Knowing the life cycle of plants is important for designing a garden. A plant’s lifespan depends on how long it takes from seedling to become mature enough and bloom, as well as production rates before ultimately dying off. Depending on the plant selection, your garden design can focus on color, form, or foliage.
Plants belong in one of three following categories: annuals, biennials, and perennials.
- Annuals
Annual plants complete their life cycle in a single growing season. They typically sprout out from seed in spring season, bloom, produce seeds, and eliminate before winter comes again.
Annual plants are best selection for you if you want the most bangs for your buck. Most of the garden vegetables and many herbs are annuals, because they need to be replanted every year.
- Biennials
Biennial plants live for two growing seasons. In the first year, they sprout and grow their leaves and root while flowers and seeds come in the second growing season, after which the plant eradicated. Biennials are relatively less common in home gardens.
- Perennials
Perennial plants live for at least three seasons, and many live more than that in the right being provided by right climate. Perennials can be of two types i.e. herbaceous, the plants with soft stems that die to the ground in winter season and grow back from their roots, or woody, those with hard stems or trunks (like trees, shrubs, and woody vines). Woody perennials are of great importance in creating a backdrop for other plants, and provide them with a habitat for wildlife.
Perennial flowers have a distinct blooming period lasting several weeks, although some flowers keep on blooming throughout the summer. By choosing a combination of early-, mid-, and late-season bloomers, you can have continuous color as different flowers bloom and fade.
So that’s it! I hope this gives you a solid overview and understanding of the gardening life cycle.
