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at the root system. The roots should appear white, not dark and mushy. The roots should fill the container, but not be matted thickly with little soil visible.

Plant correctly

Keep the annuals in the shade and well watered until you are ready to transplant them. Give them a good watering right before you begin planting. Plant them at the same depth that they were growing in the containers. Mix a little slow release fertilizer formulated for flowers in each hole as you plant. Slow release fertilizers will not burn plant roots.

As you slide the plant out of its container take a look at the root system. If you did get transplants that are severely root bound, take your fingers and pinch off all the excess roots wrapped around the bottom of the root ball. Gently fan out the root system of all annual plants horizontally in the hole; it helps them obtain water and nutrients. After planting water well, and keep well watered until the plant gets established.

Feed, water and deadhead

Annual flowers are intent on one thing- reproducing before winter kills them. Once they set seed, the seeds send hormonal signals to the plant that tell it its job is done and it can quit blooming. So it is important to keep seed heads from forming on annual plants, at least until late summer. Simply pinch off the fading flowers with your fingers or trim off with shears. It's vital to remove the ovary - or seed pod- and not just the faded petals.

Be careful you don't remove buds, which look a lot like beginning seed pods in some plants. Removing dead flowers also keeps the garden looking better. Some varieties of plants have been developed that tend to shed their own flowers or that keep blooming despite setting seeds.

Because annual plants are working at a rapid pace to complete their life cycle, they need more feeding than perennial plants. A regular feeding program with a fertilizer formulated for flowering plants will keep them blooming at their best. Keep right on fertilizing until frost kills them or you pull them out. Consult the package directions of the fertilizer you are using for the correct amount and times to feed. Also keep your annual plants well watered. Their root systems tend to be less extensive than perennials and they suffer more from dry conditions.

Learn more about this author, Kimberley A. Willis.
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