Deciding between annual and perennial flowers in your garden is sort of like choosing if you want to rent or buy a home. One allows you to change your garden up every year, while the other requires a bit more commitment and consistency. Both can create lush, beautiful gardens with crops and flowers galore — but the decision really comes down to what kind of green thumb you have. Oh, and whether or not you have commitment issues.
The difference between annuals and perennials is actually quite simple. At its core, the biggest differences come down to how and when the flowers bloom and die. According to Miracle-Gro, “Annual flowers grow for one long season, often into the fall, then die with the onset of freezing weather. With perennials, the above-ground portion of the plant dies back in freezing weather, but re-grows from the base and rootstock the following spring to bloom again.”
Let’s delve into more to help you find the right kind of flowers to suit your unique gardening habits and needs.
Understanding Annuals
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If you’ve ever seen a super colorful-looking garden with all different kinds of flowers, it was probably full of annuals. Even though annuals only live for one season, they’re lush and beautiful in the short time they’re with us.
“Annuals are a fun way to try a new color for a while to see if you really want it in your palette,” says Georgia Clay, plant manager at Monrovia, per Real Simple. Planting annuals allows you to flex your creativity. Since they die each season, every new season enables you to plant something new and experiment with unique colors, styles, sizes, and designs for your garden.
In addition to being beautiful, annuals provide valuable food for wildlife and pollinators. Flowers have certain traits that entice pollinators to land on them, such as color, shape, and scent. This means that planting annuals might increase the amount of bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies in your garden, according to Garden Design.
Some of the most common annuals, according to Martha Stewart, include lantana, border dahlia, garden cosmo, hibiscus, and Paris daisy.
Understanding Perennials
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There are lots of benefits to planting perennials. Starting off, they’re incredibly low-maintenance and self-sufficient, freeing up your time to focus on other things. In addition, perennials offer you quite a bang for your buck.
According to American Meadows, “Unlike annuals, perennials are a one-time purchase that pays you back for years, making them a great economic choice for gardeners on any budget […] Naturalizing perennials gives you the opportunity to divide and re-plant in other spots in your garden.”
Popular perennial options include false indigo, coneflower, daylily, hostas, and catmint, according to The Spruce.
Deciding Which Is Best for You
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Ultimately, there is no wrong choice when it comes to deciding between perennials and annuals. Both will result in beautiful, lush gardens that you’ll be proud of. It all comes down to your preferences and habits. If you’re the type of person who enjoys instant gratification in a garden, go with annuals, as they will bloom quickly and intensely — but of course, the caveat is that they’ll die faster. If you want a garden that requires less time, money, and maintenance but are okay with compromising on color and versatility, choose perennials.
Choosing between annuals and perennials also comes down to the region you live in–and understanding your soil’s hardiness can complicate things. According to The Home Depot, “If you live in a place with cold winters, a heat-loving perennial might bloom in the summer but then die when winter comes. In this case, the plant performs like an annual in your zone because it won’t bloom the next year.”
You can refer to The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zone map to figure out how to choose plants based on your climate.
