ANNUALS

An annual plant that lasts just one year, plants are usually quick and easy to grow but will need to be sown each year.

Half-hardy annuals (HHA) do not tolerate cold, wet or frost so you will need to wait until the frosts have passed before planting out.

Hardy annuals (HA) are tolerant of cold and for this reason many gardeners will sow hardy annuals late autumn, to get a good head start for the following year. By planting in autumn ( August – October ), the idea is that seedlings get their roots down before the cold weather slows growth and the following spring plants are ready and are raring to go. You can really only do this if you have an undercover option to overwinter your seedlings. Please remember you do not need to do this, you can if you prefer just stick to sowing in Spring ( March – April ).

Sow your seeds in modules or seed trays filled with compost, from February- April and they will be ready to plant out in May or June.

PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS

Sowing perennials is usually either done in February to June or September to October. These varieties are as easy to grow as annuals and will flower in the same year as sowing, if they are sown early enough.

As a general rule, sow undercover with warmth (greenhouse, propagator, inside house) in February/March, or sow in Autumn, in seed trays or modules, cover lightly with compost and keep moist. Pot on into 3inch pots, plant out into their final flowering position once they have outgrown the pots ( i.e. when the roots have filled the planting pot and are coming out of the bottom). 

Biennials flower on their second year, so sowing in one year will result in  flowers May or June the following year. You don’t need to use warmth to germinate these so sow in trays or modules and transplant in Autumn to final flowering position.