PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF ANNUALS UNDER OPEN CONDITION

Annuals are the group of plants which complete their life cycle (seed to seed) i.e. seed
germination, vegetative growth, flowering, seed setting and senescence under a given site in a
season or in a year. Annuals are also called as seasonal. Annuals are indispensable in any
garden.

Important features of annuals:

1. Annuals bring color in the garden in a very short period.
2. Annuals are most easily grown plants.
3. They provide mass effect and riot of colours in the garden.
4. Annuals vary widely in form, habit of growth, size, shape and colour of flowers.
5. They require less labour for their care and maintenance.
6. Annuals can be grown for various purposes like beds, borders, pots, hanging baskets, rock
garden, as herbaceous border, cut flowers/ dry flowers/ loose flowers.
7. Certain annuals can also be grown in the shady situations.
8. They set seed easily and profusely.
9. They beautify the garden throughout the year.

Classification of annuals according to their growing season:

1. Summer season annuals: These annuals grow nicely and produce flowers under high
temperature. The seeds are sown February-March in the plains and in March-April in the hills
and
transplanted after one month. Examples are cosmos, gailardia, gomphrena, kochia, marigold,
portulaca, sunflower, tithonia and zinnia.

2. Rainy season annuals: These annuals grow nicely and produce flowers under high rainfall
and humidity coupled with high temperature. The seeds are sown in May-June and
transplanted after one month i.e. June-July. Examples are amaranthus, balsam, cock’s comb,
China aster, gailardia, marigold and zinnia.

3. Winter season annuals: Most of the winter annuals seen today in Indian gardens are the gift
of Britishers. There are about 100 winter season annuals which are able to tolerate low
temperature in winter season and bloom nicely. They are sown in September and transplanted
in October in plains whereas; in hills they are sown in February-March or July-August and
transplantedat at 3-4 leaf stage. Examples are annual chrysanthemum, antirrhinum, aster,
paper flower, corn flower, daisy, calendula, brachycome, pansy, sweet pea, larkspur, stock,
petunia, statice, candytuft, marigold, poppy, nasturtium, cineraria, linaria, dahlia, sweet william,
sweet sultan, sweet alyssum, etc.

Classification of annuals according to hardiness: Annuals can be classified as hardy, semi-hardy

and tender depending on the extent they can with stand cold/frost.

1. Hardy annuals: They can with stand frost and it includes mostly winter season annuals.
Examples are antirrhinum, aster, calendula, candytuft, california poppy, chrysanthemum,
carnation, dimorphotheca, gailardia, godetia, gypsophila, larkspur, linaria, linum, petunia, lupin,
phlox, sweet pea, stock, straw flower, sunflower, etc.

2. Semi-hardy annuals: They can with stands light frost but are killed by repeated frost.
Examples are ageratum, cosmos, marigold, flowering tobacco and verbena.
3. Tender annuals: They cannot with stand even light frost. Examples are balsam, morning
glory, nasturtium, portulaca, salvia and zinnia.

Important uses of annuals: Annuals are used for various purposes in the garden.
Important uses of annuals are given below:
1. Landscaping: Almost all the annuals can be used in landscaping.
2. Bedding purpose: Every annual can be grown in the beds and hence suitable for bedding
purpose.
3. Pot plant: All the annuals except annual climbers can be grown as pot plants.
4. Specimen plant: Almost all the annuals can be used as specimen plant.
5. Cut flower: Aster, antirrhinum, carnation, cornflower, lupin, larkspur, stock, sweet pea,
sweet sultan, sweet william, etc.
6. Loose flower: Annual chrysanthemum, aster, gailardia, gomphrena, marigold, paper flower,
sunflower, zinnia, etc.
7. Dry flowers: Acroclinum, daisy, gomphrena, helichrysum, nigela, statice, lady’s lace, Bell’s of
Ireland etc.
8. Shady location: Cineraria, clarkia, salvia and verbena, mimulus, linaria.
9. Screening purpose: Holyhock and sweet pea.
10. Fragrant flowers: Marigold, carnation, sweet pea, sweet sultan, sweet william, sweet
alyssum, stock, viola, etc.
11. Edging: Sweet alyssum, brachycome, pansy, verbena, phlox, petunia, marigold, candytuft,
etc.
12. Herbaceous border: Almost all the annuals can be used for this purpose.
13. Rock garden: Although annuals are not considered as true rock plants, many of the dwarf
annuals like Alyssum, dog flower, Bellis perennis, Brachycome iberidifolia, candytuft, ice plant,
carnation, gazania, Nasturtium, phlox, salvia, pansy, zinnia, etc. can be planted in groups in rock
garden.
14. Peculiar shape: Clianthus.
15. Hanging basket: Petunia, verbena, daisy, phlox, nasturtium, portulaca, etc.
16. Roof garden: Antirrhinum, stock, sweet peas, pansy, chrysanthemum, marigold, sweet
alyssum, phlox, verbena, etc.
17. Cut greens: Amaranthus, coleus, kochia, cineraria and celosia.

