I used to think that annuals were wasted money. Annuals only last one season so why even bother? I preferred perennials since they could come back year after year reliably without much work. Eventually annuals began to “grow” on me as I realized their ornamental value is really very high impact. They grow fast and either bloom or produce massive amounts of cool foliage in one season. (Many annuals are actually perennials but can’t survive frost.) I’ve developed a routine for the annuals now and plant the same one’s year after year. Not always in the same place or the same way but I’ve fallen into a comfort zone with these five favorites.
- Coleus – There are all kinds of coleus now including some that do well in the sun. I prefer the reddish colored ones for maximum effect but there are many varieties of these that could add some color to your garden. A recent favorite ‘Rustic Orange’ boasts a color scheme that appears like a painting in the garden.
- Sunflowers – Who doesn’t like a sunflower? They grow fast and tall and the colors vary from deep reds to bright yellows. Velvet Queen is usually what I plant. Aside from looking very cool while they stand tall in the garden they are great for feeding pollinators while in flower and feeding the birds when seed is produced. A high impact annual!
- Zinnia – There are few plants as easy to grow as a zinnia. Hummingbirds love them and so do butterflies. Buy one pack of seeds and expect a full garden of flowers by mid-summer. Deadheading helps to keep them blooming but at the end of the season you can let them go to seed so that you can save the seeds for next year.
- Moonflower – This night bloomer is too cool not to plant! It’s best planted from seed directly in place. It doesn’t really take off with growth until the heat of summer really gets going but once it does it produces massive 6 inch white blooms in the evenings. The scent is awesome too!
- Sweet Potato Vine – This is another easy care and low-maintenance annual for the garden. It’s related to the moonflowers and morning glories but doesn’t set flower. I use it as a ground cover but more compact forms make excellent additions to potting arrangements. Buy yourself one or two of these plants then propagate a few more by snipping the stem off underneath a node and dropping it into a jar of water. Within 4-5 days you’ll have roots and a new plant!
I was going to try to stick to 5 annuals for this post but I’ll sneak in a couple others worth mentioning: Persian Shield and annual verbenas. I always plant the sunflowers, zinnias, and moonflowers from seed which keeps my annual planting cost at a minimum. Coleus, sweet potato vine, and Persian Shield all propagate easily in water which will help you get the maximum impact from your purchases – besides plant propagation is just really fun!
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I loved reading this because these are the annuals I have this year – I started the moonflower, zinnia, and sunflowers from seed. The coleus I bought in six-packs for less than $2. I have impatiens that I planted three years ago that have re-seeded so well I haven’t had to plant them again.
My mom had the moon flowers during my growing up years and we would throw the flowers down in the flower bed so they would come up again next year. You could never predict quite where they would come up, but we enjoyed them many summers that way.
P.S. In south central PA. :)
My potatoe vines were planted in very large urns last summer and I planted english ivy and other trailing ground cover in them this year. About a week and a half after I potted the english ivy, the potatoe vines started coming up from last year. They have taken over my plants, and I had so much come back I even had to transplant some to another pot. We live in coastal alabama and the pots stayed outside in the elements all winter. It was a nice and strange surprise!
Wow, I wish I could have that luck! Our winters are much colder than what you get even though we’re only one state away. Surprises like that are what makes gardening so interesting and fun!
Rachel,
That’s a great idea! I tend to get busy at the end of the season and forget to do neat stuff like that but I should make an extra effort this year. Also If you don’t want to dig you can always take some cuttings for overwintering as houseplants.
I plant sweet potato vine every year. And every year when I clean out the pots they are in I notice roots or potato like bulbs that I toss in with the rest of the plant that has died off. So last summer I googled it- and found out if you pull the “potato” out- store it in a dry place (I put them in a cardboard box in my laundry room)- and replant they will most likely come back. I did it this year- and although it took a few weeks to see them peek through the soil- they all re-rooted and I have two huge pots filled with the most beautiful vines without paying for them!
I think you can treat them like potatoes and even cut them- they grow eyes like edible potatoes and sprout right up. Just FYI- it was a nice surprise to find out I didn’t have to buy these every year. I am not sure how many years the bulb will regenerate itself- but I am going to keep trying it.
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