Unusual Annuals

When we think of annuals, a flower that grows from seed, blooms and dies all in one growing season, we often think of impatiens, petunias, marigolds and pansies.

However did you know that there is an annual that has a wishbone shape inside the bloom? The Latin name is Torenia, but gardeners simply call it the wishbone flower. This shade loving plant has bicolored, trumpet-shaped blooms that come in purple, pink, blue, and white with a spot of yellow on the lower petal. The blooms are roughly shaped in a square with the “wishbone” formation inside. It does not like constant shade or full sun, but will do well in areas that have only a couple hours of sun each day. The wishbone flower may be started from seed indoors in the Spring.

If you like orchids indoors, try growing the butterfly flower or poor nan’s orchid outdoors. This annual from Chile also grows best in partial shade. It will grow in full sun but needs some relief from the warmest hours of the day in mid-afternoon. The blooms have a complicated arrangement of petals and may be said to resemble the coloring of a butterfly. They also may be started from seed indoors.

Gaura is another unusual annual that grows to an unusual size. They range in height from two to four feet and in width from two to three feet! Gaura are white or pink and have four leaf-like flower petals that are well spaced from each other. The petals surround the pistols and stamens that appear to be falling off of the plant.

Fuchsia is an intensely colored annual that is also large in size. Fuchsias grow from 6 to 36 inches tall and spread from 6 to 30 inches wide. While we are used to seeing them in their characteristic deep red, they also come in pink, orange, purple and white or a mixture of these colors. Fuchsias are hard to start from seed but grow well from stem cuttings. They also prefer partial shade. When they are in full sun and the temperature is high, fuchsias often do not survive, particularly those grown in baskets that need more frequent watering.

Diascia, also known as twinspur, has another uncommon appearance. The name comes from the Greek words for two sacks. The plant is from South Africa and blooms in shades of pink, red, orange-yellow and white. The petals are large and curved with a deep sac on either side of the bloom center. They are technically a perennial but are commonly grown as annuals.

Cleome or spider flowers are more commonly grown in this area but still qualify as an annual with an unusual appearance. Their stems may reach three feet tall and the blooms look like popcorn balls on top of a long skinny stem. They look best when planted in the back of a flower bed or as the middle plant in a circular bed with other flowers planted in front of them to hide their tall stems. Cleome has barbs on its stems which makes it less desirable for use as a cut flower.

Unusual in both name and appearance is an annual called love-lies-bleeding. The Latin name is Amaranthus caudatus. The blooms are long clusters of deep red flowers that hang down and may be as much as a foot and a half long. Like the Cleome and Gaura they can grow up very tall, ranging in height from three to five feet. The seed germinate quickly and may be started in or outdoors in the Spring.

Much of the above information comes from Don Engebretson and Don Williamson’s book Annuals for Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2004, Lone Pine Publishing and has excellent pictures of these unusual plants.