Herbaceous border: Wiliam Robinson invented herbaceous border and the term herbaceous
border term was first used by G. Jekyel. The concept of herbaceous border has been introduced
in India by Britishers. Herbaceous border is defined as planting of annuals in the border of a
plot. The selection of site for herbaceous border is very important and desired picturesque
effect may not be obtained if site is not selected properly. The site should be open sunny and
facing towards south side so that plants get sufficient sunlight for maximum hours of the day. If
this direction is not available , it should be faced east and last choice is for the west. The border
can be of any length but width should be about 1-1.5m or more depending upon the area of
fore ground available. Therefore, the width can be adjusted accordingly It can be of two types:

1. Single face herbaceous border: It is laid when border is situated on one side and there is
some background.
2. Double face herbaceous border: It is laid when border is situated in between a big plot and
there is no background like in single face herbaceous border. Here tall annuals are planted in
the centre and medium and dwarf on both sides so that beauty of annuals can be enjoyed from
both the sides.

Colour scheme of planting annuals in the landscaping:

1. Monochromatic colour scheme: Mono means single and chroma means colour. So this
colour scheme restricts the use of single colour or its shades which may be present in same or
in different annuals. For example if blue colour is to be used, annuals like blue cornflower, blue
larkspur, ageratum, anchusa, etc. can be used. For white colour annuals like alyssum, china
aster, mathiola, nigela, phlox, papaver, zinnia, etc. can be used.

2. Analogous or harmonious colour scheme: In this colour scheme annuals are arranged
according to the nearest wavelength of colour. As the arrangement harmonizes with the
surrounding beds and hence, it is called as harmonious colour scheme also. The colour of
annuals will be arranged as white, creamish yellow, light yellow and finally deep yellow.

3. Contrast colour scheme: In contrast colour scheme, the opposite colour of colour wheel are
used and plants of contrast colours are planted accordingly e.g. red dahlia against the
background of green or next to blue cornflowers creates a good contrast.

Figure–1:The Colour Wheel

Growing of annuals:
Propagation: All the annuals are propagated through seeds
Raising of nursery: Nursery is a place where plants are reared until they are ready for final
transplanting in the field. Nursery can be temporary and permanent in nature. Seeds of annuals
can be sown in pots, boxes and in raised nursery beds. The length of nursery bed should be 2-3
m and width should be 1-1.2m which facilitates various intercultural operations like weeding,
thinning and watering in the nursery beds. Nursery beds should be drenched with 0.2%
Brassicol or Captan solution to get rid of various soil borne fungi. Small seeds should be mixed
with bulk material like sand for even distribution of seeds. Seeds are sown in lines which should
be 5-6cm apart and depth should be about 0.5cm. The depth can be increased with the
increase in size of seeds. After sowing, seeds should be covered with fine sieved mixture of
farmyard manure and soil. Watering should be done 2-3 times a day. The nursery beds should
be covered with any mulch like leaves, straw or newspaper and/ or light cloth to ensure
darkness for better germination. The outer surface of nursery beds should be dusted with
some insecticidal dust to check the entry of ants. The seeds start germinating within 2-3 days
and then covering is removed in the evening hours. Seedlings are ready for transplanting in
about one month when they have 3-4 true leaves.

