Summer Care for Annuals

Most annuals need minimal attention and by nature most are short lived. Still, by mid-summer some may need a bit of attention to make it into fall.


Item # 99330 		Zinnia grandiflora
Prairie Zinnia

each $5.49
3 to 6 plants $5.29
7 or more $4.99
Alyssum montanum 'Mountain Gold'
Item # 16328 		Alyssum montanum 'Mountain Gold'
Creeping Basket-of-Gold

each $5.49
3 to 6 plants $5.29
7 or more $4.99
Viola corsica
Item # 97450 		Viola corsica
Corsican Pansy

each $5.49
3 to 6 plants $5.29
7 or more $4.99
Aloinopsis spathulata
Item # 14510 		Aloinopsis spathulata
Hardy Living Stone

each $5.99
3 to 6 plants $5.79
7 or more $5.59
Drought Tolerant Wildflower Mix
Item # S0001 		Drought Tolerant Wildflower Mix

each $9.95
  • Topic: Annuals
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: annuals, deadheading, cutting back
  • Date: July 2006

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Most annuals need minimal attention and by nature most are short lived. Still, by mid-summer (and here we are already!) some may need a bit of attention to make it into fall. Following is a guide to keep the color and fragrance of annuals up and running.

Deadheading and Cutting Back

Deadheading is pinching off spent blooms to prolong and increase the number of flowers. When snipping off flowers, take the whole stem off near a leaf node. Don’t leave a ‘stick’ where the flower used to be.

Just about everything in annual beds can be cut back when they become tall and leggy. It not only creates more attractive plants, but promotes branching, compact growth and a second flush of blooms later in the summer. Use scissors or shears for a clean cut. Here is a sampling that responds to some tightening up:

The following long-blooming plants are actually tender perennials, which mean they’ll be zapped by frost. So treat them as annuals and keep the spent blossoms deadheaded to prolong the blooming.

Do Nothing

Another option for all those annuals with spent flowers and rambunctious growth habits is leaving them alone. Many annuals (especially those in the family Asteraceae) readily re-seed and will naturalize. Below are a few of the annuals that like to re-seed:

Fertilize

You can fertilize annuals about twice a month. They like a little more enrichment than other plants. And since most like their soil a little moister, don’t forget to keep them mulched.