Perennials Versus Annuals – What’s The Difference?

If your head threatens to spin whenever you visit the gardening section of your local big box home improvement store, you are not alone. While seasoned gardeners may sneer at the lack of understanding certain gardening terms invoke in the likes of you and me, it is the truth that while some terms are vital to proper gardening, they are also easy to mix up. Two such terms are perennial and annual.  What’s the difference? Read on to find out.

Perennials

Generally speaking, a perennial is a plant, which – properly cared for – will survive for more than two years. Perennials come in many shapes and sizes and even have their own idiosyncrasies. Depending on the climate you are gardening in, your perennials may either grow year round, or be limited to a certain growth season such as it is favored by the weather. Novice gardeners have been known to dig up and throw out perennials during the winter months because their leaves had died back so that only a few stems remained. Little did they know that their perennial had just died back for the winter and that they would have sprouted new leaves from the remaining stem during the spring month – as is the case with deciduous plants. Of course, there are also evergreen perennials which will display their green foliage year round.

You may be tempted to include some perennials in your landscape with the idea of cutting down your gardening chores. After all, these plants will grow once again after the cold weather abates, yet they are not as low maintenance as you might hope. Usually you will need to keep an eye on blooms that have grown to be past their prime and will now need to be trimmed away to spur on new growth. Similarly, failure to cut back some of the leaves and stems that may stray will soon give your perennial flowerbed as somewhat scraggly look. Nonetheless, if you take the time to maintain the flowerbed properly you will soon be rewarded with healthy plants that will become a mainstay in your garden’s landscape design year after year.

Annuals

Annuals, on the other hand, are relatively short-lived plants. Generally speaking, they will grow from their seeds; they will then carry their flowers and seeds, and then die all within one year – quite often within just a few short months. In gardening, annuals are the preferred plant for adding bursts of color to established flowerbeds, to decorate a deck or balcony as a container plant, or to simply add some beauty to the overall landscape. They are not favored as borders, since the annual replanting is too much work for most gardeners to handle.

It is noteworthy that some plants, which are grown in landscapes, are not actually truly annuals. Instead, they are perennials, which are only grown for one season, such as tomato plants. No matter if you are growing a perennial for one season or are dealing with a true annual, maintenance of these plants is the key. Try to plant annuals together by kind, so that you will not have dead and dying plants scattered throughout your yard. It is easier to replace a square foot of vegetation than a plant here or there. Additionally, you will want to cut back dead plants as soon as possible so that they do not mar the appearance of your garden.

Now that you know the difference between perennial and annual, why not go and visit the local gardening store and get a good look at the plants they are selling. You will no longer wonder about perennial or annual but instead will be thoroughly equipped to begin planning the plant aspect of your landscape design.