Turn your garden into a vibrant festival of colours with our expert tips on caring for your annual flowers. Here's how to ensure your annuals thrive and bloom abundantly:
Choosing the Right Soil and Planting
- Soil Selection: Annuals prefer fertile, loose, and well-drained soil. When planting, incorporate compost or a slow-release granular flower fertilizer, like our BOTANIX Granular Fertilizer for annuals, perennials, and roses 8-12-10, to give them a good start.
- Planting in the Ground: Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball, place the plant, and fill the hole with soil. Water thoroughly after planting. Space your plants according to the specific recommendations for each variety to ensure good air circulation and prevent diseases.
- Planting in Pots or Planters: Choose a container with drainage holes and use quality potting soil specifically designed for container plants.
Watering Regularly and Effectively
- Frequency: The best time to water is early morning or late evening to avoid rapid evaporation. Watering frequency depends on the weather, soil type, and the specific needs of each plant.
- Checking Moisture: Stick your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle (2-3 cm). If the soil is dry at this depth, it's time to water.
- Targeted Watering: Water the soil at the base of the plant, not the foliage, to prevent fungal diseases.
- Signs of Dehydration: Watch for wilting, yellowing, or curling leaves, which are signs of lack of water.
- Mulch: Add a layer of mulch (wood chips, bark, straw) in flower beds around plants to retain soil moisture, limit weed growth, and regulate soil temperature.
Fertilizing for Vibrant Blooms
For optimal growth and abundant flowering, annual flowers need regular nutrients. Use a water-soluble flower fertilizer, like our BOTANIX Water Soluble Fertilizer for flowering plants 15-30-15, every 2 weeks during the active growing season. Dilute the fertilizer according to the instructions and water the soil around the plants to soak the soil down to the roots.
At the beginning and middle of the season, add BOTANIX granular fertilizer for annuals, perennials, and roses 8-12-10 every 4 weeks. Incorporate the fertilizer into the soil with a hoe and water after application.
Removing Faded Flowers
Many new annual varieties are self-cleaning (faded flowers fall off on their own). However, for most varieties, regularly removing faded flowers encourages the plant to produce new flowers and prolongs the flowering period.
Note that this is also helpful for perennial plants.
Cutting Back Plants to Maintain Vigour
Towards the end of July, some annuals may start to show signs of fatigue. To rejuvenate them, cut the plants in half to remove a good portion of the yellowing foliage and forming seeds. This pruning will stimulate new growth and flowering.
Staking for Support
Some annuals require staking to support their stems and flowers.
Tall-growing annuals or those producing heavy flower stems that can easily break in the wind require staking.
- Install the stake at the beginning of the season.
- Tie the stems as they grow
Bushy and dense annuals are supported by metal hoops of varying diameter and height, depending on the variety.
Tall annuals or those producing long flower spikes, such as some hibiscus, are staked individually.
- Push a bamboo stake into the ground behind the plant.
- Tie the stem with string at approximately every 30 centimetres in height.
Extending the Enjoyment: Bringing Annuals Indoors
- Non-hardy perennials: Many annuals are actually perennials that don't survive our harsh winters. You can bring them indoors before the first frost to keep them from year to year. Place them near a sunny window and water them less often during the winter.
- Cuttings: If indoor space is limited, take cuttings from mid-August to overwinter them and replant them the following spring.
Annuals that can be brought indoors or propagated by cuttings:
- Begonia
- Browallia
- Brugmansia
- Coleus
- Madagascar Dragon Tree
- Fuchsia
- Geranium
- Heliotrope
- Strawflower
- Lantana
- Plectranthus
By following these tips, you'll fully enjoy the beauty of your annual flowers throughout the season. Feel free to visit our garden centres to discover our wide selection of annuals and get personalized advice from our horticultural experts.
