Come summer time we see beautiful and bright color everywhere. The clothes we wear and the food we eat is all more vibrant in the summer season. You can bring that beautiful color into your own yard by planting annuals.
When a flower has a life span of only one season it is called an annual. They tend to grow from the last frost of the spring to the first frost of the fall. For that reason, you do not want to plant them until all danger of frost is gone. There are a few annuals that can withstand being planted before the possibility of frost is past. Hardy annuals and biennials are those exceptions. Flowers such as pansies are biennials and they can withstand a mild frost and still look great. In fact, as biennials pansies are the perfect fall to spring flower. As a hardy biennial, pansies that are planted in the fall will winter in a dormant state, then develop again in the spring and bloom wonderfully until it gets too hot for them.
There are a variety other flowers that seem to come back and grow again. Some annuals drop their seed and then it sprouts and grows in the same spot where the first plant was found. Larkspur, petunias, and snapdragons are ideal illustrations of flowers that drop seed. It is easy to plan on having snapdragons or larkspur in the same place each year because they are so prone to dropping seed. These plants drop their seed in the fall then the seed grows in the spring as a new plant. Larkspur and snapdragons are ideal plants to put in an area that you want to grow 'naturally'. For the most dropped seeds, wait until late in the year to pull up the dying plants. Maybe even leave them until spring. With this method you will have beautiful color in your garden every year!
The time to plant you annuals is after the risk of frost is over. Planting your flowers correctly will promise glorious flowers all season long. It isn't just as simple as digging a hole and plopping the plant in fresh from the pony pack. If you just plop the plant in the hole, you will not be pleased with the outcome. You should dig a hole that is a little bigger than the root ball on the plant. Then place a little loose dirt back into the hole. By doing this the new roots will be able to find a foothold. Gently take the plant from the original container. Very carefully, manipulate the roots so they break up from their circular growing pattern. Plants you buy normally are a bit root bound since they have spent so much time in the container. You need to interrupt this growth pattern or the plants roots won't spread in the ground and your plant will suffer.
Water your plant with a mixture of water and root starter as you set your plants. This will give your new plant a vitamin boost and a good drink so it won’t go into shock. The next step is very hard for a lot of gardeners. You should trim off at least one third of the plant. You will need to trim all blooms that are on the plant, this is very crucial. Despite the fact that the flowers look beautiful, the plant is trying to adjust to its new home If you want a healthy plant you can’t demand it to put energy into the flowers while it is trying to put down new roots and establish itself in your soil. So, for the first week or two pick all the flowers off. Once the foliage is full and healthy looking, you can let it bloom all it desires. You will also want to mix a good time release fertilizer in the dirt around your flowers. A time released fertilizer will feed plants up to three months which is just sufficient time for summer annuals.
If you follow these easy ideas you will be delighted with the charming flowers your garden will create. It is too bad summer isn't longer!
Author Resource:-
Cathy is a freelance essayist who loves biking and the great outdoors. She enjoys writing about topics she enjoys like Planting-Annuals-For-Vibrant-Garden-Color and families. Take a look at her internet site, www.yardcart.net to find out about getting the very best yard cart so you can have assistance in the yard too!
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