By some definitions, a perennial is a plant that you can expect to live at least three years, or in some cases much longer. As mentioned, though, not all perennial plants are hardy enough to withstand extreme temperatures, so some perennial plants may not survive the winter in colder climates. That’s where the USDA plant hardiness zones factor in. There are a few different kinds, including annuals, perennials, and biennials. For the classic biennial, in its first growing season, the plant produces only foliage. In its second year, it will flower and set seed, often early in the season. Parsley, for example, is a biennial herb that often over-winters, even in colder climates. Although it’s nice to see last year’s parsley sending out new growth in the spring, don’t expect to be harvesting leaves from the plant. It very quickly sends up a flower stalk and goes to seed. At that point, leafy growth slows and the flavor and tenderness of the leaves are diminished.
What Are Some Commonly Grown Biennials?
Many popular flowers are biennial, although often it goes without notice because the plants we buy in nurseries are usually in their second year and ready to flower. If you watch closely, you may notice that sometimes these self-sown volunteers do not produce flowers in their first year, but instead fully mature in their second year. Foxglove, for example, is a biennial that readily self-seeds, and if you allow the seedlings to come back their second year, flowers will be produced. With some biennials, if they set seed early enough in the season, you may get flowers in the first growing season. Other plants, though, will not set seed until the fall and/or germinate until the spring. In that case, they can skip a year of blooming between the first year when you planted the original plants and the third year when the new seedlings are ready to flower. Once you’ve had your plants in the garden for a couple of years, you will that steady supply of new seedlings always coming in. Be aware that plants may be available in different varieties, some of which are annual, some biennial, and some perennial. A close examination of the subspecies may be necessary to determine which you have. Some of the most popular biennial flowers include:
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) California poppy (Eschscholozia) Canterbury Bells (Campanula medium) Forget-me-not (Myosotis) Foxglove (Digitalis) Hollyhock (Alcea) Honesty (Lunaria) Pansy (Viola wittrockiana) Poppy (Papaver) Stock (Matthiola incana) Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri)
Vegetables
Although it is sometimes not recognized, quite a number of vegetables are biennials, too. The reason it is not noticed is that when you purchase seedlings at the garden center, these are usually plants already in their second year, and as a result, they behave like annuals, producing their fruit and then dying the same season you plant them. It is when you plant vegetables from seeds that their true biennial nature becomes apparent. Among the biennial vegetables are the parsley mentioned above, as well as most cole crops. With vegetables, being biennial can a great benefit to the gardener. If you don’t have to worry about plants bolting (flowering and setting seed) in their first year, you can continue to harvest from them all season. When one of them does go to seed prematurely, it’s a disappointment. Broccoli, for example, often behaves more like an annual plant when summers are extremely hot. It can mistake the fluctuating spring temperatures as a change of season and think it has already gone through its first summer and winter, but most of these vegetables will not flower the year you plant them as seeds in the vegetable garden. Some popular biennial vegetables include:
Angelica Beets Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Caraway Carrots Celery Leeks Onions Parsley Parsnips Swiss chard
How to Fool Biennials Into Flowering the First Year
Non-flowering in their first year is an advantage when growing vegetables, but it can be frustrating if you are growing ornamental flowers. You can get around the two-year cycle of biennial ornamentals by starting seeds in the summer instead of the spring and putting the plants outdoors in the fall. The plants will then go through the winter season and be ready to bloom their first full year in the garden.
How to Save the Seeds
The one drawback to biennial vegetables that don’t flower until their second year is that it can be difficult to save seed. It’s not a problem with hardy plants, like parsley and Angelica, but most of the cole crops cannot live through a hard winter without protection. If you want to save seeds of these plants, you will either have to mulch heavily or dig the plants and store them elsewhere.
