Gardening tips:Dealing with annuals
Feb 02, 2007
AN annual plant completes its entire life cycle in a single growing season, writes <b>Winifred Rukidi. </b>It develops into a mature plant, blooms, sets seed and finally dies, all in a span of several months.
AN annual plant completes its entire life cycle in a single growing season, writes Winifred Rukidi. It develops into a mature plant, blooms, sets seed and finally dies, all in a span of several months.
Annuals, though fairly tiresome, are mostly loved for their many bright flowers, which always form month after month with the aim of setting enough seed to perpetuate the species.
A hormonal trigger set off by seed formation or ripening, signals many types of annuals to die. You could delay their demise by dead heading (removing old flowers and tip of the stem by hand).
Annuals do so much in brightening up odd places and giving charm to focal areas. However, their main problem is turning up uninvited. They also require regular maintenance which may turn off a number of people who don’t have time.
In formal settings like hotel gardens, annuals may be planted as edgings in large flower beds (planted as a thin row around the bed).
Some of the favourite annuals are gazania rigens, dianthus chinensis and the cocks comb.
Annuals, though fairly tiresome, are mostly loved for their many bright flowers, which always form month after month with the aim of setting enough seed to perpetuate the species.
A hormonal trigger set off by seed formation or ripening, signals many types of annuals to die. You could delay their demise by dead heading (removing old flowers and tip of the stem by hand).
Annuals do so much in brightening up odd places and giving charm to focal areas. However, their main problem is turning up uninvited. They also require regular maintenance which may turn off a number of people who don’t have time.
In formal settings like hotel gardens, annuals may be planted as edgings in large flower beds (planted as a thin row around the bed).
Some of the favourite annuals are gazania rigens, dianthus chinensis and the cocks comb.