What you need to know about annual flowers

Get to know the different categories of annuals so you can give your flowers the ideal treatment. Know what kind you have, then keep these planting tips in mind.

Dianthus, larkspur, pansy, sweet alyssum and  sweet pea.

• Sow directly in the ground whenever the soil can be worked or set out seedlings in early spring or in fall in mild climates and early spring in cooler regions.
• These annuals tolerate cold weather and hard freezes.

Bachelor button, calendula, cosmos, lobelia, nasturtium, petunia, phlox, annual poppy, snapdragon and verbena.

• Sow indoors and plant outside at about the time of your last spring frost.
• These annuals prefer cool growing conditions and can tolerate light frosts.

Ageratum, begonia, celosia, cleome, coleus, geranium, impatiens, marigold, morning glory, salvia, sunflower, vinca, zinnia.

• Sow or transplant two weeks or more after the last spring frost, when the soil is warm.
• These annuals will blacken if touched by frost.

As cruel as it sounds, the best thing you can do for blooming bedding flowers is to snip off every bloom as you set the plants in beds or containers.

• This thoughtful pinching reminds the plants that they should get back to the business of growing roots and stems, which will result in many more blossoms over a much longer time.

• Set out a few bedding plants of an annual you like and, at the same time, sow some seeds nearby.

The bedders will bloom first, and the seed-sown flowers will fill in later and provide a season-long parade of colour.

• Tiny seeds take time to grow, which is the best reason to buy ageratum, begonias, impatiens, pansies and many other popular annuals as bedding plants.
• Annuals with larger seeds, including nasturtiums and sunflowers, are fast, easy and inexpensive to grow from seeds.

If you crave a certain colour, you will have more colours to choose from if you start with seeds.

• If you go with bedding plants, shop early if you want a special shade or your planting plan calls for a large number of one colour of a certain flower.