Perennial vs. Annual

When preparing his fire escape garden for the coming winter months, my friend Reilly wasn't sure which plants would come back next year and which ones were ready for the compost pile. Here is a handy list for him and you to decipher which plants constitute as "Perennials" and which ones are "Annuals."

Definition:

per·en·ni·al

[puh-ren-ee-uh'l]

adjective

1. lasting for an indefinitely long time; enduring: her perennial beauty.

2. (of plants) having a life cycle lasting more than two years.

3. lasting or continuing throughout the entire year, as a stream.

4. perpetual; everlasting; continuing; recurrent.

noun

5. a perennial plant: Daffodils and tulips are perennials.

6. something that is continuing or recurrent.

We are more concerned with definition number two: a plant having a life cycle lasting more than two years. Perennials are the plants that bloom year after year. So in one growing season it emerges from the ground, grows and flowers, then dies back to the ground. Its roots are still alive, but dormant, in the winter and come spring it starts the whole growing-flowering-dying cycle over again. Trees and other woody plants count as perennials, but some other common perennials that you might have in your garden are:

artichoke (some varieties), asparagus, basil (some varieties), black pepper, broccoli, chives, dill, eggplant, fennel, garlic, ginger, hops, horseradish, lavender, leek, mint, okra, onions, oregano, potato, radicchio, rhubarb, rosemary, sage, shallot, spinach (some varieties), sweet potato, and thyme

Any plant that germinates, flowers, and dies in one season is then considered an annual. A lot of the flowers you can buy at garden centers and hardware stores are annuals as well as many food crops like corn, wheat, lettuce, rice, peas, and tomatoes. Whenever you purchase a plant, it should say it on the label.

And just to confuse the whole thing, there are biennial plants too! These are plants that in the first year of their life grow the basics: leaves, stems, and roots. They then become dormant in the winter and during the second year of their life, flower, produce seeds, and die. Some examples of biennials are parsley and carrots. Hope this helps!

Watercolors by Alison Hilary Corbalis

Aleebird