Home » Gardening Information » Great Plants

Annuals–Six Unusual and Versatile Flowers

Plants & Gardens News Volume 14, Number 2 | Summer 1999

by Meghan Ray

For too long, annuals have suffered from an image problem. All those garish bedding schemes in shopping malls and gas station plazas have given them a bad name. And for too long the choice of annuals available at the local garden center—marigolds, more marigolds, and some impatiens for those shady spots—hasn't exactly made many a gardener's blood boil. So although they can still be found in the occasional flowerpot and lined up in rows in suburban front yards, annuals have been eclipsed for years by perennials in the gardens of the cognoscenti.

Aibika (Abelmoschus manihot)

Until recently, that is. Finally, gardeners are rediscovering the many advantages of growing annuals—not least of which is the fact that they typically flower for a much longer period than perennials do. The realization is also growing that annuals are versatile plants; nowhere is it written in stone that they must be segregated into rigid displays. As a result, the variety of annuals for sale at local nurseries is beginning to expand. And although in the technical sense an annual is a plant that grows from seed, flowers, produces fruit, and then dies in a single year, some tender perennials from the tropics and warm temperate regions are now also being used as annuals, increasing the range of choices even more. Following are six outstanding examples of unusual annuals that can provide a wide range of size, texture, and color for your garden.

Anise sage
Salvia guaranitica

This tender perennial native to South Africa can live through mild winters here in Brooklyn. As a perennial, it grows to 5 feet, but when grown as an annual from cuttings it usually reaches 2 1/2 to 3 feet in one season. The flowers are a rich, dark indigo blue—one of the hardest colors to find for the garden. The foliage is fragrant when rubbed, giving the plant its common name. Anise sage thrives in sun and appreciates moist soil. It can be grown easily from cuttings or brought to a cool spot inside for the winter. You can hedge your bets by taking cuttings indoors to root while leaving the plant in the ground protected by a light mulch over the winter.

Tassel flower
Emilia javanica

Tassel flower is a slender plant that grows up to 24 inches high. The flowers, a beautiful, clear red, are borne on wiry stems. They are tassel-shaped—hence the common name—about one inch long, and ripen to fluffy white seed heads. Although the flowers are small, the bright red color is a real attention getter, and as I'm out tending the annual plantings here at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, people always stop to ask the plant's name. It loves heat and tolerates drought, making it ideal for areas with long, hot summers. Tassel flower self-sows readily and will reappear year after year.

How to Grow Annuals

Annuals usually are not fussy and will grow in any well-drained garden soil. They benefit from deep, regular watering. (As with any plant, it is best to water annuals deeply because shallow watering causes plants to develop shallow root systems that are very susceptible to drought.) Plants also gain from either a top dressing of time-release fertilizer such as Osmocote at planting or monthly fertilizing with a hose-on sprayer, twice a month for annuals in containers.

Annuals bloom best if flowers are deadheaded before they go to seed, but remember to leave some seedheads if you want plants to self-sow for the following year. Mulch to help prevent weeds and conserve water.

One of the biggest benefits of annuals is that they are so easy to grow. So, be sure to select a choice few for your garden, and with minimal maintenance you'll be able to sit back and enjoy a long season of bountiful blooms.

Aibika
Abelmoschus manihot (Hibiscus manihot)

A perennial native to Southeast Asia, this plant can be used as an annual in cooler climates. It grows up to 6 feet tall and bears beautiful, pale yellow flowers up to 6 inches across with a lovely dark center. Its height makes it a good choice for the back of the border, or anywhere, for that matter, where something really tall is needed. Aibika likes sun and moist soil, and since it needs heat to flourish, grows best once summer heats up.

Green Flowering Tobacco
Nicotiana langsdorfii

This Brazilian native has small, lime-green flowers and can grow up to 5 feet tall, although it typically reaches a height of about 3 feet. Its bell-shaped, pale green flowers resemble those of the more common flowering tobacco, but they are smaller, and borne in profusion above a clump of basal foliage. The pale green flowers are light and fresh-looking, and mix well with almost anything else in the garden. Green flowering tobacco grows well in sun or light shade in any garden soil and will self-seed.

Tweedia
Tweedia caerulea (Oxypetalum caeruleum)

This native of Central and South America is in the same family (Asclepiadaceae) as the North American native butterfly weed, and the distinctive seed pods of both plants are similar. A perennial in its native habitat, tweedia can be used as an annual here. Its best features are its gray felted leaves and beautiful pale, sky blue flower about one inch across. Tweedia has a vining habit and can get leggy late in the season, but if you plant it slightly back in the border andgive it room to sprawl it will last late into the season.

Blue-eyed daisy
Arctotis venusta

This outstanding annual native to South Africa has been discovered. The flower made its appearance in the White Flower Farm catalog last year for a hefty price, although the seed has been offered by Park's Seed for years—and is much more affordable. The plant has beautiful daisy flowers that are pure white with a steel blue center surrounded by a hint of yellow. The flowers are produced reliably all season above nice gray-green foliage. Blue-eyed daisy does have a tendency to get leggy late in the season if not trimmed back. It likes full sun and well-drained soil.

Where to Find Unusual Annuals

Park Seed Company
1 Parkton Avenue
Greenwood, SC 29647-0001
(800) 845-3369. $1 catalog.
www.parkseed.com
Thompson & Morgan
P.O. Box 1308
22 Farraday Avenue
Jackson, NJ 08527-0308
(800) 274-7333. Free catalog.
Select Seeds
180 Stickney Hill Road
Union, CT 06076-4617
(860) 684-9310. Free catalog.
Logee's Greenhouses
141 North Street
Danielson, CT 06239
(860) 774-8038. Free catalog. www.logees.com
White Flower Farm
P.O. Box 50
Route 63
Litchfield, CT 06759-0050
(800) 503-9624. Free catalog. www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Although Meghan Ray's first area of interest was classical languages, she has always loved growing plants—and once she discovered that you could be paid to garden, there was no turning back. Meghan attended the New York Botanical Garden School of Horticulture and worked for many plant design companies before coming to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden five years ago. Here, her green thumb and garden design skills are put to good use in the Fragrance, Shakespeare, and Hardy Fern gardens. She has written for P&G News (on Prunus mume, the Japanese flowering apricot) and Garden Design magazine. She loves discovering new plants and is always on the lookout for something unusual to grow.