Monday, December 29, 2008

Caring for Biennials, Perennials And Annuals

By Thomas Fryd

Biennials are very lovely plants and have some beautiful flowers. They are a bit of trouble for a gardener, since the continue growing during their first year and do not bloom fully until the second year. The great advantage of biennials is that their seeding stage makes new plants which will bloom again in two years time. This makes it unneeded to add additional seeds.

Biennials are best when planted during the early summer and then transplanted into rich soil when they are larger. It is also a good to transfer pots at this time, especially in areas where they cannot be left outside during the winter time. In some instances, they can be transferred to a coldframe and then put into a flower bed the following spring.

You need to use careful soil preparation when planting biennials and annuals. Once you are done planting, if you desire continued plant growth, it is best not to over work the plants with too much weeding or cultivation. If you plant a fastidious biennial patch, then you will need to replace the plants yearly.

Perennials are the staple of the most basic flower gardens. Every year they will die and come back for the next season. They are hearty and last for a long time.

Historically, perennials are some of the oldest plants around. Perennials have been planted for many centuries and as a result of breeding and crossbreeding, they bear no resemblance to the wide varieties. In some types of perennials, the blossoms have become specialized so much throughout the centuries, that they do not produce seeds. Other types of perennials are being developed by novice botanists and gardening enthusiasts. Through cultivation and crossbreeding, perennials are not as hardy as other kinds of flowers. Certain perennials die after flowering and this will leave open spaces in your garden, many people consider this as a drawback.

You can solve the problem of short flowering time spans and the rather unsightly spaces they leave behind. One of the popular garden designs is to intersperse perennials with potted plants and a mixture of annuals and other bulbs and flowering plants. Those that will bloom opposite the time period that your perennials do.

There are some perennials that are easily transplanted, for example, chrysanthemums. You can move them from one place to another and they have no noticeable ill after effects. This is another great way to keep your garden colorful and blooming all year round. - 15266

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