This week I attended a virtual garden seminar about growing annual plants.  With so many of my Readers now planting their gardens and flowers, I decided to do a blog on this topic.

One tip I learned was to make your front door a focal point with your plantings.  Try to draw your eye up to the front door by spacing your annual bedding flowers and plants up to the door.  Always plant something special near your front door or have container crocks holding a plant or two.

When planting your garden, there is a huge variety of annual flowers you can select from.

Annual Flower Choices

Colorful impatiens look nice in garden beds and, also, grow well in containers.  There are now impatiens which are marked with EDR.  That stands for extra disease resistant.  At the store you will pay a little more, but research has gone into the making of the plant.

Lantanas are another excellent choice.  They are robust growers, able to stand summer heat, and offer lots of blooms.

My own person favorite is the every-day geranium.  I currently have two white geraniums on the steps near my French doors.

In the fall, if you shake off the dirt from the geranium roots and hang them upside down in the garage, many times they will survive the winter.  It keeps them alive and in a dormmate state.

I’ve done this with my geraniums before but wintered them in the basement.  It must be too warm down there as they never survive the winter months.

White Geranium in Pot White Geraniums in Pots

Begonias will also overwinter.  They do better if you keep them on a window sill in a warmer area.

I remember one year I had a lovely double petal begonia.  I put the flower in a cold bathroom over winter with no care.  I was surprised to see in the spring, the plant had survived and was blooming.

Tips for Potted Annuals Care

In the summer, water annuals in containers frequently as they dry out quickly.  The smaller the pot, the more you will need to water it.

Watering wands really don’t work well for crock or container plants.

Instead use a watering can.  A watering can will also not flatten your flowers.  The water needs to soak into the roots.  On hot days, you might water a couple times a day.

Fertilize frequently with a fertilizer made for container gardens.

Water Storing Polymer Granules

When planting your container plants your can add water storing polymers to the potting soil.

Polymers granules store and release water into the soil keeping it moist.  Polymers reduce the need for watering potted plants.

However, do not place polymer granules too near to the surface of the plant as they can soak up so much water they will fall out of the crocks.  If this happens, it is easy to slip and fall on them.

I hope I have given you some information and a few helpful hints for planting your annual plants this year.  As Always, Happy Gardening from FMB.