Question of the Week browse by: questions Botanically, an annual
may be just that: a plant that lives for a year and then dies,
annually, due to the nature of its life cycle. These plants may
or may not actually live an entire year: they die as soon as
they flower and produce seed, thus ensuring the next generation.
But horticulturally, an annual is a plant that is used for
seasonal interest, and these "annuals" wouldn't NECESSARILY die
each year, IF they were grown in their native habitat. Winter
annuals prefer cool temperatures and can't handle our summer
heat, so we plant them in the fall or winter and enjoy them
until they're killed by warmer temperatures. And summer annuals
are the opposite: thriving in our heat but dying almost as soon
as cooler weather arrives. After a cold and cloudy winter, a
quick burst of color from a container of cosmos, marigolds,
cleomes, or zinnias in the spring are just what the doctor
ordered to chase away the winter blahs. And in autumn, we may
find our spirits lifted by fal