Guide to Annual Flowers

Definition

• An annual is a plant that lives out its full lifespan in only one year. These plants achieve full growth and blooming over the summer, then go to seed in the fall. When frost comes, the plants die. Perennials, on the other hand, come back year after year from the same set of roots or bulbs, as long as the plant receives the proper care.

Considerations

• Flowers that live as annuals in frosty northern climates can exist as perennials in warmer southern climates and come back year after year. In regions that don't receive hard frosts, the plants don't "know" to die. Many gardeners also save their annuals by taking them indoors during the winter.

Types

• Some popular annuals include marigolds, begonias, petunias and sunflowers. Others are cosmos, daisies, geraniums, impatiens and morning glories. Every flower is labeled at the nursery as either an annual or a perennial.