Youve probably heard plants described as annuals and perennials in gardening.
Specifically, youll understandblooming timesand whether the plant will survive through winter.
When deciding between annual vs. perennial plants, both offer pros and cons youll want to keep in mind.
Credit: Matthew Benson
(There are also biennial plants in the mix.)
What is an annual?
All plants have a life cycle from when a seed sprouts to when the plant dies.
Credit:Kindra Clineff
you’ve got the option to save seeds for replanting.
The baby plants may not look exactly like the parent plant, but thats part of the fun.
Annuals vs. perennials are relatively inexpensive.
They give you a lot of flower power for your money, andmany bloom almost constantly until winter.
Most are low-maintenance, self-cleaning plants, which means they drop their flowers naturally when the blooms finish.
Other annuals need to be deadheaded to encourage the flowers to keep coming.
When annuals die, you only need to pull them up andcompostthem.
What is a perennial plant?
Perennialslive for more than one growing season.
Unlike annuals, perennial plants go dormant in the winter and return the following year.
Some perennial plants, likepeonies, can be long-lived, returning for decades.
However, you usually wont have flowers throughout the entire growing season.
Perennials dont rebloom as often as annuals, either.
Perennial roots can survive the winter where theyre hardy.
But in cold winter areas, the tubers should be lifted and stored where the temperature stays above freezing.
What is a biennial?
Biennials finish their life cycle in just two years.
They produce foliage the first year, waiting to bloom until the second year.
After that, the original plant dies.
Biennials include foxgloves,hollyhocks,pansies,sweet William Dianthus, andforget-me-not.
Like annuals, some biennials self-sow, so it can seem like they keep returning year after year.
They grow quickly from seeds or transplants to fill upcontainers or bedswith color.
However, youll need to replace them every year.
Perennials usually cost more up-front than annuals.
But perennials reliably return each year, making up for their initial cost in the long run.
If yourperennialsfinish blooming, or even before they start, tuck annuals around them to fill in any gaps.
Just be sure to combine plants with the samelightand water needs.
Shade-loving annualimpatiens, for example, wont last long beside perennial sun-lovers likeconeflowers.
