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Ongoing Care for Annuals After planting, there are many things you can do to ensure the success of your new annual plants. Here are some ongoing care tips for annuals: Fertilizing: If your soil is less than perfect, it will need fertilizer. Fertilizer can be applied in dry granular form or liquid form. Another method of fertilization is through composting. This is a slow process, because it takes time for kitchen and garden waste to break down into nutritious compost. However, properly-made garden compost can not only serve as an efficient fertilizer, but also as a soil conditioner to improve heavy clay or light sandy soils. Watering: The majority of annual plants require at least one inch of water weekly. If it doesn’t rain at least one inch in a given time, it’s time to water your annuals. Don’t make the mistake of watering in small amounts regularly. A deep soaking once a week is much more beneficial, since a deep soaking will penetrate down to the lower roots and keep them growing, while light watering will stay close to the surface and leave the plant roots mostly dry. Deadheading and Cleanup: To keep your annual plants flowering as long as possible, consider the practice of deadheading. This is a term that describes the removal of spent flowers to prevent their forming seed heads. A lot of a plant’s energy is spent on seed formation. However, if the seed heads are removed before they have a chance to develop; the plant is stimulated into producing more flowers in an attempt to reproduce itself. Additionally, pruning away browned leaves will not only avoid an untidy appearance, but it will also encourage renewed juvenile growth and a stronger plant later in the blooming season. Make sure you add your dead heads and brown leaves to your compost pile! Weed and Pest Control Weeds can be controlled either by mulching or by planting so thickly that there is little room for them to take control. Some hand-weeding will likely be necessary, however. Care should be taken to get weeds when they are small, since a well-established weed, when uprooted, can disturb adjacent plants. Insect pests and diseases are not as troublesome with annuals as they can be with edible crops, like fruit trees and vegetables. Slugs and snails can be a problem in wet weather, especially with young plants. If slug or snail damage is apparent from the appearance of silvery slime trails and skeletonized leaves, you can use commercial slug bait sprinkled around the plants. However, always consider an organic control method first, such as removing them with a gloved hand early in the morning. Japanese beetles can be a nuisance later in the season. They can be controlled with various commercial products or by handpicking. If aphids and whiteflies become a problem, they are easily dislodged by spraying them with a strong jet of water. They can also be wiped away with a rag soaked in rubbing alcohol. |
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