Annuals that rather be grown in situ

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

There are many annuals that rather be grown in situ and I would like to do so.
The question is which ones? How to prepare beds for sowing? How to sow (small seeds)? To cover or not? Shade is required or not? Any other tip would be appreciated.
Regards Arif

[Farhan Ahmed]

Sir in my little experience......summer annuals(all of them zinnias, gompherena, Celosia, sunflowers etc) will do better if sown in situ...thats mainly because of the harsh environment in summers which makes transplanting difficult..... moreover summer annuals tend to have deeper roots than cool weather annuals which make it quite difficult to not to harm the roots. For cool weather annuals Sweet Peas, nasturtiums and candytufts are couple that dislike transplanting. But sowing in situ have disadvantages as well for instance bigger area to cultivate, water & weed. In winters, cold weather will only allow allyssum, calendula, sweet peas and nasturtiums in my experience to be sown in situ with little protection. All else would be requiring greater protection hence not suitable in situ.

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

Thank you Farhan I will try some and see.

[Izhar]

I agree with farhan.. summer annuals grow much better when directly sown... the problem arises in watering ...if the seeds are expensive then you will have to water them with a fine mist until they are strong enough to bear the pressure from hose... another thing i experienced is that when sowing mixed seeds for e.g. Dahlia flowered Zinnia, the majority of the plants will be single blooming as the single blooming plants are more vigorous and strong compared to double blooming...