DIY Gardening & Better Living

Growing a Perennial Garden

You see the words annual and perennial on plant tags and in garden books. What do these terms mean, and why should you care? Simply put, annual plants die in the winter season. You must replant them every year. Perennials come back every year. You only plant them once. Here’s a rundown of annual versus perennial.

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Perennials are less work than annuals. They grow back each year from roots that go dormant in the soil in the winter. Annuals only grow for one season. New plants come from seeds. So why would anyone plant annuals instead of perennials? Annuals produce more flowers and bloom for a longer period of time than perennials. Annuals bloom from spring till the first frost. Perennials generally bloom for a single season: summer, spring or fall. There are ever-blooming perennials that bloom longer, but annuals produce the most flowers for the longest amount of time. There is no such thing as an annual perennial. A plant either lives for one year or it lives for many years.

Perennials don’t have the same pressure to reproduce as annuals do. They will be around from year to year, so they put their energy into growing strong roots instead of growing lots of flowers. 

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THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES ARE RELATED TO ORGANIC PERENNIAL FRUITS & VEGETABLES