How to Choose Annuals

The right flower in the right place makes all the difference. When choosing annuals, you'll find a wide array of colors, forms and foliage. And since annuals live just one year, they encourage you to experiment anew each spring.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Annuals Seeds
• Plants
• Plants

Planning

1. Take a good hard look at where you want to plant your annuals. Take note of how much shade or sun it gets, soil quality and soil drainage. If you've never planted anything there before, it might be hard to know. But that's the great thing about annuals - their short lives make them perfect for experimentation.

2. Keep in mind your climate. Dry, arid climates don't lend themselves to annuals that need lots of water and cool temperatures. Conversely, if you plant a flower that likes it hot and dry, it will languish in damper conditions.

3. Consider what colors you want to plant. It's safest to come up with a color scheme before you go shopping. Pinks and blues with touches of white or yellow is a popular combination.

4. Determine if you want to start your annuals from seed or from established plants. Established plants, of course, are fastest and easiest but cost much more and are available in a far more limited variety than seeds. Starting from seed can take a bit of skill and more time, but you can have hundreds of flowers for what you'd spend on just one flat of established annuals.

Purchasing Established Plants

5. Read the label carefully and note the plants' needs for sun, soil, water and other conditions. Make sure you're able to provide those conditions.

6. Look for short, stocky (not leggy) plants and check the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. It's best if no roots are coming out - that's a sign that the plant has been in the pot too long.

7. Choose plants, when possible, that don't have flowers on them. Although those blooms are pretty, they're a sign that that the plant has started putting too much energy into flowering when you want it to first put energy into root development at planting time.

Selecting Seeds

8. Browse the catalogs or display racks carefully. Beginners should choose annuals that are touted as being especially easy or that perform especially well.

9. Look for fast germination times. A plant that germinates in four or five days is easier to grow than a plant that germinates in 20.

Tips & Warnings

• Never buy a plant that is showing signs of disease or wilting. It's likely to go downhill once you take it home and may spread disease to other plants in your garden.