Half-Hardy Annuals

Half-hardy annuals
Half-hardy annuals such as cosmos, petunia and salvia die if exposed to the cold, so they can't go into the garden until after the last frost. Sow indoors in spring. They'll keep going until killed by the first autumn frost.

Half-hardy annuals: These can be direct-sown outdoors after the threat of hard frost (temperatures below 25°F) is past.

Hail Half-Hardy Annuals
In any mild-winter climate, there are a handful of cold-hardy annuals waiting to be discovered for wintertime entertainment. Consider planting dusty miller, dianthus, flowering cabbage and kale, pansies, and snapdragons.

Hardy annuals can survive cold temperatures and some light frost, while tender annuals cannot tolerate cold temperatures and should be planted only after there is no more danger of frost. Half-hardy annuals can tolerate some cold temperatures, ...

Some annuals, such as snapdragons and pot marigolds (Calendula), will tolerate frosts. These are called hardy annuals. But freezing temperatures kill most of the others. These are called tender annuals. Half-hardy annuals will tolerate mild frost.

They don't like being frozen in the ground, but don't need to wait until the soil warms. Sometimes it's just easier to start these seeds indoors and move them out as plants. Examples of half-hardy annuals include: Comsos, Gazania and Petunias.

The plants are then removed, making way for next season's display. Spring bedding is composed of spring-flowering bulbs, hardy perennials and biennials. Summer bedding plants include hardy and half-hardy annuals, ...

Start with cool-season annuals planted in early spring to bloom within 6 weeks or so. As the days grow longer and the sun beats down in midsummer, replace those cool-season plants with half-hardy annuals.

See also: Hardy, Half-hardy annual, Hardy Annuals, Annual, Half-hardy