Caring for Annuals

One fun flower to grow every year is the annual. An annual is not actually one flower, but it is a type of flower that completes its whole life cycle in one growing season. The nice thing about annuals is that you get to start fresh every year, and you do not have to worry about them after the growing season is over, since they will have already gone through their whole life cycle.

When you prepare to grow annuals, the first thing that you need to do is prepare the soil. If you use the same area to grow annuals every year, probably the only thing that you will have to do is remove any weed growth that may have occurred during the off season. If you are going to plant in a new area, make sure that the ground is free of rocks and other plant growth. Annuals are fine in most soil unless you live in a place that is highly acidic. If you do, try researching ways to lower the acidity level, or plant something that loves acid.

When you plant the annual, make sure that you do it in a time when the weather has stabilized, and there is little possibility of frost. Annuals do not do too well in the cold, so it is better to plant late than too soon. When you plant the annual, moisten both the ground and the annual just a little bit. After you have all the annuals planted, consider covering the area with mulch, as this both looks nice and helps protect the annuals.

Finally, as with most other outdoor plants, be careful not to over water your annuals. Make sure to water them when you first plant them, but if you water them too frequently, they will never develop the root system they need to survive.

Annuals are fairly easy plants to care for, so if you get them off to the right start by planting them at the right time in the right way, you should have few problems having a great looking garden during the growing season.