Winter & Spring Flowering Annuals (By Khabbab)

[Farhan Ahmed]

Fall is the real gardening season in all climates where winters are mild. Southern plains of Pakistan are no exception either. This is the reason that major gardening activity is in winter in lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and other lowers plains areas. The plants which grow in summer in cool climates of UK and Europe grows in winter of lahore. This is the reason many winter annuals grown in lahore are actually summer flowering in cool climates. There are 3 main tips for these annuals

1- Feed DAP every 2 weeks in low quantity
2- Remove early buds to get healthy plant and then allow it to flower
3- Remove spent flowers to increase flowering

Petunia
Easiest and longest blooming flower. Single type is very famous. Comes in various shapes like star, picotee etc.

Flowering: December - May
Growth Ease: Very easy
Germination: Moderate to difficult
Sun required: Full sun
Famous series: Falcon F1 is winner. Ultra series (blue star, red star etc.) is good too .
You can see other petunia flowers on this blog here http://www.lahoregardening.com/search/label/petunia

Pansy
Pansy grows in semi shade too. Flowers even for a child too. Long blooming period.Grows good in pots too. Urdu name is banafsha.
Flowering: January - May
Growth Ease: Very easy
Germination: Moderate to difficult
Sun required: Full sun - Semi shade
Famous series: Magestic giants is good. Swiss giants comes on second number. My personal favorite is Mammoth.

Gazania
A very beautiful annual from south africa. Very heat tolerant. Flowers till June and more.
Flowering: February- June
Growth Ease: Very easy
Germination: Moderate
Sun required: Full sun
Famous series: Daybreak mix is good. Daybreak 2 is also good.
You can see other gazania flowers on this blog here http://www.lahoregardening.com/search/label/gazania

Dahlia
Both indian and pakistani dahlia are available. Pakistani is grown from seed and flower is single or semi-double. Indian one is grown from cuttings and flowers are double and very large. Stacking is required. Indian one needs more care than pakistani one specially in severe winter. you can buy cheap cuttings in october/november or buy small plants early in season. you can save tuber for next month while keeping it in soil. Not grown good from tubers in my experience.

Flowering: December- June
Growth Ease: Easy - Moderate
Germination: Easy
Sun required: Full sun
Famous series: In Pakistani dahlia, figoro and diablo are good. Indian ones, buy a plant with lots of side shoots.
You can see other dahlia flowers on this blog here http://www.lahoregardening.com/search/label/dahlia

Freesia
Freesia is super easy to grow from bulb and it is fragrant too. Check this post of mine for details http://www.lahoregardening.com/2011/03/ ... mates.html

Ranunculus
Ranunculus grows from both seeds and corms. Plants grown from seeds have larger flowers than corms so i prefer to buy seed grown seedling from nurseries which is cheap. For growing it from corm check this post of minehttp://www.lahoregardening.com/2009/12/growing ... rm_04.html Remember not to deep plant the seedling of ranunculus in soil bed. The seedlings grow new shoots from much above the soil level. Also it needs to be protected from march rains.

Flowering: February- May
Growth Ease: Easy
Germination: From corm easy, From seed moderate to difficult
Sun required: Full sun
Famous series: The seed grown is asiaticus bloomingdale. Corm is probably different variety.
You can see other ranunculus flowers on this blog here http://www.lahoregardening.com/search/label/ranunculus

Aquilegia
Although a cool climate plant, it grows very good in semi shade and shade and flower is the most beautiful flower you will ever ever ever see. It is mostly germinated in murree and brought to lahore in winters. You can get seedlings easily at cheap price in start of season in October - November.
Flowering: February- May
Growth Ease: Easy
Germination: Difficult
Sun required:Shade - Semi shade
Famous series: N/A
You can see other aquilegia flowers on this blog here http://www.lahoregardening.com/search/label/aquilegia

Anemone
Another easy to grow from corm. Although it is grown from seed too but i never tried it from seed. Very easy to grow and flower. Check this post of mine for details http://www.lahoregardening.com/2009/12/ ... -warm.html

Hyacinth
Hyacinth is another fragrant plant for cool climates so an annual here. You must try hyacinth in glass jar which is super easy to flower. Check this post of mine for details http://www.lahoregardening.com/2009/12/ ... rm_22.html

Other easy to grow winter annuals include Cineraria (Good for shade), Dianthus, carnation, Salvia(Red is good for our climate), Verbena, alyssum, hollyhock, calendula, phlox etc.

[farah fayyaz]

JazakAllah Farhan.That was the detail i was in need for a long period.This will definitely help many gardeners like me who haven't so much knowledge about growing and sowing period.

[naheerameer]

Farhan Sb, isn't Dahlia a summer flower?
I guess in Karachi at least...

[Syed Adnan]

These are very informative posts by Khabbab and i used them a lot in the past as a guidance.

[Farhan Ahmed]

@Naheer. Indian Dalia flowers in Fall/winter, whereas Pakistani Dahlia is a cool season plant. Flowers early summer. In Karachi you can expect it to flower in Feb onward until heat arrives

[Heinie]

Well done. I notice that you grow very much the same annual small bulbs like we do.

[naheerameer]

But I purchased yellow dahlia in June so it had to be prepared in the summer season :S I have packets of zinnia dahlia seeds as well and everyone who sees them says they are to be sowed in summer. Are they incorrect?
Types I have are Double White and Double Golden!

[Hamad Ahmed Kisana]

oh that is problem...seeds packet which you have is of zinnia not dahlia.it is variety of zinnia which is called zinnia dahlia hybrid due to resemblance of its flowers with dahlia.so you are right they they are summer annuals and should be sowed in march next year..

[naheerameer]

Sir. Your knowledge is amazing. Respect. I doubt many would be able to guess that without so much as a picture of the seed packet! Wish I had your level of expertise. Ive inherited a garden recently and I have been unable to do it any justice so far. Keep failing at growing from seed let alone identifying what varieties and what seasons they belong to! Ive got thompson and morgan packets of cyclamen all year round mixed with sowing instructions that are scaring me! Not even going to start on the lavender seeds :s

[Munir]

Farhan, you had posted a long list of Spring Annuals,which I can't recall. Can you please indicate the title of the thread?

Moreover,seed sowing time has been discussed in bits & pieces at a number of places/threads. If I can recollect,seeding should preferably be carried out from mid Oct onward,but in some cases it has already been done,as mentioned by a few members. Similarly,bulbs have also been potted by you & others,some of which have already sprouted,while the same will be available in market not before mid Oct.Then,majority of people get ready seedlings from Nurseries,which too will not be available before Nov.This all causes a bit of confusion about the right/most suitable time for sowing seeds/bulbs.

In view of,it will be useful if following information is posted together,for the benefit of all members:
. Broad Time period when Spring Annuals seeds/bulbs can be sown or seedlings can be planted.
. Most suitable/recommended dates for the above.
. Any special cases with different schedule eg,Flowering Cabbage,Chrysanthemum,Sweet Peas etc.etc.
. Any perennials,which follow the same or a different schedule.
. Any special soil preparation required.