Annuals
Annual plants are those whose lifecycle last for only one year. Their lives begin after the germination of the seed. After bloom it produces the seed (though some reputed seed companies make their annuals as such, that, either they are without pollen or does
not bear the quality of the mother plant, for purely economical purpose) for the next generation and then the parent plant dies. Annuals are the easiest way to add color to your landscape and pride of every gardener. Annual needs a very good care for blooming, though some of them are low maintenance type, like Gomphrena, Cosmos etc. Nowadays we have some great hybrid annuals where the plants are very small but produce great flowers like Inca, Gazania, Pansea, Pitunia, Antirinum etc. you can produce annuals literally everywhere, from container, pot, washtub to flowerbeds.
Soil
Soil preparation is the most crucial step in success with annuals. They have shallow root system, which should penetrate the earth and extract nutrients very fast. As, their root does not penetrate the earth deeply, spade the soil up to 20-30 centimeter. Remove weed and other foreign objects. Spread a layer of leaf mould and farmyard manure up to a height of 5-10 centimeter. Mix with the soil thoroughly. Most annuals prefer a soil of pH value of 6.0 to 7.5 The test result will indicate for lime requirements. Lime make acidic soil alkaline and aluminium sulphate does the reverse.
Fertilizer
Add a slow release fertilizer to the soil, when the seedlings or transplants are firmly rooted in the ground. Addition of vermicompost, bone meal or other suitable organic fertilizer, during the bed preparation is also very useful. Else, a 20-20-20 balance fertilizer is very effective during the growing period. Just before and during the bloom season, a side feed of 10-50-10 fertilizer helps the plant to bloom profusely.
Disease & pest control
The thumb rule of it is to maintain a weed free and well drained soil. There are normally three types of disease in a plant; diseases by bacteria, disease by virus and diseases by pest. If a plant is suspected, that, it is affected by viral disease, it is better to remove and burn that plant.Wilt, stem rot, root rot damping, etc. is a disease normally caused by fungus and the medium is soil. To protect from these types of diseases, soil treatment with fungicides, before planting is an essential. Cheshunt compound is also effective here. In case of powdery mildew or red spidery mite, Micro-sulf, Morestan, etc. is effective. For other pests, beetles,insects and caterpillars; Rogor, Sevin, Metacid is effective. As the above mentioned pesticides and fungicides are poisonous, do not forget to cover your face, hand and other bare body parts & keep out of easy reach of children.
Link to relevant websites
