Annuals, perennials. What does it really mean? Here are some answers.

An Annual
A plant that completes its entire life cycle within one year is called an annual.


The ever-popular spring annual 'Impatiens'

Most flowers referred to as annuals are those we plant after the last frost in the spring, and live until the frost kills them in fall. This might seem like a short life, but on the upside, annuals bloom continuously, so although it’s a short life, it’s a good one!

Most people plant annuals in the ground as bedding plants in spring – called spring or summer annuals. Popular spring-planted annuals are impatiens, pansies, petunias, begonias, geraniums and marigolds.

Some annuals like cooler temperatures and can be planted in very early spring – like cold-hardy pansies. Flamenco Pansies, Hot Chilly Pansies or BigShot Pansies can all be planted as soon as the ground is no longer frozen. The flowers may wilt with frost- but a little sun is all they need to perk back to life.

Other annuals are considered fall annuals because they like the autumn season to bloom. Examples are kale, pansies, and some ornamental grasses. Icicle Pansies can be planted in the fall and are guaranteed to survive the winter and bloom the following spring.

Most annuals are very easy to grow and care for. The care tag usually has simple instructions for light, soil conditions, watering, and spacing. Deadheading (removing dead blooms) will help produce more blooms. Fertilizer can also promote more vigorous growth and blooms.

Besides flowers, many vegetable plants and herbs are annuals. Many people purchase tomato plants and other vegetable and herb plants as a bedding plant because it’s easier than sowing seeds, and can also yield produce faster than waiting for plants from seed to mature.

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A Sun Annual- or 'Full Sun'
One of the most important ingredients to successful annuals is light. Care tags will specify how much sun is needed for best results. Some tags use symbols, while others use words, but the message is the same.


Geraniums are happy in the sun.

Full sun means that the plant thrives with 8 or more hours of direct sunlight exposure. In the northern hemisphere, a south-facing garden will receive the most sunlight. So plants that require full sun should be planted away from shade of buildings or trees in a south-facing garden. Examples of sun annuals include geraniums, marigolds, verbena and portulaca.

Shade Annuals
All plants need some sunlight to survive, but those that are marked Full Shade can thrive with only 2 to 4 hours of sunlight per day. A north-facing garden, or garden shaded with trees will provide some sunlight or filtered light for flowers to bloom. Examples of full shade annuals include begonias, impatiens, and coleus. Densely shaded areas may do best with plants other than annuals such as ferns or groundcover plants.

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Part Sun/Part Shade
Gardens that receive 4 to 8 hours of sunlight per day are considered ideal for part sun or part shade annuals [which are the same thing]. It’s a bit tricky to measure sunlight exposure, so consider that if the garden is not sunny all day, and it’s not shady most of the day, it’s ‘part sun’. Many annuals enjoy part sun including impatiens, snapdragons, and nasturtium.

When is an annual NOT an annual?
Just when you thought you understood it all, there are some gray areas. Depending upon where you live, the growing season varies- from shorter in the north, to longer in south. So you might find plant tags that describe “hardiness’. Hardiness refers to how much cold a plant can tolerate. If a plant is not hardy, it is considered to be tender.

Some plants are considered annuals in the North because the cold kills them earlier in the season. The same plants may be considered a perennial in warmer climates, meaning that the plant will survive longer than one growing season, and may even bloom every year.

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A Perennial
Perennials live and flower year after year. Typically, they die back (or hibernate) over the winter, but grow and flower as temperatures rise in spring. Most perennials bloom during a certain time of the season- varying from spring to fall. They usually bloom intensely during this time, but once all the blooms are spent, the plant continues to grow but does not produce flowers.

Perennials are most often started as small plants- and many look like bare sticks when planted. In the first year, the plant might not flower at all, but over the years as it gets established, it will flower and get bigger each year.

Some gardeners find perennials to be easy to care for because they don’t need to be planted each year like an annual. But perennials usually do not bloom throughout the growing season, so the secret to a great perennial garden is to fill it with plants that bloom at different times. Spring bloomers are followed by summer flowers, followed by cool-loving fall blooms. It takes good planning and information to create a beautiful perennial garden that is always in bloom.

Like annuals, perennials should be cared for according to the plant tag. Some perennials like Shasta daisies love sun, whereas Astilbes, Ferns, and Hostas like shade, and Lamium prefers partial shade.

Perennials should be prepared for successful overwintering which includes cutting them down closer to the ground prior to winter, and possibly covering them with mulch depending on how hardy the plant is, and where you live.

You might see a tag that says ‘tender perennial’. This means that the plant might not survive the winter if it gets very cold where you live.

Over the years, perennials can become very large and unwieldy if left alone. It’s best to trim, or split them to encourage more blooms and fuller foliage.

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Seeds and Cuttings
Professional growers grow many bedding plants from seed. This process is started in winter in warm greenhouses so that by the time it is warm enough to plant outside, the bedding plants are considered finished plants and are in bloom. Some annuals are grown from cuttings. Cuttings are taken from a ‘mother plant’ and are grown from the roots of the cuttings to become finished plants.

Whether a plant is grown from a seed or a cutting has no bearing on the quality of the finished plant. There are merely different propagating techniques.