Can I Plant ItA plant hardiness zone calculator

Annuals

Fast plants that germinate, flower, set seed and die within a single year.

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All 93 annuals in the catalogue, alphabetical by common name. Each links to a full page with its ratings across the USDA, RHS, Canadian and Australian systems.

  • Andrographis Andrographis paniculata – Bitter Asian annual sometimes called "Indian echinacea". Aerial parts are a traditional immune support herb across South and Southeast Asia. USDA zones 9–12
  • Annual ryegrass Lolium multiflorum – Fast-establishing annual grass with a dense fibrous root system. Useful where rapid soil-binding is more important than nitrogen fixation. USDA zones 3–9
  • Aztec marigold Tagetes erecta – Tall Mexican native annual with dense double yellow or orange pom-pom flower heads. The principal natural source of dietary lutein (the yellow colour of egg yolks in caged-hen production) and a strong textile dye. USDA zones 2–11
  • Bitter melon Momordica charantia – Tropical cucurbit climber producing warty green fruit eaten as a vegetable across South and Southeast Asia. Studied for hypoglycaemic activity. USDA zones 9–12
  • Black medic Medicago lupulina – Low-growing annual or short-lived perennial in the alfalfa genus. Often turns up uninvited in lawns — usefully so, since it tolerates compacted soil and adds nitrogen. USDA zones 3–9
  • Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta – North American native daisy with rich golden-yellow petals around a dark chocolate central cone. Peak bloom from midsummer well into autumn. USDA zones 3–9
  • Black-eyed Susan vine Thunbergia alata – East African twining climber with arrow-shaped leaves and continuous five-petalled flowers in orange, yellow, or cream around a dark chocolate central eye. Tender perennial usually grown as a warm-season annual. USDA zones 10–11
  • Blessed thistle (Holy thistle) Cnicus benedictus – Spiny annual thistle with yellow flower heads. Traditional digestive bitter and galactagogue; different from milk thistle despite the similar common names. USDA zones 4–8
  • Borage Borago officinalis – Bristly annual herb with brilliant blue star-shaped flowers. Once sown, returns yearly from self-set seed. USDA zones 2–11
  • Broad bean (Fava) Vicia faba – Cool-season legume sown autumn through early spring. Nitrogen-fixing roots make it a useful cover crop and follow-on partner. USDA zones 3–9
  • Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum – Fast-growing warm-season grain — flowers six to eight weeks from sowing. Exceptional phosphorus scavenger and an outstanding bee plant during its short flowering window. USDA zones 2–10
  • Calendula (Pot marigold) Calendula officinalis – Cheerful orange or yellow daisy-flowered annual that self-seeds reliably and flowers from late spring until hard frost. A traditional companion plant in vegetable gardens. USDA zones 2–11
  • Chamomile — German Matricaria chamomilla – Annual chamomile — taller and more upright than Roman. The species used for medicinal chamomile tea. USDA zones 2–8
  • Chilli — Hot (Capsicum chinense) Capsicum chinense – Species behind the hottest commonly-grown chillies — Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Ghost, Carolina Reaper. Long warm season required. USDA zones 2–12
  • Chilli — Mild (Capsicum annuum) Capsicum annuum – The species behind most mild and medium chillies — bell peppers, jalapeños, paprika, cayenne. Grown as annual everywhere; perennial in frost-free climates. USDA zones 2–12
  • Cleavers (Goosegrass) Galium aparine – Sticky scrambling annual that catches on clothing — and on itself — via tiny hooked hairs. Traditional spring lymphatic tonic; young shoots edible. USDA zones 2–9
  • Common vetch Vicia sativa – Fast-growing annual legume — the standard small-scale green manure across much of Europe. Autumn-sown in mild climates, spring-sown in cold. USDA zones 3–9
  • Coriander (Cilantro) Coriandrum sativum – Fast-growing annual umbellifer producing fresh leafy growth and then white flower umbels and aromatic round seeds. USDA zones 2–11
  • Corn poppy (Common poppy) Papaver rhoeas – Iconic scarlet annual of disturbed ground and cornfields. The remembrance poppy and the visual signature of summer field margins. USDA zones 3–9
  • Cornflower Centaurea cyanus – Brilliant blue annual once common in cornfields, now almost extinct in the wild. Easy to grow from seed and indispensable for pollinator-friendly annual displays. USDA zones 2–10
  • Cosmos Cosmos bipinnatus – Slender annual with feathery foliage and continuous open daisy flowers in pinks and whites. One of the easiest and most productive bee plants for the cutting garden. USDA zones 2–11
