Growing Annual Flowers

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Planning flower gardens, starting plants indoors and caring fora garden. Includes diagrams and table of ornamental and cultural

characteristics of 73 common flowers.

MT199501AG reviewed 10/04

Growing Annual Flowersby G. E. Evans and Robert Gough, Montana State University Extensionhorticulture specialists, retired and current, respectively

Annual flowers solve manylandscape problems. Noother plants provide such

continuous bloom. They fill voidsin permanent plantings while youngwoody plants grow, and provideinexpensive color and cut flowers inalmost any soil.

Annuals are used in perennialplant beds to continue interest fol-lowing early blooming bulbs andperennials. They can be transplant-ed or direct-seeded into the spotwhere tulip and daffodil blooms

have faded, or planted in front ofwoody flowering shrubs to providefurther interest through the season.

If you want plenty of cut flowers,

devote a separate area of the gardento annuals, but be sure to coordinate

it with the overall landscape plan.

Planning the Flower BorderThe annual flower border can be

an attractive element in the overalllandscape if you follow a few sim-ple guidelines. Curve the bed linesof an informal planting and plant

masses of individual flowers indrifts which gradually melt into

each other (Figure 1). Formal plant-ings have angular bed lines. Whenannual beds include perennials,mass the annuals together to sim-plify management. Graduate plantheights from front to back, and uselow perennials in front.

Figure 1. Color and size transition. Blocks of each annual plantedin drifts.

Low plants (front and sides)

Intermediate size (center)

Tall plants to rear (center)

Backdrop of shrubs or fence

Make the bed at least 3 feet butno more than 5 feet deep to allowfor working the bed from its border.If it must be deeper than 5 feet, planstepping stones or a small path toallow access to the interior of the

bed.

To be effective, each flower massshould be large enough to be clearlyseen from a distance. Use thewarm or advancing colors (red,orange, yellow) in smaller masses

to subordinate them; use cool or

receding colors (blue, violet, green)in larger masses to contrast with thewarm ones. The color wheel (Figure2) will help you understand coloruse. Each cool color opposes awarm color. Colors across the wheel

from each other are complemen-tary and provide strong contrast.Adjacent colors are analogous andprovide subtle color transitions. Ifyou dont want strong accent, dontarrange flowers with warm colorsnext to those with cool colors.

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Red/VioletViolet

Blue/Violet

Blu

e

Blue/G

reen

Green

Yellow/Green

Yello

w

Yellow

/

Orang

e

Red/O

range

Orange

Complementary

Colors

Comp

lementar

y

Color

s

Complementa

ryColors

Analogous Colors

Red

Analogous Colors

Figure 2. Color Wheel

Color creates moods. Warm colorsexhilarate and stimulate while cool

colors relax the viewer. Let coolcolors predominate in areas devotedto rest and relaxation. Warm colorscommand and direct attention tospecific areas in the landscape.

Youll find an example of an an-

nual flower border with proper sizeand choice of plants in Figure 3. Allflower borders, whether annual or

perennial, are most attractive againsta fence of neutral color or against ashrub background (Figure 1).

Starting Plants IndoorsMany annuals perform better if

started indoors and transplanted intothe garden. You can determine indoorplanting time by finding the numberof days from seed to flower on theseed packet. Table 1 includes somegeneral information about planting

dates for inside or outside sowing.Many people plant seeds too

early. This results in an oversized,leggy transplant that is susceptible todamping-off disease. Legginess is of-ten caused by low indoor light levels

and/or by too high a temperature. Letan electric fan blow air across yourplantsthe plant movement will helpform stocky plants. You must coordi-nate the date of sowing with the aver-

age date of last frost in your location.For much of western Montana, seedabout April 1 since the date of lastfrost is often close to June 1. March15 may be a better date in much ofeastern Montana. The right time tostart seedlings also depend upon thespecies. Trial and error is the onlyway to determine a more precise timefor your specific location and flowerspecies.

Use a mix containing 50 percentloam soil, 25 percent peat moss,and 25 percent washed sand to startyour seeds indoors. Or, you can usea soiless potting mix containing peatmoss and perlite. If you use the soilmix be sure to sterilize it to reducethe chances of the seedlings damp-ing-off. Place moist soil into shallowtrays and put these into a householdoven at 180F for 30 minutes. Use aprobe-type thermometer to determinewhen all soil has reached the desired

temperature. You can also use mi-crowave ovens to sterilize soil. De-termine the amount of time requiredby monitoring soil temperatures asdescribed above for the regular oven.Soiless mixes usually need no steril-ization.

