Annuals

 Annuals: Annual plants that perform their entire life cycle

from seed to flower to seed within a single growing
season. All roots, stems and leaves of the plant die
annually.
 In other words, you plant a seed (or a seedling plant), it
grows foliage, then flowers, seeds and then the plant dies,
all in the same year
 In temperate countries, annuals are put into the following
groups for the purpose of cultivation.
 Hardy annuals: They need no artificial aid for their
growth and flower freely in the open

 Half-Hardy annual: They need sowing under protected

condition but are later planted out in
beds

 Tender annuals: They are cultivated under protected

condition from the vagaries of adverse weather
conditions.
 Early annuals: Ageratum, Amaranthes, Celosia,
Gumphrena, Balsam, Salvia, Zinnia etc.

 Late blooming annuals: Hollyhock, Antirrhinum,

Centuria, Chrysanthemum carinatum, Sweet willium,
Stock etc.
 Different annuals are suited to different situations. The
selection of these flowers can be made according to following
purpose
 1. Bedding purpose: Marigold, Phlox, Pansy, verbena, Zinnia,
Balsam, Portulaca, Gomphrena etc.
 2. Fragrant flowers: Mignonette, Sweet pea, Sweet
sultan, Sweet alyssum, Stock etc.
 3. Cut flowers: Aster, Sweet Pea, Sweet William,
Lupin, Antirrhinum, Helichrysum, Larkspur etc.
 4. Loose flower: Marigold, Annual Chrysanthemum,
Aster, Sunflower, Zinnia, Gaillardia
 5. Hanging basket: Daisy, Nasturtium, Verbena,
Phlox, Sweet allysum, Portulaca
 6.Shady situation: Saliva and. Cineraria.

 7. Rock garden: Ice plant, Nasturtium, Verbena, Phlox,

Gamolepis,
 8. Screening purpose. : Holly hock and Sweet pea.

 9. Peculiar shape: Clianthus.

 10. Pots :Antirrhinum, Aster, Petunia, etc.

 11. Dry flowers: Statice, Helichrysum, Acroclinum,
Nigella, Lady's
 Biennials
 Plants which require two seasons to complete their life
cycle. First season growth results in a small rosette of
leaves near the soil surface. During the second season's
growth stem elongation, flowering and seed formation
occur followed by the entire plant's death.
 Herbaceous perennials:
 There are some plants with soft stems, propagated by
seeds and offsets, suckers, division or cuttings.
 They are easy to grow and bloom considerable period of
the year.
 Under normal growing conditions, herbaceous perennials
live many years.
 The herbaceous perennials have been classified below into
two groups, according to their climatic requirement
 1. Herbaceous Perennials for plains
 Eg. Angelonia, Daisy, Coreopsis, Gaillardia, Gerbera,
Impariens, Mirablis, Pelagonium, Phlox, Golden rod,
Periwinkle.
 2. Herbaceous Perennials for the hills
 Eg.: Bellis perennis, Campanula, Chrysanthemum
maximum, Dianthes, Gazenia, Lupins, Primula, Torenia
Based on the season, annuals are divides in to three groups

 1. Summer season annuals: Summer annuals starts

from January and ends in June depending upon climatic
zones of the country.
 Eg. Coreopsis, Cosmos, Gaillardia, Portulaca, sunflower,
Tithonia, zinnia,
 2.Rainy season annuals: they are sown with the break
of the monsoon or little earlier in June-July.
 Eg. Coreopsis, Cosmos, Gaillardia, Portulaca, Sunflower,
Tithonia, Zinnia, Cockscomb, Gomphrena and Marigold
 3.Winter annuals: The winter annuals are sown during
September-October in the northern plains but some late
flowering plants such as carnation, cineraria and
hollyhock and some which are damaged by frost such as
salvia should be sown earlier in August- September.
 Eg. Antirrhinum, China aster, Ageratum, Brachycome,
Carnation, Calendula, Campanula, Cineraria,
Dimorphotheca, Dianthus, Larkspur, Lupin, Nasturtium,
Pansy, Petunia, Phlox, Salvia, Stock, Sweet pea, Verbena
and Viola
 Cultivation
 Soil: The annuals thrive best in deep, well drained, and
well cultivated soils which is free from acidic condition.
 The beds should be prepared thoroughly to a depth of 30
cm and it should be repeated 2-3 times and the soil is
pulverized thoroughly to obtain the best results
 Sowing: Raise the seedling in nursery and then transplant
in beds or pots.
 Annuals which have bold seeds like nasturtium,
sunflower, morning glory etc. sown directly at places
where there are to be grown later thinned out to proper
spacing.
 Seeds either sown in seed pans or pots, seed trays, raised
nursery beds or seed frames.
 Pricking: This is transplanting the young seedlings to
another pan or tray to encourage healthy growth of
seedlings.

 Transplanting: the time of transplanting the

seedlings is generally one month after sowing, when
they have developed four leaves.
 Staking: the plants with week, slender, or straggling
stems will need stalking when they are 15-20 cm tall.
Creeping type will also need support. Stakes prepared
with split bamboo and any kind of wood and painted
with green colour since it conceal them among green
plants.
 Pinching: Removal of terminal portion of plants to
encourage lateral shoots. It is done 30 to 40 days after
transplanting in the main field or pot.

 Disbudding: Removal of auxiliary flower buds to

encourage the growth of terminal bud or removal of
terminal bud to encourage growth the auxiliary buds or
the number of buds per stem is reduced by removing the
auxiliary buds, if large flowers are desired.
Seed Collection and Storage
 Seed collection should be done at proper maturity stage before
splitting of seed pods.
 Seeds are generally thrashed by hand, winnowed, cleaned and
screened.
 Dry and inert material, small, deformed and broken seeds
should be removed from bulk.
 Seeds should be treated with insecticide to prevent the pest
infestation during storage.
 Seeds packed in muslin bags with silica gel are stored best in
air tight tins and glass jars, Cardboard boxes can also be used.
 Herbaceous borders
 The planting of annuals in the border of a plot is called
‘herbaceous border’. Due to wide range of flower
available in winter it becomes a site of attraction in the
garden. The concept of herbaceous border has been
introduced in Indian gardens by Britishers and now it has
become a common feature. The herbaceous border can be
of two types
 i. Single face
 ii. Double face
 Single face
 Single face herbaceous border is made when border is
situated on one side of plot and having some background
like wall or shrubbery border. Annuals are arranged in the
border according to their height i.e. tall plants in back;
medium in center and dwarf in front line.
 Double face
 Double face border is more ideal when border is to be made in
between a big plot.
 In such border, there is no background and tall annuals are
planted in the center; medium and dwarf on both sides in
descending order so that beauty can be watched from both
sides.
 The selection of site for herbaceous border is very important
and desired picturesque effect may not be obtained if site is not
selected properly.
 Size of the Border: The size of border depends upon
the availability of space. The border can be of any
length but width should be about 1-1.5 m or more
depending upon the area of fore ground available.
Therefore, the width can be adjusted accordingly.
Brachycome iberidifolia
Calendula
Freesia
Calendula