by Snow Vandemore

Created on: July 26, 2009   Last Updated: July 27, 2009

Annuals vs. Perennials: What's the Difference?

The most well-known and perhaps significant difference between annuals and perennials: annuals complete their life cycle in one year and perennials can live for three or more years.

That being said, there are some additional important facts about annuals and perennials that you need to know before choosing which plants are best suited for your particular garden plan or design.

Annuals

1. Instant "Pop". There's really no argument - when it comes to instant gratification, annuals are the way to go. They are relatively inexpensive, readily available at most nursery and home improvement stores, and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. There's no waiting involved - simply pop them out of their containers and plant them in your pots, borders or garden beds.

2. Superior container plants. Because annuals have compact root systems, they adapt exceptionally well to small, tight spaces. Most of us have a collection of varying sizes of flower pots we like to utilize each spring. There's really no need to do a pot inventory before you shop for annual plants. The larger the pot - the more annuals you can fit into it. Experiment with as many different color, texture and height combinations you can imagine.

3. Lengthy bloom time. It's true that annuals live only one year - but they certainly make the most of it. Blooms will start shortly after planting and continue throughout summer and into fall. And here's a tip - by pinching off (dead-heading) spent blooms, you can increase the number of flowers on each plant dramatically.

4. Prolific re-seeders. Although they die off when temperatures turn cold, many annuals will come back the following spring from seed that has fallen on the surrounding area. Morning glory, marigold and balsam are notorious re-seeders that can and will come back the following year in great abundance. You can also collect the dried seed from many annuals and re-start them in peat pots in the spring. Or, many people choose to over-winter their favorite annuals, such as geraniums, in a dark, cool location of their home so that they can enjoy the same plant come warm weather.

5. Frequent feeding required. Annuals require regular feeding with a light mixture of plant food every two weeks or so, as they are not typically able to extract much in the way of nutrients from surrounding soil. This is especially important for annuals confined to containers during the growing

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