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Some annuals you can count on to come back from seed year after year.
Now that you're all going to be hiding the garden spade in the spring from now on, I'll go over some of my favourite annuals that come back faithfully every year.
Just a little recap, most annuals will self-seed and come back in the spring. This is a wondrous way to save some money. All you need to do is be patient and wait, don't dig the beds every spring!!! You will have so many annuals you might have to give some away.
Cosmos. These dainty, many coloured annuals are wonderful when planted amongst tall perennials that stop blooming early in the year. They tend to be tall although the ones I planted in full shade maxed out at 7 inches. Some staking may be needed in windy areas. Last year I grew Cosmos sulphureus and Cosmos "Double Click" (pictured above) for the first time and they were beautiful!! I let them go to seed in the fall, spreading them everywhere I could think of. I can't wait to see their pretty little leaves popping up all over the gardens this spring along with my regular ones.
Nicotiana. Ahhhh...the sweet scented Nicotiana. There aren't many annuals, if any, that can compare to the scent these guys exude in the evening. The scent, plus the fact that they are humming bird, and humming bird moth magnets, make them a must have annual every year.
Calendula. Lovely, bright flowers that stay short and compact. Great for containers and borders. Seeds sprout and bloom in as little as 7 weeks, then bloom all summer if kept dead-headed. No garden should be without them.
Portulaca. Wonderful little flowers that do an amazing job as a groundcover. You never know what colour you will get, always a beautiful surprise. They love full sun and bloom until frost. These little guys can also be used in hanging baskets and containers.
Cleome. I adore Cleome. Another tall annual, but sturdy enough to not need staking, as a rule. Butterflies love them. These guys are covered in blooms by mid-summer and branch out bushily. They come in a variety of colours. These lovers of full sun are reasonably drought tolerant and produce seeds by the thousands. Plant them once and you will enjoy them for many, many years to come.
There you have it. My favourite 5 self-seeding annuals. There are many more though that deserve an honourable mention. Stock and Balsam are nicely scented annuals. Good butterfly attractors. They occasionally come back for me but not with the guarantee that those mentioned above do. Batchelor's Button, another pretty annual. Good for drying and as a cut flower. They need full sun or they become scraggly. Petunias also come back from seed for me and I never know what colours I will get. I move them into hanging baskets or planters and also let them grow between my perennials as a bright ground cover.
Hopefully, this article has motivated you to plant more of these amazing, returning annuals. I guarantee you will enjoy them for many years to come. Annuals deserve a higher standing in the Perennial bed than they currently get, they provide much needed colour when the Perennials are fading for the summer. Stop just lining your sidewalks with them, put them in your gardens!!!.
Photo credits for this article go to myself, melody, poppysue and Sarahskeeper.
About Lee Anne Stark
I am an avid gardener who shares my gardens with 2 other equally avid gardeners. I garden for fun and relaxation, never paying attention to the rules!! During the long, cold winter months I occupy my time playing with over a hundred house plants, my six cats and two dogs.
Posted by hechizada (from Montevideo
(Uruguay)) on April 9, 2008 at 5:18 PM:
Dear Lee Ann,
I enjoyed your article about Self-seeding annuals very much. I am an avid gardener too, and I have some of them in my garden, but I've never tried Cleomes. I'm not sure if they exist in my country. I am from Uruguay , and I also have cats and lots of indoor plants. I also have fish, a salamander and four kids.
Love from the south,
ADRIANA
...
Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on April 9, 2008 at 5:24 PM:
So glad you enjoyed the article!!
We seem to have so much in common, except for the kids :) Annuals play a large part of my yearly gardens. They are always there for me when the Perennials are fading.
Happy gardening,
Lee Anne
...
Subject: Great reminder of self sowing seeds!
Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on April 5, 2008 at 10:27 PM:
I really like your article, threegardners! I love cosmos and cleome the best. Stock just has to be my favorite cutting flower. Thanks for sharing some good ideas.
...
Subject: More favorites
Posted by DianeEG (from Galva, IL) on April 5, 2008 at 9:05 AM:
Aren't self seeders a gift!! So much fun to see when one surprises you. I also have "volunteer" annual poppies, petunias, sunflowers and violas. They have even come up between bricks in my walks. Plus, there are times when they are so far away from the original site, they must have been spread by birds. When you consider how much we baby some plants, it is always a wonder when these little annuals pick a place so unusual and thrive. Thanks for the good article.
...
Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on April 7, 2008 at 8:42 AM:
My self-seeders also include annual black eyed susan,
tithonia, zinnia, and hollyhock.
I'm happy to learn that nicotiana self seeds!!
Fitsy
...
