Georgia Gardener Newsletter Design Tip

Georgia Gardener Newsletter Design Tip: June 11, 2009

Easy To Grow Summer Annuals


Persian Shield	Penta

Annuals, for lack of a better term, are the Kamikazes of the garden. Since they have no long term future, they exhaust all of their energy by producing beautiful flowers and/or foliage for an entire season before dying. Whether planted in small "pockets" for a splash of color amongst permanent plantings or massed across large areas, they provide season-long beauty that can be quite eye-catching.

In Georgia because we have relatively mild winters, we have two annual seasons: warm (or summer) which goes from spring to fall and cool (or winter) which goes from fall to spring. Summer annuals are usually planted in mid April and are then replaced by winter annuals in mid to late September. This issue will focus on the summer annuals for a variety of sun and soil conditions. There are so many easy annuals that it would be hard to cover them all and new ones are introduced each year. Those that are listed below are plants that I've grown and have found them to be beautiful and easy.

Remember, to have the best chance of success with your annuals:

Site the plant correctly in terms of sun and shade
Site the plant correctly in terms of soil moisture
Install the plant correctly in properly prepared soil
Get the plant established by watering for the first few weeks
Amend your soil every time you switch seasonal annuals and mulch afterwards
Many annuals are heavy feeders and may need frequent fertilization

Full Sun with Average to Dry Soil

Lantana (Lantana camara): May be invasive in frost-free areas
Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red'): 2002 Georgia Gold Medal Winner
Cleome (Cleome sp.): in a variety of colors
Globe Amaranthus (Gomphrena globosa): in a variety of colors
Poppies (Papaver spp.): in a variety of colors
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)
Larkspur (Delphinium spp.)
Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomeratus)
Cosmos (Cosmos spp.): in a variety of colors
Pentas (Pentas lanceolata)
Portulaca (Portulaca grandiflora)
Sunflower (Helianthus spp.)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Dianthus or Pinks (Dianthus chinensis)
Annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus)
Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea x batatas)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia)

Full Sun with Moist, Well-drained Soil

Part Shade/Shade with Average to Dry Soil

Part Shade/Shade with Moist, Well-drained Soil

Additional Information

Dr. Allan Armitage, UGA Professor of Horticulture, is one of the world's authorities on herbaceous plants. He has several books, including one on annuals:

Armitage's Garden Annuals A Color Encyclopedia

You can also visit the web site of UGA's Trial Garden to see the latest trials (with pictures) being conducted by Dr. Armitage for both annuals and perennials. The trial garden is free and open to the public year round and hosts several open houses through the season.