Tips and Tricks for Longer Bloom Times

Adding flowering plants to the landscape is the quickest way to add visual appeal. "Planting flowers" can mean different things to different people, but no matter what type of plant they are on, everyone wants their flowers to last as long as possible. Following are a few great ways to keep the color coming all summer long.

Before extending the bloom season, it's important to know what the bloom season should be. Annual flowers produce blooms soon after sprouting from seed, and continue flowering throughout their short single-season lifespan. Most trees, shrubs and perennials have a more compact bloom season, and even reblooming varieties have bloom/rest cycles that preclude a constant color show. Optimizing the bloom season requires a slightly different approach for each of these categories.

A key to keeping annuals blooming heavily for several months is planting those species that are coming into season. At any given time there are species that are coming into their bloom season and others that are finishing up. For example, in the South pansies and begonias may both be seen in garden centers in April; but pansies will soon peter out because of the heat, while it is just getting warm enough to plant begonias.

The great benefit of perennials in the landscape is that they come back year after year, however they tend to have a shorter bloom season than annuals. While annuals are best used in limited pockets to add a punch of color, perennials are best peppered throughout the landscape to add subtle change and bright "sparks" throughout the season.