Growing Annual Flowers in Zone 10
Working in my yard is my way to relax. I love to read gardening magazines and constantly plan what to do next.
I live in Florida in an area that rarely gets frost -Zone 10. So anything I read about planting times is way off for my climate. When I was younger, I followed the steps of annual flowers in April or May. By mid-July, my garden looked awful.
Generic advice just wasn’t working for me. Eventually, I figured out that a zone 10 climate gives us two growing and planting seasons.
If you start with seeds, plant them in starter flats in late August. Keep them well watered because in spite of almost daily rains, you need to be sure they don’t dry out. By the end of September they should be ready to go into the ground. This will give you a Winter garden and it’s best to grow plants that prefer the cooler weather.
For a Spring garden, start those seeds in early February. As always, keep a close eye on them so they stay moist. If a stray frost is being predicted, cover them or bring into your garage or a shed. These seedlings can be put into the ground in March and will give you a nice crop of annual flowers through July until the heat and humidity make them (and us wilt).