Cool season annuals that started late last summer should be finishing soon. A few might have potential to continue as perennials. However, about as many are done or decaying. Now, warm season annuals, or summer annuals, should eventually start to replace them. If it seems early, it typically does for such bedding plants before their respective seasons.
Some annuals can not decide if they are cool season annuals or warm season annuals. Stock is actually a cool season annual but becomes more popular now for spring bloom. Wax begonias might have survived through winter to resume growth for another season. Primrose is a cool season annual that rarely gets too warm locally to continue blooming.
These indecisive annuals can actually be an asset to home gardens. Stock, for example, can replace old pansies while it is still too early for petunias. It compensates for cool and warm season annuals with more definite seasons. Petunias will be ready before stock is done. Some garden enthusiasts replace seasonal annuals for each of their four seasons.
Annuals appeal to horticultural vanity.
Warm season annuals, like all annuals, are contrary to sustainability. Although many can perform as perennials, few actually do. Those that truly are annuals complete their entire life cycles within one year. Their main purpose is to provide floral or perhaps foliar color. Texture and form are also assets. Annuals are popular because they serve this purpose.
The most popular of warm season annuals grow from cell packs. Those that start earliest are already available, including wax begonia and lobelia. Petunia, impatien and annuals that crave more warmth will become available later. Four inch potted annuals are bigger than those in cell packs, but more expensive. They are even more expensive in quantity.
Many more varieties of warm season annuals are available as seed. Countless more are available online than from nurseries. However, seed requires more effort. Most must start early. Although most grow well in flats or cells, some prefer direct sowing. Sunflower and nasturtium are very vulnerable to the distress of transplanting. Seed is the logical option. Many seed are less expensive than six cell pack seedlings.
Highlight: Stock
Marigold is a warm season annual that gets more popular later than earlier in its season. It is prominent for autumn but does not last for long into winter. Stock, Matthiola incana, is a cool season annual for the opposite extreme of the year. It is popular for late winter and spring but may not perform well into summer warmth. It is unreliable as a perennial here.
Stock bloom can be white, or rich shades or pastels of purple, red, pink, yellow or cream. Most bloom is double, but some is single. Floral fragrance is alluringly rich and complex. It resembles that of carnation, but is notably stronger. The narrow leaves are oblong with pastel grayish green color. Removal of deteriorating bloom promotes subsequent bloom.
Garden varieties of stock are quite different from florist varieties. For home gardens, most popular stock is relatively compact, and blooms freely. Florist stock is taller, and tends to bloom abundantly but at about the same time. In home gardens, florist stock may require staking if it grows as tall as three feet. Home garden stock may grow no taller than a foot.
