Biennial, Perennial and Annual Plants: Which is the Best Choice?

by Three Dogs in a Garden

What is the difference between annual, perennial and biennial plants and which will give you the best floral display for your gardening dollar?

annual perennial and biennial plants what s the difference, flowers, gardening

The terms annual, biennial and perennial are used to classify plants according to their bloom time and lifespan in the garden.

A mix of annuals

Annuals live for a single growing season. Soon after an annual sets seed, they die having exhausted themselves in producing foliage, flowers and seeds in one growing season.

Hollyhocks which are biennial flowers.

Biennial plants have a two year life cycle. In the first year the plant produces only roots, stems and leaves. In the second year, the plant produces a flower, sets seed and then finishes its life cycle.

Peonies are a long-lived perennial.

Perennials live for two or more years and flower every year. They also tend to have bigger, more spectacular flowers.

So which type of plant gives you the best show for your gardening dollar? The answer, in my humble opinion, is a mix of all three.

A perennials plant is more expensive purchase than annual plant, but you have to remember they are a long term investment. They will be back next spring to flower again.

Daylily

The only drawback is that most perennials have a bloom time that can range from a single day (daylilies for example)....

to a number of weeks (like the Rudbeckia above). Some will re-bloom with a bit of judicious pruning after the first flush of flowers, but most perennials flower for a short period of time during a single growing season.

By the time mid-August has rolled around, the majority perennials have finished putting on their display.

Cosmos in the foreground

Just when many perennials are finish is when annuals shift into high gear. They are blooming their hearts out by the time summer arrives and continue to provide a colorful display right up until the first frosts.

And what about biennials? Why grow them? Biennials like foxglove and hollyhocks are amazingly beautiful. The flower in the second growing season is usually well worth the wait.

The best strategy is aim for a balance: invest in the long-term and buy some perennials that are going to give you color year after year, while saving some of you gardening budget for annuals that are going to give you a great display all summer long.