as they bloom, make seed, and die.
This is why, once your plants start producing flowers in spring, you have a choice to make. On the one hand, you can remove the flowers as they bloom by either harvesting them for cut flowers or dead-heading once they begin to fade. This way, you will keep your plant producing more and more flowers in an effort to get those seeds made. However, if you choose to leave the faded and dead flower heads in the garden, they will develop into seeds. At that point, the blooming will cease because the plant believes its job is done and it’s time to die.
Knowing what the hardy annual is programmed to do can help you get the most from your plants in a profusion of continuing blooms. Here on our farm, we cut the flowers weekly to have as fresh cut flowers. This routine harvest keeps most of the plants blooming long after their expected time. Your course of action will depend on the purpose of your garden. Is it a cutting garden, a container for display, a landscape to enjoy, or a bed to attract birds and pollinators?
Delphinium are a perennial in the north, but gardeners in the lower half of the country can grow them as hardy annuals with great success.
In this book you will also learn about some plants known as perennials and biennials that can function better in some gardens as hardy annuals. Doing so brings satisfaction and success where it may not have been possible before. Growing conditions make some perennials almost impossible to maintain year-round. But they may be perfect additions to the garden when treated as a hardy annual. A great example of this is the delphinium. In the northern regions, delphiniums grow into amazing plants that return year after year. In other parts of the country, we can grow fabulous delphiniums by treating them as a hardy annual. The heat and humidity of our late summers weaken the delphinium so that they fall victim to disease and pests. It is liberating to the gardener to know when to plant these flowers so they can perform at their best. The gardener can work with nature to plant in the fall, look forward to a strong performance in spring and summer and then, when late summer arrives, accept their ultimate demise. New seedlings can be planted in fall for the next season.
‘Virgo” feverfew is my favorite because of its tight cluster of button blooms.
Another time that we treat a perennial as a hardy annual is when it is not a particularly strong or long-lived plant. Such plants are often called a half-hardy perennial. Feverfew follows this habit, a great garden plant that flowers from seed the first year. In subsequent years, it either disappears or loses its attractiveness in the garden. To prevent suffering an untimely loss or experiencing a hole in the garden, we grow feverfew as a hardy annual, replanting yearly in the fall for a profusion of button blooms every spring.
A biennial such as foxglove can also be grown as a hardy annual. This allows you to eliminate much of the growing time normally spent in tending and caring for a plant that will not bloom until the following year. Biennials are not as widely grown because of this long time-lapse to get results. Traditional seeds are sown in late spring. The plant must be tended all summer and into fall to have it go through winter and produce blooms the following spring.
But growing foxglove as a hardy annual is different. You start plants from seed in late summer, allowing the immature plant to winter-over, and then watch the plant bloom the following spring. This way, you have eliminated months of plant care during the heat and possible droughts of summer.
Many hardy annuals prefer to have their seeds cast directly in the garden. The fall and early spring seasons often tend to our seeds better than we do. This is the best time to get acquainted with planting seeds in the garden, because it is the most forgiving time. There is a little rain and snow just when it is needed, along with cooler night temperatures and some warm days. All of this makes perfect growing conditions for our seeds. Add to this the benefit of the winter rains and snows, and they will thrive with little attention from the gardener until it’s time to bloom. Some will cast their own seeds in the garden to return year after year. Once your plants begin to cast their own seeds, you can take your cues from Mother Nature when to plant. Some of the greatest lessons learned have come from mimicking what nature does, and when.
Bells of Ireland baby plants that wintered over. I planted their seeds directly in the garden the previous fall.
The seeds of many hardy annuals can also be easily started indoors. It is sometimes more practical to do this and then move the transplants into the garden. Because mulching can be done right away when planting, it reduces the need for weed prevention chores and can widen the window of times to plant. A nice bonus to starting indoors is the comfort of the gardener on hot summer or cold winter days. In the dog days of late summer, I thoroughly enjoy heading indoors to start seeds for fall planting.
On a visit to my friend Dave Dowling’s flower farm, Suzanne and I discovered these gorgeous delphiniums ‘Pacific Giants’.
In my experience, one of the greatest struggles of late winter is to resist starting tender annuals such as zinnias and sunflowers too soon. These warm season plants become overgrown and unhappy waiting for the soil to warm for the proper planting time. Starting hardy annual seeds to be planted into cool soil fills that urge perfectly, and helps the gardener wait until the proper time to start tender annuals.
Growing hardy annuals is especially appealing because you prepare and plant them at a time when little else is going on in the garden. Preparing the garden becomes a pleasure as you tackle the task during the fall when cool nights and shorter days have arrived. If you are planting both in the fall and in early spring, the soil should be prepared in fall. Winter rains and snow make it difficult to find a dry spell to dig in the garden for early spring planting.
With your hardy annual garden you’re going to notice the vast number of early season “good bugs” buzzing around. This would include native bees and many other pollinators. Because there are so few sources of nectar and pollen this early in the season, hardy annuals really provide for these guys when they need it most. This also gives my garden an early start on building the community of beneficial insects that are essential to our organic gardening success. While many gardeners are aware of the benefits of the most popular beneficial insect, the ladybugs, there is a whole army of others that help our gardens as well. Many of these beneficial insects are searching for food and a place to live and raise babies in spring. A garden planted in fall, winter and/or early spring is a perfect fit for them.
