Re: Annuals and Biennials

Dame's Rocket (hesperis matronalis) is a good one.

There is larkspur, allysum, galliardia, cleome, impatiens... lots and lots of annuals in your zone which will re-seed.

You'd consider Texas bluebonnets to be weeds? Maxmillion sunflowers? Larkspur?

I mean, I see your point, but there are a lot of plants which are in cultivation and can reseed and not be considered weeds.

The quintessential reseeding annual of northern climes is the poppy. Both papaver rhoeas (shirley poppy, corn poppy), and papaver somniferum (opium poppy) will reseed themselves for years in cool climates. If your climate is cold enough, iceland poppy may reseed itself too. (Native to arctic regions). Bachelor buttons, alyssum, california poppies, godetia, cosmos, lavatera, and chinese forget me nots will all reseed themselves, although not always in the spot you would have chosen for them. The trick is learning to recognize the seedlings when young, and also not to be afraid to hoe often, since these plants will reseed themselves too generously and it's nice to give them a little breathing space. (The ones the hoe misses will be plenty!).

Huh? Opium poppies are perennial, n'est-ce pas?

A friend gave me some root pieces in a pot.. planted them years ago... the *exact same* poppy comes up every year... not new seedlings.

- Alex

I think this varies. They sometimes go a couple years as non-blooming perennials, then do not return the next year after finally blooming, unless they reseed, which they do quite easily. But some annual poppies do seem to perennialize unpredictably & bloom year after year, & I think P. somniferum may be one that can do so, though I'm not swearing to it. Mine in the past have been annuals. This year I have only one opium poppy (a black peony variety) -- it has been blooming a full month so far, beginning to look scruffy finally -- & I'm saving the pods as I'm pretty sure it won't come back next year, but I won't disrupt its specific location in case it does want to return.

-paghat the ratgirl

They are not usually root hardy up north.

Alexander Pensky expounded:

I've only known them as self sowing annuals. They seed and die. Beautiful while they last, though.