Annuals are, as you said, plants that come up, flower, set seed, and die in one growing season. This season, however, can be variable. For instance, larkspur are planted in the fall in the south, flower in the spring, and die when the heat moves in. Yet, they are annuals. Your moss rose (portulaca) is a hot weater, self-seeding annual. If you grew it in an area one year, even though you pulled out the old plants at the end of the summer, it had already dropped thousands of seeds on the ground during the summer. The next spring, when the soil warms and the sun shines, up those seeds come. Moss rose (and many other annuals) that seed so generously are often called "annuals that behave like perennials". They are beloved (and occasionally cursed) for this trait. You do need to realize that if the varieties you grow were hybrids (as many portulacas are), when the seeds volunteer, they may very well not be the same colors as the ones you planted in the first place. Some gardeners actually "select" their own colors, by watching volunteer seedlings carefully and pulling out all except the ones they want to keep. Over a period of years, by allowing the desirables to set seed and denying this to the undesirables, they can get nearly all the volunteer seeds to come true. Now, for the dianthus. Botanically speaking, dianthus are bi-ennials. This means they come up from seed and make roots, stems and leaves in one year, overwinter, and then bloom, make seeds, and die the next year. "Bi"-meaning two. "Ennial", meaning year. Get it? This being said, there are lots of kinds of dianthus. Some do exactly what I just described. Some are self-seeding, so they volunteer. And some are very perennial-like in their behavior. I have some that are perennial-like. They return reliably, but to keep them in top health, they need to be divided every other year or so. I discard the old, tired centers, and replant the fresh, new divisions. It sounds like this is what you have. The funny thing is, one of the best perennial-like dianthus I have was in a six pack of the bi-ennials that I bought one fall. The other five bloomed the following spring and died when the heat moved in, but that one didn't. I have had it for several years now and have divided it and spread the wealth all around. Another one I have was a pass-along from a friend who got hers in the same way. Another, I ordered from a nursery. As you can see, dianthus are quite variable. (Just another note, MOST dianthus don't like the south's heat and humidity. But, as already stated, there are notable exceptions.) I'd say this one you have is a true keeper, for the odds were totally against it. Very few plants would have survivd that long in a four inch pot, let alone inside. I highly recommend that you put all the divisions outside, and give it some care. Sounds like a winner to me. Just so we cover all the definitions, a true perennial is a plant that, although the above-ground parts "die" each year, the roots do not. So, they are said to go "dormant" each winter (or sometimes summer, depending on the plant), and then the roots produce new stems, leaves, flowers, etc the following spring. Although most perennials can be grown from seed (though not necessarily easily), most do not bloom the first year from seed. But, since they return year after year, they are called perennial. The definitions are pretty clear-cut, but as you can see, the plants don't know that, and there is a good bit of blurring of the lines. Hope this helps! :)

Ohhhhh I would LOVE some. Off of your wanted trade list I have: obedient plant-pink hollyhock-happy lights cup plant Also, anything that is on my exchange page I have. Sending you an email! Angela

Brenda_c - sent you an email tacy_m - you don't have an email on your member page so I can't email you msbatt - I'll tuck the dianthus seeds in the same envelope with the tall phlox seeds when I receive it mabiebaby - you don't have an email on your member page so I can't email you except through GardenWeb and those don't always go through ddkat - do you still have my email address? We traded back in the fall.

Hi there, I was wondering if you still had the dianthus seeds. Thanks a bunch, Jennifer