Favorite Annual Flowers

[aftermidnight]

So many people completely miss out on China asters.

Many, probably think that they are the same as perennial asters. Well, no - some plants are in the family but different.

They bloom quite late. There are no flowers to entice customers while they are still in flats at a nursery. THAT'S likely to be the reason so few people have them.

I start some early in the greenhouse and others can go in, directly sown in the garden. That will extend their season of bloom. The early transplants grow quite a bit larger than the others but are all finished before the frost.

Steve

Another of my favorite and a great cut flower too, of course why wouldn't it be a favorite of mine it comes in all my favorite colors .

Annette

 

[digitS']

DW likes the wave petunias

This is a very suitable area for growing petunias. They perform beautifully but what I don't like about them is their smell.

That's something that I don't like about marigolds - except some varieties are really okay and almost have an interesting fragrance.

For all the pluses petunias must find here - impatiens have struggled in my yard. The plants may do okay but the flowers tend to not open well and the shriveled little things have made no real contribution. I think it's as @Nyboy says, they need a lot of water and just don't find it.

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

@Collector good to see you posting again. Steve in summer I have to water 2x a day to keep them looking good

 

[flowerbug]

i like bachelor buttons and both kinds of cosmos (pinks/reds/whites frondy vs. yellows, orange, reds heavier foliage).

no real tips for them because they seem to grow well about anything i do.

i use the cosmos for a backdrop because they can get so tall.

i also like the annual flax (golden seeded). we have some black seeded flax which is not an annual, but i don't much like it because it dies out too easily, but at one time it was going well enough to take over a lot of gardens and we didn't mind.

 

[catjac1975]

I love cat's whiskers.

 

[Nyboy]

For a windowbox that gets full sun geraniums. Ivy geraniums look great in boxes and comes in lots of colors.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My favorite annuals are zinnias and marigolds that I start myself, though I get enough volunteers most years I don't even need to sow seeds. I save and sow seeds mainly to help influence what colors I might get. Mine are so mixed I don't know what color any one seed may produce but t least I can influence it. I totally rely on volunteers for black-eyed Susans, I do not save or sow seeds from those. I only need about a half dozen of those to transplant and that's never been a problem.

I like these because they add a lot of color. There is nothing subtle about them and you don't have to be close to enjoy them. And they do really well here if I mulch and occasionally water them.

I have zinnias and marigolds scattered in the vegetable garden. Not for any perceived benefit of pollinators or companion planting, just because they are pretty. I sometimes use them to mark the separation in a row where I go from one type of plant to another and sometimes put them at the end of the row. That's just an excuse to plant them.

I have one landscaping bed that has some perennials but I generally line the front with low marigolds and back it up with zinnias and black-eyed susans. I usually plant a few Lantana in there, here those are annuals, further south they are perennials and can take over.

 

[so lucky]

When we were in Munising, MI, I was really blown away by their annual plantings at an intersection of two major roads. I guess the weather had been perfect, or someone was really on the ball with deadheading and watering. It was a mix of colors, heights and textures. I didn't get a real close look, so couldn't identify many types, but I think there were geraniums, African marigolds, several wispy things...maybe salvia. And other rich colored blooms. I would like to try to reproduce this. Gonna try to find a good variety of different shapes and colors.

 

[Nyboy]

Downtown White Plains has lots of flower gardens on traffic islands. Different local business sponsor them.

 

[ducks4you]

Wax begonias, impatiens, moss rose and especially, nasturtiums, which will spread and fill in your bed.
I need to grow cosmos again, but they are very tall and take up a lot of space, just fyi. Zinnias and marigolds are also very easy to grow. I need to spend the winter harvesting the marigold seeds from my 50+ plants. Always try to do this so that you never need to buy the seeds again. Each seedhead holds a LOT of seeds, like 30 or more per flower.
I harvested seeds from my canna lily and researched curing the seeds and growing them from seed. Apparently I should expect to be surprised that the new plants may not be yellow like the one that created them. Should be fun to find out.
Always, EVERY YEAR, I grow tropical geraniums. I have 5 of them now as houseplants. Seems like ONLY a frost/freeze will kill them.