Annuals are plants that grow only 1 year. You plant them in the spring, they grow all summer but then die when the winter frost hits. Some plants that are considered annuals in the northern zones, are actually perennials (growing for more than 1 year) in the warmer zones.
You can start your annuals from seed inside your house in the early spring and then plant them in the garden outside once the weather is warm but what most gardeners do is get “cell packs” of annuals that have already been started at the local greenhouse to plant in their gardens. These little plastic “6 packs” have 6 little wells filled with soil and a tiny starter plant. Planting them in the garden is easy, and they are rather inexpensive depending on the type of annual you are planting.
You should wait to plant your annuals until it is rather warm and all threat of frost is well past. What you want to do is dig a hole about the depth of the cell pack for each plant. Then gently squeeze the well that the plant is in and gently lift the plant out. Very gently spread the roots as much as you can and place in the hole. They plant should be planted at the same level or depth as it was in the cell pack.
Once the plant is firmly in the hole, pat in the extra dirt around it and water it. You want to give it a really good soaking and then pat more dirt in to make sure the plant is in there good and solid. You can use a starter fertilizer with a high phosphorous content if you want. Try for something that is labeled 10-52-17 but make sure you don’t give the plant too much.
Add mulch around the plant to help the soil retain moisture and to also help keep down on weed growth.
Maintaining your annuals properly will ensure lush, healthy plants. You want to make sure they get enough water, but not too much. Standing water is not desirable and watering less often but for longer amounts of time is preferable to frequent light watering as it will help the roots grow deeper.
Some annuals need to be “dead headed” in order to keep them from getting too “leggy” or stemmy. This process of picking off the flowers before they turn to seeds will cause the plant to produce more flowers and give your plants a full and bushy look. Geraniums, cosmos, zinnias and impatiens are just a few of the annuals that can benefit from this practice.
Some popular annuals include: alyssum, petunia, marigold, begonia, cosmos, geranium, impatiens, snapdragon, verbena and vinca.
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