Understanding plant life cycles will help boost your garden: Here's how
As you start to think about the plants you want in your 2023 garden, it's important to understand plant life cycles. All plants are classified by the number of growing seasons required to complete their life cycles.
Annuals
These are the plants that provide continuous blooms and interest throughout the growing season. Annuals take one year to complete a full life cycle.
They are usually planted in spring or early summer, perform all season long, and then (unfortunately) die once the first frost arrives. Most vegetables are annuals, along with flowers such as impatiens and marigolds.
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Biennials
Biennials can be confusing. They need a dormant period induced by cold temperatures between plant growth and blooming.
Biennials are planted in spring, produce foliage the first year, with blooms in the second year. Biennials can sometimes act like a perennial if you don't deadhead them and let seeds fall to the ground. Hollyhocks and foxglove are examples of biennials.
Understanding the biennial life cycle is important if you don't want to be disappointed with these types of plants.
Perennials
These plants come back year after year depending on their cold hardiness zone. In central New York, we are in Zone 4 or 5 depending on where you are located.
Perennials are further divided into "herbaceous" or "woody". Note, herbaceous perennials, the top growth dies to the ground during winter, but the plants' roots and crown remain alive in a dormant state. These plants send up new growth the following spring.
The top growth of woody perennials, on the other hand, does not die back in the fall. They drop leaves, but stems remain. It takes about three seasons to get the maximum size and benefit from most perennials.
There are other classifications of plants including bulbs, tubers, corms, or rhizomes. Understanding plant life cycles will help you select the best options for your garden. Looking at garden catalogs will familiarize you with plant categories. Even if you don't order from them, catalogs will give you an idea of which plants fall into what categories.
Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County answers home and garden questions which can be emailed to homeandgarden@cornell.edu or call 315-736-3394, press 1 and ext. 333. Leave your question, name and phone number. Questions are answered weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, visit our website at cceoneida.com or phone 315-736-3394, press 1 and then ext.100.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Gardening tip: How understanding plant life cycles helps your garden
