Cool season annuals are planted in this fall and winter for winter and springtime bloom.
| Season |
Common Name |
Genus |
Species |
Comments |
| cool season |
Baby snapdragon |
Linaria |
maroccana |
Delicate-looking, looks like a miniature snapdragon. |
| cool season |
Calendula |
Calendula |
officinalis |
Reseeds freely, and may even bloom through summer. Not a refined
flower, but reliable. |
| cool season |
California poppy |
Eschscholzia |
californica |
Plant seed in fall or winter for best results. Blooms into early
summer. May be perennial. |
| cool season |
Chrysanthemum, annual |
Chrysanthemum |
paludosum |
One of the best winter annuals: bright, clean white daisy flowers
on a tough little shrublet. |
| cool season |
Cineraria |
Senecio |
cineraria |
A little frost tender. Great in pots in protected locations. |
| cool season |
English primrose |
Primula |
x polyantha |
Will survive summer, but looks very rough so usually grown as
annual. Amazing range of colors. |
| cool season |
Fairy primrose |
Primula |
malacoides |
Cute, delicate looking. |
| cool season |
Forget-me-not |
Myosotis |
sylvatica |
Will reseed and naturalize in partial shade. |
| cool season |
Iceland poppy |
Papaver |
nudicaule |
Winter-planted, spring-blooming annual in our climate. |
| cool season |
Johnny-jump-up |
Viola |
tricolor |
The easiest of the pansy family, often blooming well into summer. |
| cool season |
Nasturtium |
Tropaeolum |
species |
T. majus climbers can be tied up to 6 , have attractive leaves
and showy flowers. Flowers and foliage have spicy scent. Look best
here in summer in light shade; often overwinter. T. peregrinum is the
Canary Bird flower, with lobed leaves and fringed yellow flowers;
grows to 10' +. Easy to grow from seed. |
| cool season |
Nemesia |
Nemesia |
strumosa |
Spring and early summer blooming annual with fragrant flowers
like little snapdragons. |
| cool season |
Pansy |
Viola |
x wittrockiana |
Wide range of colors, some with faces. Smaller flowered types
take weather better; the big ones are great in pots. |
| cool season |
Pinks |
Dianthus |
species |
Nearly always in bloom. Actually short-lived perennials. Very
easy to grow. |
| cool season |
Poor Man s Orchid |
Schizanthus |
pinnatus |
Frost tender; great in pots in protected locations. |
| cool season |
Primrose |
Primula |
obconica |
Fuzzy leaves may irritate skin! A little frost tender here. Showy
winter flowers. |
| cool season |
Snapdragon |
Antirrhinum |
majus |
Hot colors, dramatic spikes of blooms. May live through summer. |
| cool season |
Stock |
Matthiola |
incana |
Plant as early in fall as you can find the plants for most
abundant bloom. |
| cool season |
Sweet alyssum |
Lobularia |
maritima |
Reseeds prolifically, and blooms in every season. Attracts
beneficial insects. |
| cool season |
Sweet Pea |
Lathyrus |
species |
L. latifolius is a perennial relative of the common sweet pea.
Easy to grow from seed. |
| cool season |
Sweet Pea |
Lathyrus |
odorata |
Beautiful fragrant flowers on winter/spring annual vines. Most
will climb to 6'+. Plant in Sept. - Oct. (best) or February. Killed
by summer heat. |
| cool season |
Viola |
Viola |
cornuta |
More weather resistant than pansies, smaller flowers are more
abundant. |
| Season |
Common Name |
Genus |
Species |
Comments |
| warm season |
Ageratum, Floss flower |
Ageratum |
houstonianum |
Little mounds of fuzzy purple flowers. |
| warm season |
Balsam, Snapweed |
Impatiens |
balsamina |
Shoots seeds several feet under warm weather conditions
(sometimes called Touch-me-not due to the hair-trigger response).
Reseeds. |
| warm season |
China aster |
Callistephus |
chinensis |
Annual asters; true asters are perennials. Like zinnias, but
color range more toward purple/pink/lavender. |
| warm season |
Climbing Snapdragon; Chickabiddy |
Asarina |
species |
Twining annual vines to about 5'- 10' with tubular flowers that
are usually pink, lavender, red; sometimes white. Some forms may be
hardy enough to resprout as perennials. |
| warm season |
Cockscomb, Chinese woolflower |
Celosia |
|
Vivid fuzzy-looking flowers, either plume-shaped or crested.
Loves heat. |
| warm season |
Cosmos |
Cosmos |
bipinnatus |
Shades of pink, rose, white on tall plants. Loves heat, reseeds. |
| warm season |
Cosmos, yellow |
Cosmos |
sulphureus |
The yellow, orange, and red flowered cosmos. Klondike, Sunny, and
Bright Lights are the dwarf strains. |
| warm season |
Creeping Zinnia |
Sanvitalia |
procumbens |
Low-growing zinnia relative with much smaller flowers in great
abundance. |
| warm season |
Globe amaranth |
Gomphrena |
globosa |
New varieties are short plants with strong purplish-red flowers. |
| warm season |
Hyacinth bean |
Dolichos |
lablab |
Pretty purple bean/pea flowers on a fast-growing summer annual.