Posted by quiltygirl (from Wildomar, CA) on April 7, 2008 at 10:48 AM:
Then, also there are bulbs that send shoots up all over. When bought my place on the coast in Southern California I had Gladiolas popping up all over the place, including in the middle of junipers. New to gardening, I thought the Alyssum were weeds, since they kept coming back when I pulled them. Now I live inland, on the other side of the coastal range and things are hot and dry, but Alyssum still self seed, as well as my red Salvia, but most especially, these native trees we just call seed trees that pop up like weeds after winter rains and can grow 5 feet in one summer. They can be a nuisance for some, but since we are on 1.5 acres on DIRT they are a blessing. Whatever the goats and horses don't kill in pasture during the summer, we transplant in their winter dormancy.
...
Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on April 8, 2008 at 7:45 PM:
That sounds like an interesting homestead!
Fitsy
...
Subject: Spring into Action
Posted by Ruthie1961 (from Peru, NY) on April 5, 2008 at 8:40 AM:
Winter has been hanging around here in New York..
every time the snow melts and i get a peek at the green
mother nature and old man winter keep fighting,so far
he's winning...but he's looseing his grip!!! I keep buying
new seeds/bulbs...and it keeps snowing! I'm not
gonna' let that stop me, just that many more pretty
plants I'll get to enjoy with friends & family!
i can't wait to spring into action!COME ON DIRTY NAILS
...
Subject: Thanks for the tips!
Posted by pixie62560 (from South China, ME) on April 5, 2008 at 6:06 AM:
Another great article Lee Ann!
I do let my annuals self seed, haven't planted Cosmoms or Snapdragons in 3-5 years. Calendula is one I didn't realize would so now I must get me some, and the Cleome is new to me. A DG just set me some seeds so now im excited to plant them and have them come back year after year! Thanks for the wonderful tips!!
...
Posted by summerkid (from Kankakee, IL) on April 5, 2008 at 6:10 AM:
3g, do you have to give up mulching to get the volunteers? I never spade, but do lay a mulch of straw or chopped leaves over the whole garden each fall to prevent weeds. My flowers & veggies are mixed willy-nilly.
...
Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on April 5, 2008 at 7:39 AM:
You don't have to give up mulching. I put a 4-5 inch layer of compost on the gardens twice every summer. The first time in the early summer, after all of the self-seeders have come up and then again in the fall before the seeds drop.
...
Posted by DonShirer (from Westbrook, CT) on April 5, 2008 at 10:27 AM:
Hmm, calendulas haven't self seeded for me...must try again.
I planted portulacas two years ago, but only a few came back.
Several years ago I bought some seeds for dwarf cleome. They were ok but I decided I would rather have the taller kind. However, for the next three years they kept popping up in nooks, beds, and paths all over the place. The tall varieties don't seem so prolific!
Some petunias seem to be generous self-seeders as well.
...
Posted by DebinSC (from Summerville, SC) on April 5, 2008 at 9:05 PM:
LeeAnn: You are a kindred spirit! I have a petunia blooming now that "volunteered". I adore portulaca, too, and it never disappoints.
I planted Cosmos this year for the first time since moving to a new house. I didn't realize they would tolerate shade! So thanks for that info! Maybe I won't have to concentrate them in my one full-sun spot!
Deb
...
Posted by Chantell (from Middle of, VA) on April 5, 2008 at 11:51 PM:
LeeAnn - agree with others great article...I was happily nodding while reading your mention of Nicotiana (so excited mine are sprouting up various places), Portulaca the gift that keeps on giving even in the dead of summer when everything else wants to turn brown...my petunias and stock have and are popping up as well...makes for nice surpises as I'm sure I'll have more beneath my bird feeder out back...LOL
...
Posted by pandora125 (from Symsonia, KY) on April 8, 2008 at 1:40 AM:
the double Cosmos-i like them!thats a new plant to me.. waiting to see if i have volunteer Cleome..putting Nicotania on the 'must plant' list
Nicotiana. Ahhhh...the sweet scented Nicotiana. There aren't many annuals, if any, that can compare to the scent these guys exude in the evening. The scent, plus the fact that they are humming bird, and humming bird moth magnets, make them a must have annual every year. 
Portulaca. Wonderful little flowers that do an amazing job as a groundcover. You never know what colour you will get, always a beautiful surprise. They love full sun and bloom until frost. These little guys can also be used in hanging baskets and containers. 
need staking, as a rule. Butterflies love them. These guys are covered in blooms by mid-summer and branch out bushily. They come in a variety of colours. These lovers of full sun are reasonably drought tolerant and produce seeds by the thousands. Plant them once and you will enjoy them for many, many years to come.