Screen the soil or mix to a finetexture, fill pots or trays, and firmand moisten it before planting. Scat-ter small seeds over the surfaceand cover them with mix to a depth

equivalent to twice their largestdiameter. Label the seeded flats tomaintain plant identity. Cover seededcontainers with a plastic sheet tomaintain relatively high humidity,and with newspaper to shade themedia surface unless the seed trays

are kept out of direct sun. Most seedsgerminate well at temperatures be-tween 50 and 80F. Spider flower(Cleome) and petunia germinatebetter at warm temperatures (70-80F). Seeds of species that prefercooler temperatures include Africandaisy (Arctotis), candy tuft (Iberis),bachelor button (Centaurea), clarkia

(Clarkia), godetia (Clarkia sp.), andlarkspur (Delphinium). Remove thenewspaper after the seeds germinate.

Water the seeded flats or pots withgreat care by placing the containers

in shallow trays of water and allow-ing water to move up through themix. Watering from above can dam-age the fine seeds or small seedlings.

Transplant the seedlings to flats

or individual containers when theyhave reached the 2-3 leaf stage. Peatpots are popular but Styrofoam cupswith holes punched in the bottomwork well also. Place the transplantsin a greenhouse or a hot bed if youcan. A south-facing window with

added grow lights will do if otherfacilities are not available. Be sure

to harden-off the plants before youtransplant them to the garden bygradually exposing them to coolernights over a 1 to 2 week period.

Setting out the PlantsMost annuals dont require very

rich soil but they do need an ad-equate supply of nutrients. Work into

your bed area a complete fertilizer at

the rate 1/4 pound of actual nitrogenper 100 square feet. Using 5-10-10fertilizer, 5 pounds of fertilizer per100 square feet is the right amount.Also work in organic matter such aspeat moss or well-decayed manureto improve soil structure. Most annu-

als grow best at a soil pH of between6.5 and 7.5. Attention to fertility nowwill help produce vigorous, healthyplants and blooms later on.


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yellow

yellow

yellowA

B

C

blue

blue

blue

blue

blue

blue

blue

white

white

whitewhite

white

white rose

rose

red

rose

rose

Suggested annuals for the above design

Suggested plants inRow/Height Color Sun Shade*

A (18) Yellow Marigold, Zinnia Monkey Flower, *China Aster, *Cosmos

Blue Larkspur, Verbena, Scabiosa Forgetmenot, *Lupine, *Verbena

White Nicotiana, Zinnia, Lavender Balsam, Sweet Sultan

Red Celosia, Zinnia *Celosia, *Painted Daisy, *Verbena

B (12) Blue Ageratum, Centaurea, Petunia, Salvia *Bellflower, *Petunia

White Stocks, Phlox, Dimorphotheca *Wax Begonia

Rose Phlox, Petunia, Zinnia *Wax BegoniaC (8) White Alyssum, Petunia Lobelia, *Dianthus, *Alyssum

Rose Verbena, Moss rose, pansy *Dianthus, Impatiens

Blue Ageratum, Lobelia, Pansy Pansy, *Lobelia, *Moss rose

Yellow Marigold, Pansy Pansy

*Adapted to light shade only

.Figure 3. Color sequences and size considerations in an annual flower border.

Plant outdoors late in the afternoon

on a cloudy day when soil is moist tohelp reduce transplant shock. Spacingdepends upon the species. Plant giantzinnias 18 inches apart, but alyssumonly 6 inches apart.

Annuals that are direct-seeded willneed thinning before they becomecrowded. Failure to do this will resultin overcrowding and spindly plantswith few flowers.

Pinching

Some annuals require pinching dur-ing the thinning or transplanting pro-cess. Pinching increases the numberof blooms and forms a more stockyplant. Ageratum,Browallia, Calendu-la, Chrysanthemum, Petunia, Phlox,pinks, Salpiglossis, Schizanthus, snap-dragon, verbena and zinnia all benefit

from having their tips pinched. DONOT pinch impatiens, cockscomb,everlastings, poppies or stocks.

Fall Clean-up

Remove all annual plants afterfall freeze to reduce the chances thatdisease organisms will be carriedover into the next season. Till the

soil to remove weeds and leave it ingood condition for spring planting.If it needs more organic matter, addit during fall tilling.

Annuals that reseedSome annual species reseed

themselves. If you want this to hap-

pen, leave the plants in place untilthe seeds have shed, then clean upthe spent leaves and stems.Browal-lia, California poppy, calliopsis,cornflower, Cosmos, Four-oclock,Gypsophila, rocket larkspur, morn-ing-glory, Petunia, Pot marigold,rose moss, Mealycup sage, snow-on-the-mountain, spider flower,

summer cypress and sweet alyssumare some species that will reseed inyour garden.