  • Courgette (Zucchini) Cucurbita pepo (Zucchini Group) – Bushy summer squash producing immature fruit picked young. Reliably prolific — three plants will more than feed an average family. USDA zones 2–11
  • Cowpea (Black-eyed pea) Vigna unguiculata – African and Asian legume serving simultaneously as warm-season green manure, fast-establishing cover crop, and edible pulse. Drought tolerant once established. USDA zones 3–12
  • Crimson clover Trifolium incarnatum – Tall annual clover with deep crimson flower heads — striking enough to be ornamental as well as agricultural. A staple winter cover crop in orchards. USDA zones 5–9
  • Daikon radish (Tillage radish) Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus – Long white Asian radish doubling as a "biodriller" cover crop. Roots punch through compacted subsoil up to 60 cm; winter-kills leaving channels for water and root infiltration. USDA zones 2–10
  • Dill Anethum graveolens – Annual umbellifer with feathery blue-green foliage and flat-topped yellow flower umbels. A classic culinary herb and a top companion plant for biological pest control. USDA zones 2–11
  • Dyer’s coreopsis (Plains coreopsis) Coreopsis tinctoria – Native annual prairie wildflower of central North America with abundant small yellow-and-red daisy flowers. Long used by the prairie peoples for orange-to-red dyes and now a popular natural-dyer’s annual. USDA zones 2–11
  • Fat hen (Lamb's quarters) Chenopodium album – Cosmopolitan weed and one of the most nutritious wild greens — comparing favourably with spinach but without its oxalate content. Among the oldest cultivated plants in Europe. USDA zones 2–10
  • Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum – Fast-growing annual legume — Indian culinary herb (methi), a galactagogue medicinal, and an excellent warm-season green manure with a distinctive maple-syrup scent. USDA zones 2–11
  • Field pea (Forage pea) Pisum sativum var. arvense – Cool-season cover-crop pea — smaller seed and habit than garden pea (P. sativum), grown for biomass and nitrogen fixation rather than fresh eating. USDA zones 2–9
  • Flax (Linen flax) Linum usitatissimum – Slender annual with sky-blue flowers grown for linen fibre extracted from the stem and for linseed (flax) oil pressed from the seed. The single oldest cultivated fibre crop, in use for at least 30,000 years. USDA zones 4–9
  • French bean (Green bean) Phaseolus vulgaris – Tender warm-season legume in dwarf (bush) and climbing forms. Nitrogen-fixing roots benefit following crops. USDA zones 2–11
  • French marigold Tagetes patula – Compact pungent-leaved annual with small orange, yellow or mahogany flowers. The classic vegetable-bed companion plant for nematode suppression. USDA zones 2–11
  • Garden pansy Viola × wittrockiana – Hybrid bedding pansy with larger flowers than Viola tricolor in almost every colour combination, with the characteristic face markings. The mainstay of cool-season bedding worldwide. USDA zones 4–8
  • Hairy vetch Vicia villosa – Winter-hardy annual or biennial vetch — the cover crop of choice for no-dig systems. When crimped at flowering, creates a dense mulch mat that the next crop is planted directly into. USDA zones 3–9
  • Heartsease (Wild pansy) Viola tricolor – Small short-lived perennial or self-seeding annual with tiny three-coloured (purple, yellow, white) faces. The wild ancestor of the modern garden pansy and a traditional edible flower. USDA zones 4–8
  • Holy basil (Tulsi) Ocimum tenuiflorum – Sacred plant in Hindu tradition and a major Ayurvedic adaptogen. Distinct from culinary basil — clove-scented foliage, small purple flower spikes. USDA zones 9–12
  • Industrial hemp Cannabis sativa – Tall fast-growing annual with palmate leaves and slender stems grown for bast fibre, hempseed oil, hempseed food, and CBD. Industrial cultivars are bred to contain less than 0.3% THC and are regulated separately from drug cultivars. USDA zones 4–11
  • Japanese indigo Persicaria tinctoria – Tender annual related to the knotweeds, with broad oval leaves and small pink flower spikes in late summer. The principal indigo dye plant of East Asia and a reliable cold-climate alternative to tropical Indigofera. USDA zones 4–11
  • Japanese millet Echinochloa esculenta – Fast-growing warm-season annual grass that thrives where most cover crops drown. Tolerates wet, waterlogged, and even briefly flooded soils. USDA zones 3–11
  • Jute Corchorus olitorius – Tropical annual reaching 3 m, grown for bast fibre extracted from the stems. The second most important plant fibre after cotton, used for sacking, hessian, twine, and increasingly geotextiles. USDA zones 9–11
