Summer Annuals

We are all accustomed to picking up vegetable seeds in the store each spring, and many times we also pick up marigolds and other annual flowers. Traditionally these are sown indoors to get a jump start on the season. However, they can also be sown directly outdoors when the threat of frost has passed. Those seeds directly seeded outside tend to catch up with their larger indoor neighbors and by mid summer you will not know which is which. There are a couple of reasons for this:

• Warmer soil in late spring will promote faster germination and as long as you keep the seeds watered, they will be quite happy.
• The overall temperature during the day and particularly at night, are more conducive to good growth than those earlier in the season.
• There is less risk of strong winds and storms to damage the small plants. This is particularly troublesome when you are hardening off plants that were started indoors.
• Transplanted seedlings slow, or stop growth, for a week or two after they are planted while they readjust their roots to outdoor soil.

Not all summer annuals though should be started from seed. One major determining factor is the length of time that it will take the seed to germinate and mature enough to produce a respectable flowering plant. This could exceed the number of days that you have in your average growing season, particularly those of you in the north of the continent. In general if your last frost date is before early May, then you can get fast growing annuals into the ground by early June and into flower by the middle of July. This gives them a reasonable number of weeks to your to enjoy them.

Specific information that is on the back of the packet will help you decide if the seeds are likely to work for you. Many seed packets have a map of the USA divided into three or four sections. The earliest time to sow those seeds will be in the south and that date will likely be around March or April. Next up will be the warm zones of lower 6 through zone 8 and these can sow annuals from mid April onwards. The cooler zones of the Midwest and mountainous regions may be as late as June before they can sow tender annuals outside. This date is fine for some fast growing vegetables but a little late for summer flowers.

The next piece of information you will need to find is where it tells you how many days to flowering or maturity. Typically this is in the range of 60 to 90 days, or two to three months.

Adjusting for local weather conditions that yield warm soil, you can plant your seeds approximately two weeks after the frost date, then add the maturation date and see when you can expect flowers. E.g.:

Last frost Date: April 15th

Plant seeds: May 1th,

Approximate bloom time: July 4th for 60 day maturation, Early August for 90 day seeds.

Clearly it is preferable to get the faster growing seed!

Some fast growing seeds include marigolds, calendula, petunias, cosmos and other colorful annuals. Avoid perennial and biennial seeds for color this year.

So go ahead and pick up some annual packets, particularly if they are on sale, sprinkle some around the garden, keep well watered and enjoy a summer long display or low cost, colorful plants.