Aftercare

Hoe weeds to keep them fromcompeting with your flowers for

water and nutrients. A mulch of fine

bark will decrease weed competition,

conserve soil moisture, and lower

high summer soil temperatures for

better plant growth.

Water your plants during warm

dry periods to assure continuous

plant development.Infrequent, deep

waterings are better than light, fre-

quent ones. At least the top 6 inches

of soil should feel moist and cool.

Use drip irrigation during flowering

to prevent browning of the blooms

by water puddling on them.

Remove spent blossoms (dead-

head) to force a longer continu-

ous bloom period and fertilize your

plants weekly with water-soluble

fertilizer.

Shrubs


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Bl

oom

Planting

How

PlantName

Uses

Color

Height

Pe

riod

Exposure

Time

Propagated

Limitations

Remarks

Sunflower(SeeHelianthus)

SweetAlyssum(SeeAlyssum)

SweetPea

Bouquets,

arr

White,red,pink

48,

Ea

rlysummer

Seed

Issubjecttoroot-rot

Cool,moist

Lathyrusodoratus

arrangeme

nts,

blue,purple,yellow

dwarf24

andfall

Sunny

Earlyspring

diseaseinmanygar-

dens

climateneeded

arbors,fen

ces

Dwarfforms

available.

SweetSultan

Purple,white,

Julyto

Centaureamoschata

Cutflower

s

yellow

11/2-2September

Sunny

Afterfrost

Seedindoors

Notfrosttolerant

Veryfragrant

TidyTips

Cutflower

s,

Layiaplatyglossa

beds,borders,

Yellowwith

1-11/2Juneto

Open,

Afterfrost

Seedor

rockgarde

ns

whitetips

Oc

tober

sunny

danger

transplants

Verbena

Beds,bord

ers,

White,pink,

Juneto

Seedor

Budsdamagedby

Verbena(hybrids)

boxes,cutting,

scarlet,blue

Creepinglatefall

Sunny

Earlyspring

transplants

Requireswarmclimate

tarnishedplantbugs

rockeries

Wingedeverlasting

Seedor

Ammobiumalatum

Drying

White

18-24Fall

Sunny

Spring

transplants

Growincuttinggarden

Zinnia

Ea

rlysummer

Seedor

F1

hybridsarebest

File under: Horticulture

A-8 (Ornamentals)Reviewed Oct 2004 (1000 1004 KMM)

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University Extension Service prohibit discrimination

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1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of

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University, Bozeman, MT 59717.

Copyright 2004 MSU Extension Service

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www.montana.edu/publications

Bloom

Planting

How

PlantName

Uses

Color

HeightPeriod

Exposure

Time

Propagated

Limitations

Remarks

Sunflower(SeeHelianthus)

SweetAlyssum(SeeAlyssum)

SweetPea

Bouquets,

arr

White,red,pink

48",

Ea

rlysummer

Seed

Issubjecttoroot-rot

Cool,moist

Lathyrusodoratus

arrangeme

nts,

blue,purple,yellow

dwarf24"andfall

Sunny

Earlyspring

diseaseinmanygardens

climateneeded

arbors,fen

ces

Dwarfforms

available.

SweetSultan

Purple,white,

Julyto

Centaureamoschata

Cutflowers

yellow

11/2'-2'Se

ptember

Sunny

Afterfrost

Seedindoors

Notfrosttolerant

Veryfragrant

TidyTips

Cutflowers,

Layiaplatyglossa

beds,bord

ers,

Yellowwith

1'-11/2'Juneto

Open,

Afterfrost

Seedor

rockgarde

ns

whitetips

October

sunny

danger

transplants

Verbena

Beds,borders,

White,pink,

Juneto

Seedor

Budsdamagedby

Verbena(hybrids)

boxes,cutting,

scarlet,blue

Creepinglatefall

Sunny

Earlyspring

transplants

Requireswarmclimate

tarnishedplantbugs

rockeries

Wingedeverlasting

Seedor

Ammobiumalatum

Drying

White

18"-24"Fa

ll

Sunny

Spring

transplants

Growincuttinggarde

n

Zinnia

Ea

rlysummer

Seedor

F1

hybridsarebest

Zinniaelegans

General

Manymixed

18"-48"to

latefall

Fullsun

Earlyspring

transplants

Breaksinwind

varieties

DOW

NLOAD

E WE

FREE

http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt9501.pdf

Growing Annual Flowers

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