If you've been planting annuals in your flower beds for a while you may have noticed how short-lived some of the blooms can be.
While some flowers seem to bloom and bloom with no effort, others require a little bit of work to keep blooming.
Still others, such as petunias, sunflowers, and cosmos tend to grow, bloom, die, and then leave a great big hole in your heart (and in your garden).
If you've always wanted to get those plants to last a little longer, then you're in luck! There's an easy way to ensure your snapdragons, phlox, and more are blooming all summer long.
It's called Succession Planting. To learn a little more about it and how to do it, we spoke with Lori Hernandez, founder/owner of the Three Acre Farm outside Grand Rapids, MI, and author of the Three Acre Guide to Succession Planting.
What Is Succession Planting?
Simply put, "Succession planting is a method of gardening that involves planting smaller amounts of the same flowers every 2 to 3 weeks instead of all at once," says Lori. "This way, as one batch of flowers finishes blooming, the next batch is just starting to flower, giving you a continuous supply of fresh blooms."
Though it takes a little bit more planning (and planting) the obvious benefit is that you get a continuous succession of blooms every few weeks, as long as the growing season lasts.
Tips for Succession Planting
"The hardest part of succession planting is planning ahead," says Lori. "Instead of planting the entire garden all at once, you will need to reserve areas in the garden for future successions. [I do this by] creating a garden map (either with pencil or paper, or using a garden software program)."
Lori uses succession planting extensively at Three Acre Farm.
To make things easier, she divides each flower's planting space into two or three distinct sections. "Areas reserved for future succession plantings can be covered with a tarp, landscape fabric or heavy mulch to prevent weed growth," she says. "When you are ready to plant, simply remove the tarp and plant the next succession!"
Planting to Harvest Vs. Planting to Show
One big difference between a flower farm and a front garden, of course, is that home gardeners may not want to grow all their dahlias or zinnias in one section—or in harvesting all the flowers at once (even when specifically growing a cut-flower garden). But succession planting can still be a good strategy for home gardeners.
"If I were growing annual flowers in my front yard for display, I would plan on planting two successions," says Lori. "The first succession would be in the front and the second succession would go behind it, planted 2 to 3 weeks later.
"When the first succession begins to fade and look tired, you can trim it back and allow the second succession to take over," she says. Because some annuals tend to rebloom after a trimming, the front of the garden would likely create a third succession!
Advanced Succession Planting Ideas
Ready to take succession planting to the next level? You can try planting two different kinds of flowers in the same space. Lori recommends swapping a cold-hardy annual, grown in the fall / late winter or in the early spring (depending on climate) with a heat-loving annual, grown in the summer and early fall. The cold-hardy plants will bloom in the late spring or early summer, and once they're finished, you can start growing your heat-loving annuals for a late summer/early fall bloom!
Here's what Lori recommends:
Cold-Hardy Annual examples: Bachelor Button, Bells of Ireland, Iceland Poppy, Larkspur, Nigella, Orlaya, Stock, Sweet Pea, etc.
Heat-Loving Annual examples: Ageratum, Amaranth, Celosia, Cosmos, Globe Amaranth, Marigold, Strawflower, Sunflower, Zinnia.
Read more at Country Living
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