Summer annuals are a perfect way to add life to any garden, large or small. Their rapid growth and nonstop blooms mean you see the payoff almost immediately, and containers or hanging baskets make them ideal for balconies and courtyards.
Even the smallest of courtyards or balconies can find room for a hanging basket, a window box or container filled with beautiful blooming annual flowers. Annuals are defined as plants which complete their life cycle in one season. Annuals will sprout, grow, bloom and die in a single season. Perennials, on the other hand, are plants that come back year after year.
Geraniums, petunias, marigolds, and zinnias are sun-loving annuals that will produce uncommon colors throughout our gardening season.
If you’re wanting to add color to a shady spot, consider begonias and impatiens, fuchsia and caladium.
Or a tropical hibiscus.
Once you’ve made your decisions and chosen the annuals you want for your landscape, it’s time to plant. Choose the right soil to plant your new annuals in.
If you're planting in a container, use quality potting soil. High grade potting soils are light and airy, and do not contain clay or garden soil or water retention crystals.
If you're planting in a garden bed, take time to amend your soil with compost and peat moss. Your plants will root out better and thrive when the weather gets warmer.
When taking your plants out of their plastic containers, loosen up the roots so they’ll spread out. Plant them so the base of the plant is even with the soil. This is important whether you’re up potting to a new container or planting directly in the ground.
Next, water them well. Hanging basket and container gardens need to be checked daily to make sure they don't dry out. Avoid overhead watering. Water at the base of the plant.
To keep the color and vigor of annual plants, they need to be fed on a regular basis. Choose from ferti•lome 20-20-20 or Jack’s Blossom Booster 10-30-20, Both are designed to feed your annuals just what they need to keep them healthy and flowering throughout the season. Plan to fertilize every twelve to fourteen days.
Promptly removing spent blossoms – called deadheading will direct energy into new flower production.
When you're looking for plants that will add color to your garden beds or containers, look no further than annuals. They will add instant color to your garden and patio, and with a little care, these amazing plants will provide color and interest all season long.
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