10 most reliable annuals for your garden Description and photo

The popularity of annuals is due to the fact that they make your garden bright and blooming in the first season. This article will consider annuals, 10 varieties of flowers, the most reliable annual flowers from the standpoint of ease of care and duration of flowering.

What annual flowers should you pay attention to?

annuals

When choosing plants, do not be fooled by the beautiful images on the seed package. Annuals should be chosen based on the following criteria:

· Easy care;

• unpretentiousness;

· Small watering;

· Long-term profuse flowering.

All these characteristics can be attributed to those colors that we often see in summer cottages, city flower beds: marigolds, petunias, cosme. Plants attract people not only with their bright colors, but also because they practically do not require maintenance.

Below we will consider in detail the simplest and most unpretentious annual flowers in growing, thanks to which you can easily create a garden that will delight you with its colors for a very long time.

The most reliable annual flowers. Photo and description

1. Calendula

annuals

Calendula officinalis has long settled in most summer cottages.

There are many interesting new varieties of this plant, which differ in shade and shape of flowers, as well as vary in height.

The color of the inflorescences can be from light yellow, green and pink to burgundy and brown. Depending on the variety, there are chamomile, tiled and anemic flowers. Thus, everyone will find a variety of calendula to their liking.

Usually, calendula is planted in flower beds and mixborders. Varieties that do not differ in height are perfect for boxes on balconies and curb plantings.

Calendula needs a lot of light, it is undemanding to watering and soil. However, light loams are best suited. Sowing is carried out either in open ground in April or in October-November.

2. Kosmeya

The main characteristic of cosme is unpretentiousness. So, any soil suits her, she easily survives small frosts and droughts. Prefers the sun, in the shade the number of flowers will not be so great.

If you overdo it with fertilizers, the cosmos bushes will be voluminous, but the flowers will bloom weakly.

Kosmeya grows up to one and a half meters in height, so it looks best behind flower beds or along a fence. There are varieties of cosme and smaller ones - up to half a meter. These plants will look good in the foreground too.

Reproduction of cosmos occurs by self-seeding, which is why it often grows too much and there is a need for transplantation. Low-growing and terry varieties, on the contrary, are best planted with seedlings.

3. Petunia

Leaving the house in the summer, it is impossible not to meet a single petunia. Almost every flowerbed is decorated with them, and pots hang on the posts.

Taking care of an unpretentious petunia is not difficult at all. She is not afraid of direct sun, drought, or a drop in temperature for a short time.

This ease of maintenance makes petunia a great flower for decorating everything from window sills and balconies to huge flower beds.

In order for petunia to start delighting with its bright flowers as early as possible, you can plant it with seedlings. Non-double varieties are propagated by self-seeding.

Petunia bloom lasts all summer until autumn without interruption.

The composition of the soil is not so important for petunias, however, on fertilized it will grow much better.

In order for petunias to delight the eye for a long time, at the end of summer it is worth trimming the ends of the shoots, creating a beautiful spherical shape.

4. Marigolds

In their prevalence, marigolds are in no way inferior to petunias. They can feel good under any conditions. Marigolds can also be transplanted at any time and at any age.

Different varieties of marigolds differ in shape and height. The most popular varieties include the following:

1. French (rejected). They grow from 15 to 50 cm, have double and non-double flowers.

2. African (erect). They reach the highest height - up to 120 cm. The flowers of this variety are large and double, many different shades. The stem is distinguished by its strength and a small number of branches.

3. Mexican (thin-leaved). The height of Mexican marigolds is average - from 20 to 60 cm. A distinctive feature is small non-double flowers of various bright colors, as well as bushes in the shape of a ball. The stem is thin, but branched, with strongly separated leaves.

5. Nasturtium

Nasturtium is a plant with large colorful flowers and rounded leaves.

You need to be wise when choosing a place for planting nasturtium. The more sunny the area, the more flowers.

The soil for nasturtium needs medium - not too nutritious and not too poor. Excessively nutritious soil affects the number of flowers, there will be few of them. The lack of fertilizers will lead to a decrease in the plant, the loss of its decorative effect.

Sowing of nasturtium is carried out in open ground. For planting in pots, ampelous varieties of nasturtium with loops up to 2.5 m are most suitable.

In the vicinity of delphiniums, bells and ageratum, nasturtium creates the most beautiful combinations.

6. Iberis

There are about four dozen different varieties of this plant, there are both annuals and perennials.

It is believed that Iberis comes from European and Asian mountainous areas: the mountains of the Crimea, the Caucasus. Therefore, Iberis will feel good if planted in dry, rocky terrain. The plant often acts as a plant for alpine slides.

Usually there are two types of this plant - umbrella and bitter. Iberis usually does not grow more than 30-35 cm in height. The colors of the inflorescences are different: white, lilac, pink, carmine.

The advantage of annual varieties is that they bloom longer and longer than perennial varieties.

7. Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia varieties are varied. There are many of them, including perennial ones. Rudbeckia looks like large daisies, only yellow and orange.

Looks good with other plants in flower borders.

The composition of the soil is not important for rudbeckia, they also tolerate diseases well.

Rudbeckia requires periodic watering and abundant sunlight; it can be fed with mineral fertilizers and manure.

They are planted both by seeds and through seedlings. By mid-July, the rudbeckia is already full of joy with the first buds. Flowering lasts until the very frost.

8. Gaillardia

Outwardly, Gaillardia flowers strongly resemble rudbeckia. The middle of the flower is tight, and the edges of the petals are light. The color of the center is different: from red and deep pink to dark orange and brown. The tips are usually golden or yellow with serrated edges.

Most varieties are perennial, but there are also annuals. For example, Gaillardia is beautiful.

Annual varieties are planted with seedlings, sowing seeds in a container occurs in early March. Flowers are planted in open ground after the onset of heat.

Gaillardia should be watered only when there is no rainy weather for a long time. Gaillardia blooms for a long time and will delight with abundant flowers until the very beginning of autumn.

Flowers will look beautiful in the foreground of flower beds, and they are also suitable for flower borders and alpine slides. More about the flower here.

9. Zinnia

Zinnia owes its popularity to its variety of shapes and colors. Zinnia looks good both on its own and in groups. Varieties of low height look great in the foreground of the flower bed.

Zinnia feels great under the scorching sun without watering.Prefers drained nutrient soil or loam. The plant should be fed several times over the summer with mineral or organic fertilizers.

Seeds are usually sown in the ground, but seedlings are also allowed. Bright zinnia flowers hold out in the garden all summer until the first frost.

10. Gazania

Like rudbeckia, gazania looks like a large, brightly colored chamomile.

The popularity of gazania among gardeners is associated, again, with unpretentiousness. Not afraid of cold snaps, but, on the contrary, after the onset of autumn, blooms even more flowers.

This plant does not require watering and feeding. It is worth watering only if there is no rain for a long time. The main condition for caring for gazania is lighting. Flowers open only during the day during the abundant light. Thus, it is better to plant gazania in a lighted area with loose soil.

Low-growing varieties can be planted in the foreground and used to create flower borders, alpine slides.

In general, gazania is a perennial plant, but in our natural conditions it is planted as an annual. You can save the bushes until next season and plant them back in the garden.

Gazania grows very well from seedlings. Seeds can also be planted directly into the ground, it is advisable to do this as early as possible so that the gazania remains blooming even longer.

Conclusion

There are many types of annual flowers that even a novice can handle. They do not require special care and conditions, and they look no less impressive than complex exotic plants.

Efforts for care are minimal, and the joy of fragrant flowers will last until autumn. So it is definitely worth trying to grow annual flowers.