Annual plant facts for kids
An annual plant is a type of plant that completes its entire life cycle in just one year. This means it sprouts from a seed, grows, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies, all within a single growing season.
Think of it like a very busy plant! Most annuals will only live longer if they are stopped from making seeds. Even some plants that don't flower, like certain ferns, can be considered annuals if they follow this one-year life cycle.
In gardening, when people talk about annuals, they usually mean plants that are grown outdoors in spring and summer. These plants live only for that one growing season. Many plants we eat are annuals, or are grown as if they were annuals. This includes most of the grains we use for food, like corn.
Sometimes, plants that are actually perennials (living for many years) or biennials (living for two years) are grown as annuals. This often happens if they can't survive the cold winter in a certain area. For example, carrots, celery, and parsley are true biennials. But farmers usually grow them as annual crops to harvest their tasty roots, stems, or leaves. Plants like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers are actually tender perennials. This means they could live for more than two years in warm places, but they are usually grown as annuals in cooler climates.
Many beautiful flowers are annuals too! These are often called "bedding plants." Gardeners love to use annuals to add bright splashes of color to their gardens. This is because annuals often bloom for a much longer time than other types of plants that come back every year.
Some common examples of true annual plants include corn, lettuce, peas, cauliflower, watermelon, beans, zinnias, and marigolds.
Summer annuals
Summer annuals are plants that sprout, flower, and die all within the same spring, summer, and fall seasons. A common example of a summer annual is the lawn weed called crabgrass.
Related pages
- Eduard Strasburger, Peter Sitte, Elmar Weiler, Andreas Bresinsky, Christian Körner: Lehrbuch der Botanik für Hochschulen. Heidelberg 2002 (35.). ISBN: 3-8274-1010-X
See also
In Spanish: Planta anual para niños
