Annuals and Biennials Selection, Planting and Care

I want to plant some amaranth seeds. How can I assure a healthy crop of flowers?

I have some pods off an angel trumpet plant that are four or five years old. Are they still good to plant? How long are seeds good for?

I moved my Angel’s Trumpet indoors for the winter.  It seems to be surviving but just.  Any suggestions for keeping it alive until I can move it back outdoors for the summer?

A friend gave me a beautiful angel’s trumpet. Can you give me some advice about how to care for it?

Most of the trees and plants on my lot were cleared away when the home was built, so there’s nothing left to attract birds or other wildlife. Can you suggest some fast-growing plants?

Why do my begonia plants die every winter? I keep them in containers and move them indoors when cold weather sets in. Should I set them in a sunny location?

How can I get my angel wing begonia to bloom?

What is the difference between a tuberous begonia and Non-stop begonias? Can the non-stops also be saved over winter?

What’s the secret to coaxing bougainvillea to unfurl its bright summer colors? Mine is large and healthy looking after spending the winter indoors, but so far, no color.

Recently I received a beautiful plant I have never seen before called cigar plant. Can I save the plant for next year?

I recently moved to a condo and would like to expand my container garden. Will tomatoes and any flowers grow on an east facing veranda?

I have these flowers that resemble a cup with a saucer.  They come up in summer and bloom twice in the season. Can you tell me what they are and more about them?

I just moved to a new home with lots of sun. I would like to plant a cutting garden. How should I amend the soil? What plants should I include that will provide flowers all season long?

I received a desert rose plant for Mother's Day a few years ago. How tall will it get, and what else can you tell me about it?

Is it possible to grow carnations in northern gardens? My mom and I tried several times and have mixed success.

Planting an early spring container

My daughter is getting married in late May when my garden seems to have the least amount of color. The spring bulbs have finished blooming, but frost is always possible so I usually do not have the annuals in the ground at that time. I think pansies would work. Any other ideas?

Can you tell me more about 4-oclock flowers? Do they really only bloom at 4 o’clock, and will they grow in my area?

Is it possible to protect purple fountain grass in a planting bed so it survives a Wisconsin winter? If so, what would you suggest?

My biennial foxglove bloomed last fall so I was wondering if I can expect blooms this year or will they be done for good?

I have a potted Gartenmeister Bonstedt fuchsia that I'd like to save over the winter. What do I need to know to be successful?

I have had three large pots of healthy colorful geraniums for several years. Then one summer they were all red. What happened?

I keep my geraniums in the same pot over winter.  When is the best time to prune them back?  If I do, will they be ready to flower when I move them outdoors?  

Each fall I cut back my regal geranium and stick all of the cuttings in soil. I end up with about 20 rooted cuttings in small containers.  When is the best time to replant these and what soil or fertilizer should I use?

I received a plant called Gerbera for a gift and I don't know how to best care for it -- can it go outside?

I live in zone 5 and want to grow Gerber Daisy outside this summer. Do I need to do any pruning or cover it for the winter?

We saw a Hibiscus acetosella growing at a local botanic garden and just loved it.  Can you tell us more about it?

How should I overwinter my hibiscus?

A volunteer plant came up in front of my sister’s double hollyhock. It’s beautiful! The plant produces the same type of seedpods and looks like a miniature version of hollyhocks.

I started growing hollyhocks. They bloom beautifully for about 6 weeks. Now I’m curious how to care for these 8-foot tall plants. Do I cut back the stalks to ground level or leave them? Do they need regular watering or fertilizer? 

How do you harvest the seeds in a hollyhock plant?  Also, I have heard that hollyhocks only come back from the root but have read an article recently that the seeds can be dried and then planted in the spring or fall. 

Is it better to plant hollyhock seeds in the spring or fall?

Our normally 6 feet tall hollyhock grew 10 and one half feet tall this summer.  If we save its seed will the offspring also grow this tall?

What can you tell me about Joseph’s Coat?

Have you heard of an annual called kiss me over the garden gate? Do you have a picture of it? I am trying it and need to know the proper care.

I am looking for suggestions of annuals or perennials (zone 5) that will work well in late day sun. The area is shaded most of the day - but gets direct sunlight in mid-summer from about 4pm on.  Shade plants wilt.  Sun plants don't perform well. 

Our daughter-in-law gave us a bare root money plant, which has grown and multiplied over the last 3 years.  We just moved it to a shadier location. It grows several feet tall and flops over.  Can I cut the shoot down without worry? Ideally, where should we place it?

I can never get nasturtiums to do well in my garden. The blooms are sparse and never last.

If we dig up our ornamental millet and bring them in the house for the winter, will they make it for replanting next year?

I would like to plant poppies in memory of our veterans. What is the red poppy always associated with veterans and Flander’s Field? Can it be grown in the north?

I garden in zone 5 and would like to know how I can bring an outside snapdragon plant inside for the winter so I can replant it outside in the spring.

My snapdragons produce beautiful flowers and then stop.  Can I get them to bloom again?

I bought some beautiful apple blossom, trailing snapdragons this year and am not sure if I should deadhead these flowers or not.  If so, where should I cut them?  There are blossoms all along the stems.

Many annuals are easily started from seed, but some should be direct seeded outdoors rather than started indoors.  Why is this? 

I planted sunflowers and much to my surprise one came up with multiple smaller flowers.  Is this unusual?

My green thumb is noticeably brown when it comes to growing sunflowers. I've even started them inside and then transplanted them outside, but they died. Do you have any growing tips? Is Seattle too rainy for sunflowers? What zones are appropriate for sunflowers?

I have sweet Williams in my Monticello, Indiana garden and want to know if I cut off the blossom or leave one to make it multiply. I can’t buy them in the stores anymore, so I don’t want to lose them.

My grandmother gave me the seeds to a Texas plume.  It seems to act like a biennial, flowering only during its second year before dying off its third year. However, it does reseed itself.  What else can you tell me about this plant?

One year I left my water hyacinths in our pond over winter and they froze. What should I do to keep them alive? I’m also trying to over-winter water lettuce and duckweed.

I have some Nigella damascena growing in my yard. The plant also is known as love in a mist or devil in a bush. Lots of plants have unusual names like these. Where do they come from?