I have to admit when I was younger I was clueless what the difference was. I can remember asking my mother over and over again how you could tell them apart and which was better. This garden design tip should be titled Annual or Perennial – Ode to Mother.
Annuals
- Annuals grow, produce flowers and die within the 12 months. The reason I say 12 months and not the same year is because some annuals will germinate in late fall or winter and flower the next spring then die.
- Most people only think about planting annuals in the spring, enjoying the splendor all summer then watching them die only to repeat the cycle again the next spring. One annual most people don’t think of as being an annual is crabgrass.
- Another group we shouldn’t forget about as being true annuals are vegetables such as beans, corn, peas, etc.
Perennials
- Perennials are called such because they live fore more than two years. While trees, shrubs and other woody plants are also perennials, we generally don’t referrer to them as perennials.
- These plants grow and bloom during the spring and summer time then die back each fall and winter. They then repeat the process from their root-stock rather than re-seeding themselves like the annual plant does.
- In warmer climates the growing cycle never ends! One very important thing to consider is what zone you live in and what zone the perennial will naturally survive in. Matching these two zones up is very important if you want to become a successful perennial gardener.
After years of spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars each spring on Annuals, I slowly started to replace annuals with perennials. I know you will say ‘but annuals have color all summer long.’ Yes they do but a carefully planned out perennial garden can not only have color all summer long but will have a much wider variety of colors and textures. The only down side is perennials do require more maintance but it’s well worth it.