Preparation of land and transplanting: Land should be well prepared by digging or ploughing
2
and mixing 5kg well rotten FYM and 10g each of N, P and K per m . The transplanting should be
done in moist soil in the evening. The tall, medium and dwarf annuals are planted at the
distance of 30-40cm, 15-20cm and 10-12cm, respectively. Watering should be done
immediately after transplanting of seedlings.

Management of annuals: Annuals require proper care and attention throughout their growing
period. Regular removal of weeds is essential as weeds compete with main plants for space,
water, light, nutrients and act of hiding places for various insects and spread of diseases.
Watering is also essential and should be done as per the requirements of annuals. Hoeing
should also be done timely to remove the weeds as well as for aeration of the beds. Pinching
should be done at appropriate stage to encourage emergence of side shoots to increase flower
production. Staking should be done in certain annuals like sweet peas, chrysanthemum,
carnation, etc. and disbudding should be done in cut flower type annuals to have a good cut
flower size. Seed collection should be done at proper maturity stage before splitting of seed
pods. Seeds are separated by thrashing, winnowing, cleaning and grading. Any kind of shriveled,
broken or deformed seeds should be removed and good seeds should be packed after seed
treatment with insecticide and fungicide to prevent attack of pests and diseases during storage
in plastic bags, muslin cloth bags, glass jar sand air tight tins. Silica gel tablet can be added to
absorb the moisture generated during storage of seeds.

Points to remember:

1. Annuals or seasonal can be classified into summer, rainy and winter season annuals.
2. Young annuals need lot of care and they have a mass effect in a very short period.
3. Annuals have their varied uses in a landscape.
4. Most of the winter annuals seen today in Indian gardens are the gift of Britishers.
5. Annuals can be classified as hardy, semi-hardy and tender depending on the extent they
can withstand cold/frost.
6. There are three colour schemes of planting annuals in the landscape viz.
monochromatic, analogous and contrast colour scheme.
Silica gel tablets can be added to absorb the moisture generated during storage of seeds of
annuals.

DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT ANNUAL FLOWERS

S.No. Botanical Name Common name Height Colour range Remarks
(cm)
1. Acroclinum roseum Paper flower 60-75 Pink and white
2. Ageratum Floss flower 40-50 Blue, white or pink
houstonianum
3. Althea rosea Hollyhock 120- White,crimson,
180 pink,rose,mauve
4. Alyssum maritimum Sweet Alyssum 10-30 White, lilac
5. Antirrhinum majus Snap dragon 15-120 White, yellow, pink,
rose mauve
6. Arctotis Arctotis 60-70 White
stoechadifolia
7. Brachycome Swan River Daisy 15-25 White, blue, light pink
iberidifolia
8. Bellis perennis English Daisy 15-25 White, light pink
9. Calceolaria pinnata Pouch flower Brightly coloured
Slipperwort flowers
10. Calendula officinalis Pot marigold 40-50 Yellow, orange
11. Callistephus chinensis Aster 40-50 White, pink, blue
12. Centaurea cyanus Corn flower 90-100 White, pink, blue
13. Centaurea moschata Sweet sultan 90-100 Mauve, white, yellow
14. Cheiranthus cheiri Wall flower 30-45 Yellow, burnt orange
15. Hrysanthemum Annual 90-120 White, yellow
coronarium Chrysanthemum
16. Clarkia elegans Clarkia 70-100 White, rose, pink and
purple
17. Clitoria ternatea Butterfly Pea Upto Blue, white Climbing in
500 nature
18. Coreopsis stillmani Coreopsis 30-45 Yellow
19. Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos 90-150 White, pink, yellow, Can be
mauve, magenta grown
throughout
the year
20. Dahlia variabilis Dahlia 90-150 Yellow red, white,
mauve, crimson
21. Delphinium ajacis Larkspur 45-150 White, pink, crimson,
mauve, yellow, violet
22. Dianthus barbatus Sweet William 30-40 White, pink, crimson,
mauve, yellow, violet
and red
23. Dianthus caryophyllus Carnation 45-75 White, pink, crimson,
mauve, yellow, violet
and red
24. Dimorphotheca African Daisy 50-60 White, purple
auriantiaca
25. Eschscholzia Californian 30-45 Yellow, lemon, orange Seeds are
californica poppy crimson, cream sown directly
creamy white
26. Gazania splendens Treasure flower 15-25 Red, pink, orange,
yellow, white
27. Gypsophila elegans Gypsophila 60-90 White, pink, yellow Used as filler
specially in
bouquet
making
28. Helichrysum Straw flower 70-90 Yellow
bracteatum
29. Iberis amara Candytuft 30-40 White, pink
30. Lathyrus odoratus Sweet Pea 90-150 White, pink, orange, Mainly
blue, scarlet, crimson, grown as
mauve, violet background
of
herbaceous
border. Sown
directly in
the
permanent
places. It
requires
support
31. Limonium sinuatum Statice 45-60 White, pink, yellow, Fairly
purple drought
resistant
32. Linaria bipartite Linaria 30-40 Yellow, White, pink,
blue, red and purple
33. Mathiola incana Stock 70-100 Yellow, White, Red
34. Mesembryanthemum Ice plant 20-30 Yellow, White, Pink Ultra dwarf
criniflorum annual
35. Mimulus tigrinus Monkey flower 30-45 Large yellow tubular
flower have irregular
brown spots
36. Molucella laevis Bell’s of Ireland 60-90 White Table
decoration
37. Nemesia strumosa Nemesia 15-40 Mix colour white pink
purple
38. Nigella demascena Love in mist 45-60 Blue, white ,purple
39. Petunia hybrid Petunia 50-75 Blue, white red,
pink,voilet
40. Phlox drummondii Phlox 30-50 Blue, white red,
pink,voilet
41. Papaver rhoeas Shirley poppy 60-75 Scarlet pink, orange,
white, Yellow
42. Salvia spendens Salvia 45-60 Scarlet red, white,
purple
43. Senecio cruentus Cineraria 25-45 Blue, purple, salmon
crimson red, pink,
white
44. Tagetes erecta African Marigold 60-120 Yellow, orange, white
45. Tagetes patula French Marigold 30-40 Red,orange, Yellow
46. Tropaeolum majus Nasturtium 30-45 Yellow, orange,red
47. Verbena hybrid Verbena 25-45 Purple, pink, blue,
red, white
48. Viola tricolor Pansy 25-30 Purple, yellow, blue,
red, violet and
bicolour
49. Amaranthus caudatus Amaranthus 60-75 Pink, white Due to
variegated
leaves it is
also grown in
pots for
indoor
decoration
50. Gaillardia pulchella Blanket flower 45-60 Yellow,orange, Grown as
scarlet, brown perennialalso
51. Gomphrena globosa Gomphrena 60-75 Pink, white, purple
52. Portulaca grandiflora Portulaca 20-30 Pink, white, purple, Easily
orange,red propagated
bycuttings
53. Kochia scoparia var. Kochia, Mock 60-75 Foliage beauty. Red It has
trichophila Cypress, Burning flowers at the time of uniform, well
Bush plant maturity shaped
bushy
growth.
54. Zinnia elegans Zinnia 75-90 White, orange, red,
pink,yellow, violet,
cream
55. Impatiens balsamina Balsam 60-75 White, orange, red,
pink, violet, cream
56. Celosia cristata Cock’s comb 45-75 orange, red,
pink,yellow, purple
57. Tithonia speciosa Mexican 70-150 Orange, scarlet Sown directly
Sunflower from seeds
58. Vinca rosea Sada Bahar 60-75 Purple, white Can be
grown
throughout
the year
59. Helianthus annuus Sunflower 60-150 Yellow, orange Can be
grown
throughout
the year and
sown directly
from seeds