Flower Fireworks or flower fizzle?
Summer is in full swing and hopefully you have planted or are in the process of planting your annual flowers. Nothing accentuates the landscape more than a nicely placed, healthy grouping of annual flower color. The question is, does your annual flower display explode with vibrant colors or does your flower display merely sit in your landscape and meekly exist without much notice whatsoever?
So what’s the secret to growing vibrant, healthy, explosive annual flowers? The answer is not as simple as you might think. For any plant, annual flower or otherwise, location, location, location is the primary consideration. How much sun, wind, reflective heat, shade, soil condition, slope and soil condition are all important elements to take into account before choosing your seasonal plants for color.
Never let your infant annuals dry out….ever!
First of all, annual flowers are grown in very small pots with a very small root system. Allowing them to dry out can cause quick demise or at best, a stressful set back from which they may never completely recover. Annual flowers dry out QUICKLY! This is probably one of the top reasons why folks have mediocre flower displays in their landscape.
Know your Location
Be sure to choose the right type of annual flowers for the right locations. Some plants such as the ever popular geranium require as much sun as you can provide during the day. As more sun is available to the geraniums the flowers become more compact and full of bloom. Some plants like begonias and impatiens can tolerate a wide range of conditions, thus their popularity. Certain taller accent plants like large caladiums (elephant ears) or banana trees will be torn to shreds if placed in a windy location. For an aesthetically pleasing annual display, make sure you plant in the correct environmental conditions. 
Prepare your soil
Spending extra time to prepare your planting soil will pay you in explosive dividends with any plant, especially when dealing with annual flowers. Annuals prefer a rich, well drained soil. Adding peat moss, comtil or any other organic compost material will loosen as well as enrich the soil with much needed nutrients. Planting in heavy clay soil is a no win proposition. Your annuals will have no chance to thrive or possibly live at all in such undesirable conditions.
Clear out the old mulch
Another common problem that we see is that individuals don’t plant their new annuals properly. Annuals need to be planted down into the soil level. Plant beds over the years can develop a thick layer of mulch. Many times the unsuspecting flower planter will diligently trowel out their planting holes but the annuals are planted high up in this thick layer of mulch and they never reach the soil. Again, this technique will cause an annual flower to fizzle at best. In many cases, these annuals will die. 
More is better!
Don’t let your annuals be lonely. It is a waste of time and energy to plant solitary annual flowers spaced many feet apart. This is the equivalent to painting a few lines on your walls inside your home. Perhaps a better analogy would be to place a shrub spaced ten to twenty feet apart along the front of your home. You just won’t get the impact that a grouping will provide. Be sure to plant your flowers in groupings large enough to make a statement. You may certainly mix varieties but still keep the grouping theme in mind.
Annual flowers in mass
Feed your flowers!
The final key to success in having an excellent explosion of annual flower color is fertilizer. Be sure to feed your annual flowers! They grow fast and they require nutrients to do this. There are several popular brands from which to choose from and just as many ways to deliver the nutrients as well. We like to use granular slow release products when our annuals are first planted and then follow up in two to three weeks with a liquid fertilizer. Don’t forget to feed again in about another month to keep the fireworks going. The granular slow release fertilizer will keep feeding them throughout the season while the liquid fertilizers can provide for quick explosive bursts of energy and bloom.
The beauty and simplicity of annual color can bring any landscape to life. Just a little splash of color can turn that pumpkin of a home or business in to an elegant and attractive chariot overnight. By preparing your beds, correctly planting your annuals and by watering and fertilizing, you will have that beautiful summer oasis of which you have always dreamed.
