Annual Flowers

Annual flowers are the delight of those of us who want a blazing riot of colour for much of the gardening season. While perennial flowers usually are short-lived, annuals tend to shout across the garden all summer long. They are cheap to buy, cheaper still to start yourself and come in an amazing variety of sizes and colours.

This is the starting point for describing how to grow annual flowers. And while all these plants listed here can all be grown from seed, there are some varieties that are only from cuttings. For example, in the impatiens page I mention New Guinea Impatiens and while there is a species, most of the plants you’ll find are only grown from cuttings.

Annual Plant Trials 2008

These are some of the best plants I saw at the Landscape Ontario plant trials in August of 2008. Note that all of these plants would be excellent in container baskets of some kind.

Acroclinium

This is is a great cut or dried flower and is easy to grow if you don't transplant it - sow it directly

Ageratum

Ageratum can be tricky to start unless you follow these suggestions.

Alyssum

Alyssum is a great ground cover and useful annual (with a great fragrance as well)

Amaranthus

Amaranthus is more than a pretty face but let's start with that.

Asters

Asters and the art of growing aster flowers is described here.

Cleome

Cleome are graceful plants but there's a trick to starting them. Here it is

Datura

Datura or Brugmansia as it is now called, is an amazing garden plant. It is poisonous and should be treated with care - but those flower and that fragrance!

California Poppies

Eschscholzia or California Poppies are self-sowing annuals and a delightful color swath across the flower garden.

Geraniums

Geranium (annual geranium) or Pelargoniums are backbone plants for the annual garden and container gardening. Here's the doorway page to taking care - pruning - overwintering - propagating etc

Overwintering Geraniums

Here are three methods of overwintering geraniums with recommendations for each.

Impatiens

Impatiens are the queens of the annual shade garden and here's the species you'll find in our gardens and how to grow them.

Nicotiana

Nicotiana is a sweetly scented plant that often self sows in my garden.

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Flowers are some of the sweetest fragrant annuals you can plant

Propagating Sweet Potato

The tricks to propagating and growing sweet potato vine in the home garden

Late Season Planting

Is there anything we can do with late season planting of annuals?

Got a Question about Annual Flowers?

If you have a question about annual flowers, this is a good place to ask it.

Please understand that I get hundreds of questions every week from readers and I simply can't answer them all. I do my best and print quite a few in my free newsletter

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What Other Visitors Have Asked About Annual Flowers

Click below to see questions from other visitors to this page...

Overwintering Geranium Tip from Reader I just came across your article on overwintering geraniums and this is not a question but rather an alternative method.
I learned to overwinter my geraniums ...

Nasturtiums Seeds saved from last years flowers Do you have to remove the pods that cover the nasturtiums seeds before planting. I have been removing all by hand, is the an easier way, OR will they ...

name of the flower? Could you please tell me the name of the flower in the picture I sent?

This is a dianthus

Brugmansia double white Got that last year, leaf keep turning yellow and falls off.put it out in the summer, and there was a lot of new growth, bought it back in August,and the ...

Annual Black Eyed Susan Question We have recently had a tremendous amount of rain. All of my black eyed susans have turned brown and died in a matter of five or six days. Could this ...

Datura and Brugmansia Overwintering Living just west of Toronto, so I have been told, that I must take these flowers into my house around late October. I must cut the plants right down to ...

Starting Petunia Seed I have started Wave Petunias inside and have good germination. My question: How long before the true leaves come out and should I start fertilizing? I ...

first time greenhouse user i am a first time greenhouse user...i have always had a green thumb but i buy my flowers every year for the next summer well this yr i decided to try and ...

Pansies in the South Is there a type of pansy that can be planted in Spring?

Doug says that all pansies can be planted in spring BUT in Texas, the heat of summer is going ...

white wave petunias and mottle leaves Why do the leaves on only my white wave petunias become a mottled yellow look to the green. I water and fertilize like I'm supposed to but this happens ...

critters eating annuals out of pots but not in the garden For the first time ever, I am having problems with some kind of night time critter (?racoon? or possum? or ????) digging and uprooting all of my annuals ...

sweet peas In zone 5 when can sweet pea seeds be put into the ground

Doug says that sweet peas can (and should be) sown directly into cool soils. Generally, you'...