Unlike perennial plants and flowers that resprout every spring, annuals complete their life cycles in one growing season. Despite their relatively short life spans, annual blooms make beautiful additions to landscape designs. If you want to add annuals to your property this year, learn more about them here. 

Types of Annuals

Annual plants and flowers come in a wide variety of colors and shapes, adding beautiful diversity to your gardens. Popular annuals include begonias, with dainty bloomsof white, pink, and red. Begonias bloom during summer in full shade, partial shade, or full sun, making them hardy plants. Calendulas are bright orange and yellow flowers with long, narrow petals that create circular shapes. These annuals bloom in summer and autumn and enjoy shade or filtered sunlight, as they thrive in cool environments. 

Other popular annuals include geraniums, impatiens, and marigolds. Geraniums bloom throughout spring and summer in both full sun and partial shade, coming in pink, purple, red, and orange clusters of small flowers. Impatiens are small, delicate blooms that make an attractive ground cover and feature pinkish-purple hues. They bloom throughout summer in partial and full shade. Marigolds are summer-blooming, sun-loving flowers featuring bright yellow and orange colors. 

Care Tips 

Caring for annual plants and flowers depends in part on the season they thrive in. If you are planting flowers that love summer heat, keep them in your house or greenhouse until the nights are warm. Premature planting can damage if not kill the blooms because of chilly soil and air. 

No matter what season is right for planting annuals, it is generally best to plant them in your gardens on cloudy days to avoid sunlight-related stress. Always take the entire plant out by squeezing its container or using a trowel, since pulling can damage the roots. Water your annuals prior to replanting them, which keeps the root systems hydrated and less prone to stress. 

Annuals typically benefit from daily watering, especially those that bloom during summer when the heat is intense. Water them in the early morning or evening to avoid midday evaporation issues. It is also a good idea to “deadhead” the flowers, or remove dead blooms, to encourage new growth. However, you’ll want to research which annuals benefit from this, as some do not require it, like impatiens.

Other care tips include using mulch to suppress weed growth and nutrient competition. Mulching conserves soil moisture as well. Since annuals grow quickly, they require extra nutrients for “fuel” purposes. Add fertilizer to the soil, such as a slow-release fertilizer that provides nutrients for weeks at a time.

Pick from a wide variety of annual plants and flowers at Lakeview Garden Center & Landscaping in Fairfield, OH. This full-service landscaping company has served the Cincinnati community for over 30 years, providing custom designs that clients love. Call (513) 829-6624 or visit the website today to learn more. Like the Facebook page for additional gardening tips.