardener's definition of an annual
is any plant that only survives one year "...IN MY GARDEN". Many
of the plants we include in this group are actually
herbaceous perennials that live more than two years in their
native environment. They are only annuals in other
geographic areas because they will not survive the cold or
heat and droughty condition in those locales.
So, for this topic we will consider all those plants
commonly called annuals regardless of their real intended
lifespan.
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Pros and Cons
of Annuals |
Annuals have become popular in the landscape because
they are easy to grow, have few disease or insect
problems and produce flowers from the day they are
planted to the first heavy frost in the fall. They are
available in a huge number of species and cultivars for
nearly every landscape design purpose.
About the only drawbacks are the fact that you must
buy new ones every year and you must put in the labor to
plant them every spring. Perennial enthusiasts might
complain that they are boring since they are the same
for the entire season.
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Uses of Annuals in
the Home Landscape |
Annuals have several potential uses in our landscapes
including:
-
Beds and Borders - Starting in Victorian times
in
England, the use of annuals in mass plantings has
been popular. Large groupings of individual types
and colors can make a striking impact in the garden.
-
Containers - Although the whole array of
landscape plants can be grown in containers, most
gardeners think first of using annuals.
-
Cut Flowers - Many types of annuals may be used
as cut flowers for display in the house. Some people
grow rows of annuals in the vegetable garden
specifically for this purpose while others take
their flowers randomly from beds and borders.
-
As Fillers - Those perennials that are supposed
to live "forever" sometimes don't make it through
the winter. To fill the void quickly, annuals may be
used as a temporary measure to avoid holes in the
beds or borders.
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As a group, annuals contain a very large variety of
site requirements. Most enjoy full sun but some,
like
impatiens, will thrive in the shade. In
general, annuals need a light, well-drained soil
with a
pH in the slightly acid range of 6.0 to 7.0.
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The category of "annuals" include many plants that
are really tender perennials that are not harder for
cooler climates. Therefore, it is important to pay
attention to the proper timing for transplanting
them into the garden.
Generally, there are
three categories for time of planting:
-
Hardy Annuals -
These are plants that routinely survive frost
and cool temperatures. This might include
pansies, snap dragons and other cold tolerant
plants. The old saying associated with these
plants is that you can plant them when the
"forsythia are in bloom".
-
Semi-Hardy
Annuals - Included in this group are plants that
may be planted "when the lilacs are in bloom".
They are fairly tough plants that can withstand
a slight dip below freezing with little or no
damage.
Petunias, geraniums (Pelargoniums) and
calendulas would represent this group.
-
Tender Annuals -
This group of plants generally come from a
tropical or subtropical region of the world and
cannot stand any frost at all. Plants in this
group should not be planted until after the
"frost free" date in your area. The most common
plants in the group would include
impatiens,
zinnias and
marigolds.
As a rule, annual
transplants should be placed in the soil at the same
depth as they were growing in the container. In
other words, avoid burying the stems too much. Also,
if the roots have formed a solid mass, cut or tear
this apart before planting so that the roots may
spread out from the original root ball.
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Perhaps the key to the establishment and top
performance of annuals is water. They need to be
kept moist from the day they are planted until they
die in the fall to get their maximum display. This
is especially important for plants in containers.
We expect annuals to
flower from the day they are planted to the day a
frost kills them. Flowering is a very energy
dependent process so annuals need to have nutrients
available to them most throughout the growing
season. Slow release
fertilizers can eliminate the
need for constant applications. Liquid fertilizers
work well also.
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Annuals are often the only types of plants some
homeowners use in their landscapes. Therefore, the
industry has tried to make them as trouble free as
possible. Most commonly grown annuals do not have any
serious disease or insect problems.
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Plants grown as annuals are in that category
because they cannot overwinter in a particular
region. Some tender perennials such as geraniums (Pelargoniums)
or
impatiens can be taken into the house to grow
under lights for the winter.
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Many of the plant that we
grow as "annuals" can be grown from seed. If you plant
them in the garden in the spring when the soil is warm
enough for germination, it will be late summer before
most of them flower.
You can start your own
seeds indoors under fluorescent lights to get a jump on
the season. Remember not to start them too early. Find
out the average last day of frost in your area and
figure backward as to when you should start the seeds.
The seed packet will tell you if you need 6, 8 or 10
weeks lead time. Follow that date since, if you start
the seeds when you get them in mail in January, you will
run out of room under your lights long before you can
plant them outside.
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