Tips For Selecting Annual Flowers

By: Bowe Packer

Flowers are one of nature's heralds of the seasons. The various flowers that blossom in the different seasons can inform us what season we are in. For instance flowers like the Poinsettia are known to bloom only during the wintertime season, more specifically during December. Annual flowers on the other hand are wonderful flowers to plant in your gardens.

I know most of us have passed by a nice arrangement of outside florals and wondered - how might I do the same. Well, first we must start by understanding the different types of annual flowers and the which flower will survive in which climate.

You will find that many of these flowers are excellent choices for the garden as they can be grown in the different seasons. The best way to select the type of annual flowers that you want is to decide which flower varieties you want to see. You should buy the annual flowers that are appropriate for the required season otherwise your flower plant will rot even before you have a chance to plant it.

When you start selecting your annual flowers you can purchase stalwart annuals, half hardy annuals and tender annuals. These differences reflect the type of weather and soil conditions that these annual flowers will grow in.

Remember, the selecting process maybe some what challenging at first. However, don't let that intimidate you, make a selection based on the season and what looks good to you. With experience you will start to understand the other elements, like soil, sun and water, that also have an effect on your annual flowers.

Sturdy annuals are beautiful plants that will produce flowers even in the cold wintertime season. These annual flowers are planted during the spring season or fall season when the weather condition is not that cold. Unlike other annuals these hardy annual flowers don't like hot weather as they are not heat tolerant.

The types of stalwart annual flowers that you can buy include calendula, foxglove, viola, sweet alyssum, stocks, cornflowers, pansy, larkspur and the many varieties of dianthus cultivars. The half sturdy annual flowers include torenia, snow-on-the-mountain, blue sage, strawflower, baby's breath, candytuft, bells of Ireland, celoma, love-in-a-mist, and forget-me-nots.

These half hardy annuals don't mind damp cold weather but they can't live during the cold fierce months of winter. You will need to plant these annual flowers after the last spring frost. Unlike tender annuals these half sturdy annuals have no need of warm soil conditions for the seeds to begin sprouting.

While some flower species can't bear lots of hot summertime weather the half hardy annuals may sometimes wilt for the weather but they will perk up in the later summer months. You can select some tender annuals like scarlet sage, morning glory, petunias, begonias, celosia, balsam, nasturtium, and verbena.

These annuals as their name suggests are not well-off in the cold wintertime months so the idealistic time to grow them is three weeks after the last spring frost. Since these annual flowers grow well in warm climates you can expect to see them in all of their glory in the late spring and the warm months of summer.

These are just a few of the many annual flowers that you can grow in your garden, and the riot of colors that they bring will utterly make any garden look great. You will also have the added benefit of flowers that grow in different seasons adding a break up of color right through the year.

Article Source: http://home2garden.co.za

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