Are There Gotta Have Annuals?

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Papa2mykids said:
Perinnial delphiniums can be tricky, even if you buy the plants. Some folks treat them as annuals.

Nice response from everyone.

I also like sweet allyssum. it also can self sow.

Ron
www.gardening-for-wildlife.com
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I find that the annual type delphs are shorter then the perennial types and are more sturdy. They stand up well to windy areas without the need to stake them. Perennial delphs have brittle stems that snap easily in a wind, even staking them (which is a must) doesn't help much during a thunderstorm with torrential downpours!
Annual types need to start them from seed, I have never seen any of the annual types for sale in garden centres. From seed to flowering plant is around 30-40 days. Spacing seedlings is around 6" to 8" apart.
 
nastriums and violets...all types and colors...I love to use them in cooking and salads...oh and borage...purple and white....lots of good ones have been mentioned that I have added to my "got to get started" list for spring...62 days I think it is..:)
 
True Ronsgarden.

While "Magic Fountains" (perennial Delph) is only about 2 feet, "Pacific Giants" can get upto 6' and all are brittle.

I've had stems snap off and the plant ends up with crown rot.

At best, they seem to be a short lived perennial for most people.

Ron
 
A Must for Annuals ...
Zinnias,Marigolds& Cosmo of all heights kinds and colors.
Many herbs of all kinds, potted and ground grown
Sunflowers of all kinds and colors
Celosia various colors and heights
Spider flower
Sweet Alyssum various colors
Petunias various colors
Geraniums almost all colors I can find that I don't have.
Sweet Potato vines 2 kinds
Voo DOO lilies (actually bulb like)
Cannas
Hummingbird trumpet vine
Mona Lavender
That is all I can think of at the moment..

Im sure you will find I forgot some one*LOL

Kale:)
 
Gotta haves - annuals - petunias, million bells, marigolds, begonias, dahlias, ornamental peppers, perilla! And of course, anything else I see. LOL!
 
I don't have a problem with my perennial delphiniums in zone 4. Maybe they like the cold winter and the good sleep they get. ;)

My favourite annual is the geranium, especially if it's in a planter it's so forgiving (if you don't get to the watering on time). I also like the dusty millar (or is it Miller?) for it's foliage especially in containers. For some of you it may be a perennial but for me an annual. Snapdragons, wave petunias, hollyhock as a backdrop and many of the other annuals mentioned here. I tend to check out what's available and pick the healthy plants with the colours that I want in containers or borders. Sweet allisium, white's my favourite as a border as it brings out the colours behind it. The other cool thing that you can do with it is, if you have a stump and put some soil and peatmoss in it, it will grow just fine. Or a knot, hole in a tree, you can do the same. I love many of the annual vines like narsturtium. One I really love is canary creeper but I don't get a long enough growing season that it blooms at the end and I only have a short time until frost so I never get any seeds from it.
 
Z4, that is a shorter growing season.

Is there any way you can start some plants indoors several weeks ahead of planting time? A good jump start helps.

After planting, maybe try a water wall to help them grow and keep them protect from some cold temps.

I used a few waterwalls on tomatoes this spring and they do work, as the water warms up, it helps the plant grow and keeps them warmer during the cold nights.

I will be using them again and more of them.

Ron
www.gardening-for-wildlife.com
 
A must for me is the marigolds around my veggie garden to keep the scary worms out. Those horn worms give me nightmares!!! Another one I have to grow this coming year is the seashell cosmos. I planted some this past year and they were about 5 feet high and got to enjoy a couple blooms then a high wind came through and ripped them out of the ground root and all. I found them a few days later in the ditch out by the road but they were goners. Gonna try the pot marigolds this year also but from what I read they do not put off the same thing to keep the bad worms away. Will be growing the cockscomb celosia in red, purple, and gold. Gotta have some Cleome with the lovely skunk smell....lol!! Fell in love with the 4 o'clocks this past year. And of course I have to have an assortment of Zinnia.
 
I have to dig in the fall and replant in the spring my cannas and dahlias. Would those count as annuals since I have to replant every year...lol!! Anyways...they are a definate must have for me....next to roses...my favorite!!
 
sassmuffin said:
Let's not forget nastriums....
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I'm not planting anymore of those nasturtiums unless everything else I have dies!! Apparently, they REALLY like it here! Planted a few seeds and they went absolutely WILD - even tried to climb under the siding of the house. :eek: I'd never seen them do that before in AL.
 
Dizzy, hmmm, can I send ya some nasturtium seeds ??:D

I just cant forget to plant SUNFLOWERS, they always make me smile, and I love to have some inside...I want to try the dwarf ones this year..

I also love BES vine, have had it for atleast the past 5 years..and cannas.
 
For annuals I agree that sunflowers are a must :) I want to try lantana this year. I saw it in some containers last year and thought it was so pretty. I love martha washington geraniums. I'm actually trying to winter one over inside this year. I also love nicotiana.
Oh yes, I will be try flowering maple this year as well.

Dora/Garden Goddess
 
I just love bougainvilleas...I had one in CA...was three years old when we moved...but my sister had one in their courtyard that was huge and very lod...it was beautiful...but boy what a mess as fall came around...I remember when I was there in Oct 2003 taking care of her in her last days...we would sit out under it and sing...then a slight breeze would com eup and it would snow red blooms on us...
 
I love bougainvillea as well. They remind me of my childhood home, SoCal. I've been tempted to bring one home when I see them in the garden center but haven't yet brought one home. I'll bet you could winter it over inside.

Do you get much sun in the winter where you are? Light seems to be the trick for my plants. I have a houseplant that has grown more in the six months I've been here than in the four years I had it in Oregon. It seems like we get quite a bit of sunlight here in Des Moines but then I've been living in Oregon for twenty years so perhaps I'm just easy to impress lol.

Dora/Garden Goddess
 
Gardengoddess said:
For annuals I agree that sunflowers are a must :) I want to try lantana this year. I saw it in some containers last year and thought it was so pretty. I love martha washington geraniums. I'm actually trying to winter one over inside this year. I also love nicotiana.
Oh yes, I will be try flowering maple this year as well.

Dora/Garden Goddess
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Oh, I forgot al about the lovely Sunflower............the birds seem to plant those for us, and we have wintered a Martha Washington geranium.....our neighobur was going to throw hers out, and hubby got his hands on it, and it really is a beautiful plant. We just have ours in the sunroom. Lantana is another one I would also like to have...........:)
 
Mari-Jo said:
Oh, I forgot al about the lovely Sunflower............the birds seem to plant those for us, and we have wintered a Martha Washington geranium.....our neighobur was going to throw hers out, and hubby got his hands on it, and it really is a beautiful plant. We just have ours in the sunroom. Lantana is another one I would also like to have...........:)
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Lantana does well here in SC. Love it in hanging baskets.
 
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