Annuals for Sun

Annuals add colour to a garden and are great accent plants.  Sun-loving annuals usually require at least five or six hours of direct sunlight. Some of the old favorites include marigolds, geraniums, and petunias, but there are many other interesting choices available.

Sun Tolerant Annuals Include:

Ageratum has small blue almost fuzzy flowers.  It is a lower annual suitable for the front of a border or in containers.

Bacopa A favorite annual trailer suitable for containers and hanging baskets.  Small white or mauve flowers cover the plant at its peak.

Calibrachoa, also called million bells, is a great trailer resembling a miniature petunia, coming in a wide variety of colours.

Celosia is grown for its warm summer colours of red, orange and yellow, and unique flower shape.

Cosmos Come in a variety of colours and have a daisy like flower and soft feathery foliage.  Often used for height.

Dahlia often thought of as a bulbous accent plant, but there are a number of great bedding types of dahlia that are dwarf and have a range of flower colour and form.

Flowering tobacco or nicotiana are often grown to add a bit of height to a garden bed and its tubular flowers are loved by butterflies and hummingbirds. Colors include red, pink, lavender, yellow, white, and even green.

Geranium This old favorite comes in a wide variety of colors, from white to pink to red. There are scented leaved varieties, as well as hanging varieties for trailing down planters and hanging baskets.

Marigold is another old favorite when it comes to sun annuals.  There are 2 main varieties, both requiring the same conditions, African (a taller plant with larger flowers) and French (a shorter plant with smaller flowers).

Portulaca or rose moss is a drought tolerant, low-growing annual with rose like flowers that come in a rainbow of colors.

Petunia is another old favorite coming in a variety of colours.  It comes in single and double flowering forms, and also has varieties that are vigorous trailers (wave petunias).

Salvia has showy bright blossom spikes (most common in red, but do come in a variety of colours) that bloom all summer and are loved by hummingbirds.

Scaevola or fan flower is a great spreading plant for hanging baskets and planters with its loads of blue/mauve flowers.  This drought tolerant plant thrives in full sun and heat.

Snapdragon another old annual widely used for its sun tolerance and tall spikes of flowers in a wide range of colours.

Verbena a great plant for the sun, with its strong flower clusters coming in a wide range of colours.

Zinnia has daisy like flowers coming in a variety of colors. The gardener can choose from taller and shorter plants, depending on the need in the landscape.

Trailing and greenery plants for the sun include dracaena (spikes), potato vines (Ipomoea), licorice, vinca vine, Swedish ivy, and spider plants.

Care for sun annuals: Most sun annuals require a loamy well draining soil.  They will benefit from a regular watering schedule, depending on the temperature.  Fertilizing should be done approximately every 5th watering with Miracle Gro Ultra Bloom®.

Other sun loving annuals include: alyssum, dusty miller, lobelia, pansy, dianthus, heliotrope, pentas, asters, and sunflowers.