Biennials - What are they and how to grow them.

Biennials

Plant which are called biennials, are those which are raised from seed one year, to flower in the next year. They are normally hardy bedding plant types.
It is normal to sow the seeds outside in the summer of the year before they flower.

Biennials are often sold as hardy annuals, and visa versa.

How to grow biennials

Sow seeds in seedbed outside in summer.
Transplant the seedlings in autumn or the following spring, in the place where you want them to flower.
After flowering - in following autumn – they are dug up, and put on the compost heap.
Many biennials will re-seed themselves year after year, without you needing to interfere.
Examples of self-seeding biennials are Forget-me-nots (Myosotis), Honesty (Lunaria), Poppies (Papaver), Foxgloves (Digitalis) Californian Poppies (Eschscholzia).
After your plants have flowered, be careful not to ‘weed’ out the new plants which will soon grow. They are next year’s flowering display

What: Biennials flower the year after they are sown from seed – then die.
Where: Biennials can be planted anywhere you want a splash of colour in the garden.
When: Sow in mid-summer for following year’s flowers.
Why: They are cheap, easy and cheerful.