Preparing Your Annual Flower Bed

Marigolds, Petunias, Impatiens, Coleus, Fuchsia, Lobelia, Geraniums, Vinca, Calibrachoa and Zinnia are all annual flowering plants, to name a few. A true annual is a plant that completes its life cycle in one growing season. The complete task of an annual is to produce seed and propagate. Annual flowers are easy to grow, quick to bloom and give you the opportunity to have a totally different garden every year.   There are gardeners who take on the challenge of growing annuals from seed, but if you're not up to that a quick and easy way to get your annual bed started is to purchase transplants.

The first thing you need to do before planting and annual garden is choose a location.  Pay attention to how much sun your chosen location receives and if it has good drainage.  Generally annuals prefer full sun, at least 6 hours of sun a day.  If drainage is bad the roots of any plant planted in that area will be essentially  deprived of air and exposed to excessive amounts of water. Very few annual flowers will tolerate these conditions. You can try aerating the soil, adding organic soil or try a raised bed to remedy poor drainage.  Choosing another location may be best.

You can spend loads of money on fine geraniums or the newest petunias, but they’ll grow poorly if the soil quality is bad. Soil that is too compact, like clay, doesn't give plant roots the opportunity to spread, while sandy soil doesn't hold water or needed nutrients leaving roots deprived.  The best way to fix soil quality is to add organic material such as compost, manure and peat moss. A layer of peat moss will help with increase water holding capacity and manure will add nitrogen.  Compost returns organic matter to the soil for plant use.  It stimulates the growth of beneficial organisms, loosening clay soils and improving the capacity to hold water and nutrients in sandy soils, or any soil. 

Make sure you remove all the weed from the flower bed.  If there aren't too many weeds, just pull them by hand.  You can also use a herbicide such as Concern Weed Prevention Plus  or Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer.  You will want to continue to cultivate your bed through the season.  Keeping weeds at bay means your plants won't have to compete with weeds for water and nutrients, or sun, as large weeds tend to towering over annuals blocking the sun.

Once your soil is amended and the weeds are gone add some fertilizer to your bed.  Try Espoma Quick Solution Garden Food, in general apply 1.5 lbs per every 100 square feet.  There are several choices so be sure to consult and Esbenshade's expert.

Other tips

1. When planting our professional staff recommends using the Esbenshade's Transplant Root Stimulator. This promotes vibrant blooms and stimulates rapid root growth and prevents plant stress and reduced watering requirements.

2.  Deadheading or removing spent flowers before the seed matures, produces more flowers and therefore more potential seed.

3.  Use containers to grow annuals if space is limited.  You can put them almost anywhere, and you won't need to weed very much.

4.  Fertilize Annual beds regularly try  Miracle Grow Plant Food 

5.  Leave organic material on the garden during the winter and add a layer of compost to the ground before planting in spring.

6.  Follow this link for shade loving Annuals.