Easy to grow from seed. |
| warm season |
Iceplant (annual) |
Dorotheanthus |
|
Annual iceplant. For perennial ground cover ice plants, see
Lampranthus, Drosanthemum, Delosperma. |
| warm season |
Impatiens; Busy Lizzie |
Impatiens |
walleriana |
America s favorite bedding plant prefers morning sun or light
shade. Great color range available. |
| warm season |
Lisianthus; Prairie gentian |
Eustoma |
grandiflorum |
Ok, so first they told us it was perennial--but they always died
within a year. So now they sell it as an annual. Very, very prone to
rot. Great cut flower, but not an easy garden plant. |
| warm season |
Lobelia |
Lobelia |
erinus |
May act as short-lived perennial, or reseed. True blue bedding
ground cover or trailing plant for hanging baskets. |
| warm season |
Marigold; African marigold; American marigold |
Tagetes |
erecta |
The tallest, biggest flowered marigolds. |
| warm season |
Marigold; French marigold |
Tagetes |
patula |
The shortest, bushier marigolds. |
| warm season |
Marigold; Signet marigold |
Tagetes |
tenuifolia |
Very short, profuse-blooming, small-flowered types with fine,
ferny foliage. |
| warm season |
Mexican sunflower |
Tithonia |
rotundifolia |
Giant orange-flowered sunflower relative. Looks like a zinnia on
steroids. |
| warm season |
Monkey flower |
Mimulus |
x hybridus |
Other monkey flowers are perennials or shrubs. all have
snapdragon-like flowers. This one prefers shade. |
| warm season |
Morning glory |
Ipomoea |
species |
Beautiful flowers on summer annual vines. I. tricolor and I. nil
are the familiar summer morning glories. Both may reseed
prolifically. I. alba is Moonflower, with fragrant flowers that open
at night. I. quamoclit is Cardinal Climber, with feathery divided
leaves and bright red tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds. Easy
to grow from seed. |
| warm season |
Moss rose; Rose moss |
Portulaca |
grandiflora |
Low succulent annual with bright-colored flowers for full, hot
sun. Reseeds. |
| warm season |
Nasturtium |
Tropaeolum |
majus |
Most commonly planted are the bushy types. Morning sun, partial
shade best. May bloom through winter. |
| warm season |
Nasturtium |
Tropaeolum |
species |
T. majus climbers can be tied up to 6', have attractive leaves
and showy flowers. Flowers and foliage have spicy scent. Look best
here in summer in light shade; often overwinter. T. peregrinum is the
Canary Bird flower, with lobed leaves and fringed yellow flowers;
grows to 10' +. Easy to grow from seed. |
| warm season |
New Guinea Impatiens |
Impatiens |
x |
Showiest flowers of the Impatiens group. Want more sun that
regular Impatiens, but not full sun. Mostly grown from cuttings. |
| warm season |
Nicotiana, Ornamental tobacco |
Nicotiana |
alata |
Modern forms are compact, but aren t fragrant. |
| warm season |
Orange Clock vine |
Thunbergia |
gregorii |
Bright orange flowers on a fast-growing annual vine to 6'+. Very
showy, easy to grow. May overwinter. T. alata is similar, with bright
orange, yellow, or white flowers with purple-black throats. |
| warm season |
Orange Clock vine; Blackeyed Susan vine |
Thunbergia |
alata |
Annual vine with bright orange, yellow, or white flowers with
purple-black throats. |
| warm season |
Painted tongue |
Salpiglossis |
sinuata |
Interesting summer annual with striped, splotched flowers. |
| warm season |
Petunia |
Petunia |
x hybrida |
Wide range of colors, including true blue, but the budworm
caterpillar is a serious nuisance on petunias. |
| warm season |
Phlox, annual |
Phlox |
drummondi |
Most species of phlox are perennial. This one is a cute little
bedding plant. |
| warm season |
Pincushion flower; annual Scabiosa |
Scabiosa |
atropurpurea |
The perennial forms are better known, but annual pincushion
flowers have really big flowers. |
| warm season |
Pinks |
Dianthus |
species |
Nearly always in bloom. Actually short-lived perennials. Very
easy to grow. |
| warm season |
Scarlet Runner bean |
Phaseolus |
species |
Showy red bean/pea shaped flowers on a vigorous summer annual
vine. Young bean pods are edible, but they toughen quickly. Shelled
beans can be cooked like lima beans. Easy to grow from seed. |
| warm season |
Scarlet sage |
Salvia |
splendens |
Vivid red flowers attract hummingbirds. There are also purplish
forms and mixed strains available. |
| warm season |
Spider flower |
Cleome |
hasslerana |
Weird flowers on tall plants, good for the back of the border. |
| warm season |
Statice, annual |
Limonium |
sinuatum |
Great range of colors; excellent for drying. |
| warm season |
Strawflower |
Helichrysum |
bracteatum |
Annual strawflowers look like papery daisies. Great for
drying. Two perennial shrubs are related: H. italicum is Curry
plant; H. petiolare is Licorice plant (there are several forms with
colorful foliage). |
| warm season |
Sunflower |
Helianthus |
annuus |
Many varieties available, ranging from 1' to 12'+! |
| warm season |
Swan River daisy |
Brachyscome |
iberidifolia |
Low, pinkish-purple daisies. Some other hybrids are perennial. |
| warm season |
Sweet alyssum |
Lobularia |
maritima |
Reseeds prolifically, and blooms in every season. Attracts
beneficial insects. |
| warm season |
Verbena, Garden verbena |
Verbena |
x hybrida |
This form is a short-lived perennial usually grown as annual. The
perennial forms are better-known, but these have good, strong
colors. |
| warm season |
Vinca rosea |
Catharanthus |
rosea |
Also called Madagascar periwinkle. Very heat tolerant. |
| warm season |
Wishbone flower |
Torenia |
fournieri |
Odd little flower, good for pots. |
| warm season |
Zinnia |
Zinnia |
angustifolia |
There are some single-flowered zinnias in this species that are
popular, including the Classic series. |
| warm season |
Zinnia |
Zinnia |
elegans |
The common zinnias are in this species. |
| warm season |
Zinnia |
Zinnia |
hybrida |
Hybrids of Z. angustifolia and Z. elegans include the Profusion
series |
