Unit 059; Annuals (Units 059-060)

 1. Perennials vs. Annuals

Annuals usually require higher maintenance than perennials; with water, fertilizer, etc.

With annuals, you can more easily change your color scheme, even during the same

          season.

Specific annuals have been bred for a very wide range of available flower colors.

Annuals can provide continuous flowering from mid May or Memorial Day to Fall frosts.

Perennials live for a number of years, making the cost per plant lower than for annuals.

Perennials require less maintenance than annuals.

Many perennials can be divided and replanted to further reduce the cost per plant.

Perennials can provide a range of plant sizes, while many annuals are being bred for

          compact small sizes.

Perennials can provide fragrant flowers; few annuals have fragrance.

Some Perennials can provide very early Spring color, or late fall color and flowers,

          because of their cold temperature tolerance.

2. Annuals

Annuals is loosely used to refer to plants that live for one season, or to perennials

that will not survive the winter Michigan.

This definition means any herbaceous plant in the world can be grown if it has showy

leaves or flowers in one Michigan season.

The sheer number or plants available makes it difficult to be able to identify all

annuals, and every year in the annual trials at MSU there are new plants that I have

not seen before.

3. Impatiens

Impatiens flowers usually have a single spur at the base of the flower.

Impatiens balsamina and some of the native Impatiens are attractive to hummingbirds.

Impatiens balsamina bears the spurred flowers along the stems and is not as showy.