Annual flowers live only one growing season, during which they grow, flower, and produce seed, thereby completing their life cycle. Some varieties will self-sow, or naturally reseed themselves. Examples are alyssum, petunia, and impatiens. Annuals have many positive features. They are versatile, sturdy, and relatively inexpensive. Annuals are easy to grow, produce instant color and bloom for most of the growing season. There are a few disadvantages to annuals. They must be set out as plants or sown from seed every year, which involves some effort and expense. Old flower heads should be removed on a weekly basis to ensure continuous bloom. If they are not removed, the plants will produce seed, complete their life cycle, and die. Many annuals begin to look disreputable by late summer and need to be cut back for regrowth or replaced.
Deadheading (removing old flowers).
To maintain vigorous growth of plants and assure neatness, remove spent flowers and seedpods. This step is particularly desirable if you are growing ageratum, calendula, cosmos, marigold, pansy, scabiosa, petunias or zinnia.
Fertilizing
When preparing beds for annuals, fertilizer should be added according to recommendations given by soil sample analysis, or derived from observation of plants that have grown on the site. Fertilizer should be added in the spring so it will not leach out before plants can benefit from it. Once annuals have germinated and begin to grow, additional fertilizers may be needed. This is especially true if organic mulches are added, because microorganisms decomposing the mulch take up available nitrogen. Thus a fertilizer high in nitrogen should be used in these situations. A teaspoon of OSMOCOTE per plant every 2 to 3 weeks is sufficient. Be sure to work the fertilizer in around the plants in such a way as to avoid direct contact between the stems and the fertilizer. Apply fertilizers to damp soil.
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