Confusion about violas being perennials or annuals??
gardenfanatic2003
20 years ago
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Claire_from_Michigan
19 years agoRelated Discussions
Is Silene Armeria (sweet william catchfly) annual or perennial?
Comments (3)I love silene. It's a self-seeding annual in zone 5. If you leave them to seed, you will have babies all over the place next year. They will sprout in early spring, sometimes in autumn to winter over. They're easy to weed out where you don't want them, but I let them pop up between plants. I also save some seed each summer just in case they don't return. But they always have. The color is gorgeous....See Morewhat percent of 'annuals' are actually 'perennials'
Comments (18)Based on what I've seen in the industry since I first got involved in it, the percentage of perennials grown as annuals for the home gardening market grows every year against seed-grown true annuals. Marketing has resulted in a more sophisticated audience and the search went into fast forward for more fodder to throw the hungry masses. A good deal of the new introductions are from 'head-hunters' who are testing the feasibility of using native species from other countries. About a decade ago, we had a lot of introductions of Australian plant material. They may have been tweeked by the breeders, but remained fairly true when introduced to their original state. Many of them were perennial there but not in temperate zones here. Of course a lot of the old standards like were always around and generally were thought of as annuals when they aren't. I have always thought that a disservice was done when seed sources and catalogues for retail sales bent the definitions of annual and perennial to mean 'hardy'. Most of the commercial catalogues will state if stock are tender perennials or hardy/half hardy annuals. That really helps to adjust people's expectations. This is also a bone of contention in box store plant lots where stock is correctly labeled perennial, but sold in areas where it's not hardy. Since they distribute over the whole nation and everything is labeled the same. I'd like to see a 'truth in advertising' label on all seeds and plants. If it's a perennial.......call it that and give the zones where it is. If it's an annual describe if it's half hardy. If it's something else go there too. LOL. As it is, most gardeners end up learning by trial and error and have to look up each plant they may want to consider for bringing inside, to see if it's gonna bloom and die or might survive a winter with protection. The whole shebang is a matter of popular use and it's not going to go away easily. I have no idea of the percentage of 'annuals' who are really perennial in today's market, but I'll take a guess at around thirty percent or better....See Moreannuals or perennials?
Comments (8)Of course the plants are either annual or perennial (or biennial!) regardless of where they are grown but everyone has assumed that you mean 'Which ones will come up every year in my garden?'. That probably IS what you mean and I can't answer the question since I live a long way away and have a very different clmate. However, some of the true annuals do work quite well in various climates, adapting their growing and flowering times to local conditions. If your summers are very hot, you would probably need to sow autumn or winter and let them do their thing in spring. They would probably self-sow (reseed?) freely and give you a nice display each year without much input on your part. I particlarly like S algeriensis (syn. maroccana), pretty smoky blue-mauve colours, and S roborowskii, primrose yellow. S viridis (syn S horminum) is grown less for its flowers than the striking coloured bracts at the top of the stems - pink, purple, white. I would avoid S tiliifolia, which has a certain charm despite its tiny flowers, but produces seed by the ton and really is a weed!...See MorePerennial gardeners what are your favourite ANNUALS in 2020?
Comments (33)Any annuals I plant in my beds must be colorful, self-sufficient and flower all season. No deadheading, no supplemental watering, no flopping and must be deer/rabbit resistant. That really narrows down my selection. I've found these four fit the requirements and use then liberally: angelonia, melampodium, spreading vinca, lantana, They're all annual in my zone 6. I use plenty of other annuals in pots on my deck where I can give them a little more care and attention (and keep the critters away)....See Morekymmieann
19 years agodrthor
15 years agobuyorsell888
15 years agocoolplantsguy
15 years agoextragalactic
15 years agoHenry Z6(OH Zone 6b)
4 months ago
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