No, we are not going back to biology class, but we are going to take a bit of time to define these terms so that you can understand your plants’ life cycle.
We all can remember the meaning of an annual. In simplest terms, this plant only lasts for a season and then dies. Many think that the annual has just finished its life cycle. While this is true, this is not the complete story.
It is fact that plants have life cycles, and we will learn more about that when we get to the biennial section. When it comes to annuals though, the story is a bit different. An annual is not a plant that has completed its “life cycle” instead it is a plant who has been killed due to a killing frost. This is why in warmer climates, such as Florida, where they seldomly get a killing frost, you find marigolds growing year-round. No, they are not replanted as the plant approaches its natural life cycle. The fact is it just does not get cold enough to kill the plant and if taken care of this plant can last a long time.
So, to redefine the definition, an annual lasts one season unless the area does not receive a killing frost.
A biennial is a plant that has a true-life cycle. The term “Bi” means two and in this example, it can be translated to mean two years. The first year is spent on vegetative growth. No flowers will appear this year. When a killing frost hits the area, the plant dies back. At this point, you may feel that your plants are done but wait until spring.
The next spring your biennial will wake up and break through the soil with a flush of vegetative growth. As the season progresses, flowers will appear. At this point, your biennial is as showy as it is going to get. Once a killing frost settles in your area, the plant will die but that is not the end of the story. Many biennials reseed themselves. What does that mean? Well, reseeding simply means the plant will drop seeds so you do not have to, and the biennial life cycle will start all over again next spring. Now because of this reseeding fact, many gardeners confuse biennials with perennials in their garden space. The key difference is their life cycle and how they spread.
Perennials are plants that will grow in the same spot in your garden for years. Their life cycle is they come up in the spring from roots and/or seeds and live their life until a killing frost hits the area. At this point, the plant will die back and repeat the process again next spring. Perennials also need to be divided because they traditionally, but not always, spread by roots. If one compares this to a biennial plant, I hope you can see the cause for the confusion of whether it is a reseeding biennial or a perennial. This is why it is very important to understand the life cycle of the plants in your garden area.
Another important tip is to map out your garden space in a gardening journal or app. This will help you remember what is planted where and what you should expect from each plant’s life cycle.
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