  • Kañiwa Chenopodium pallidicaule – Compact Andean grain crop closely related to quinoa, with smaller bitter-free seeds that do not require the saponin rinsing of quinoa. Tolerates extreme cold, drought, and altitude better than quinoa. USDA zones 4–9
  • Kenaf Hibiscus cannabinus – Tall warm-season hibiscus relative reaching 3 m or more, grown as an annual for bast fibre and woody core fibre. Increasingly grown as a fast-renewable substitute for wood pulp in paper. USDA zones 8–11
  • Lablab bean (Hyacinth bean) Lablab purpureus – Vigorous tropical climbing legume with ornamental purple flowers and pods. Fast-growing summer cover crop and a vegetable in many cuisines, but raw beans are toxic. USDA zones 3–12
  • Larkspur Consolida ajacis – Slender cottage-garden annual with finely divided ferny foliage and tall spires of spurred flowers in blue, mauve, pink, or white. The annual cousin of the larger perennial delphinium. USDA zones 2–11
  • Leek Allium ampeloprasum (porrum group) – Cool-season biennial allium grown for thick blanched stems. Tolerates hard frost in the ground — a useful winter vegetable. USDA zones 4–9
  • Lentil Lens culinaris – Cool-season pulse crop and one of the oldest cultivated plants — domesticated 9,000+ years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Excellent rotation crop for cereals. USDA zones 3–10
  • Lobelia (Indian tobacco) Lobelia inflata – North American annual with small pale-blue flowers and inflated seed capsules. Historical respiratory and emetic use — known by the unflattering name "puke weed". USDA zones 2–9
  • Lupin — Blue (Narrow-leaf) Lupinus angustifolius – Annual lupin grown widely as a grain crop in Western Australia and as a cool-season cover crop elsewhere. Modern "sweet" cultivars are low-alkaloid and edible. USDA zones 3–9
  • Lupin — White Lupinus albus – Mediterranean annual lupin grown for centuries as a pulse crop. Seeds are debittered by soaking before being eaten — the basis of Spanish, Italian, and Egyptian street snacks. USDA zones 3–9
  • Maca Lepidium meyenii – Andean root vegetable from the high Peruvian altiplano (4000+ m). Adaptogenic effects on energy, hormone balance, and fertility. USDA zones 7–9
  • Milk thistle Silybum marianum – Tall biennial or annual thistle with marbled leaves and pink-purple flower heads. Seeds yield silymarin, the most studied plant compound for liver support. USDA zones 5–9
  • Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus – Trailing or climbing annual with edible round leaves, peppery flowers, and seeds that can be pickled like capers. USDA zones 2–11
  • Night-scented stock Matthiola longipetala – Diminutive Mediterranean annual with insignificant pale lilac four-petalled flowers that release one of the most exquisite evening fragrances of any garden plant — sweet, spicy, distinctively floral. USDA zones 2–10
  • Oats Avena sativa – Cool-season cereal with a useful double life as a cover crop. Winter-killed in cold climates, where the dead biomass becomes natural mulch protecting soil through spring. USDA zones 3–9
  • Onion Allium cepa – Biennial allium grown as an annual for storage bulbs. Variety choice depends as much on latitude as on hardiness zone. USDA zones 3–10
  • Ornamental kale (Flowering cabbage) Brassica oleracea var. acephala – Showy ornamental selections of the same species as kale and cabbage, with frilly or feathery rosette leaves in cream, pink, magenta, or purple developing their strongest colour with the first autumn frosts. USDA zones 2–11
  • Pea Pisum sativum – Cool-season legume in shelling, mangetout, and snap forms. One of the earliest spring vegetables; declines in heat. USDA zones 2–9
  • Phacelia Phacelia tanacetifolia – Fern-leaved Californian native cover crop with curling lavender-blue flower heads — among the highest-nectar plants per unit area of any cover crop. USDA zones 2–10
  • Poached egg plant Limnanthes douglasii – Low spreading hardy annual with bright yellow-and-white flowers like miniature poached eggs. Flowers earlier than most other annuals, when beneficial insects most need help. USDA zones 3–10
  • Potato — Coliban (early) Solanum tuberosum "Coliban" – Early-season white-fleshed Australian-bred potato. The dominant fresh-market potato in much of Australia for decades. USDA zones 3–10
  • Potato — Desiree (late) Solanum tuberosum "Desiree" – Late-season Dutch-bred red-skinned potato with creamy yellow flesh. Popular across Europe and southern Australia. USDA zones 3–9
  • Potato — Kipfler (mid) Solanum tuberosum "Kipfler" – Mid-season fingerling — long, slim, yellow-fleshed waxy potato. A staple in Australian markets and home gardens. USDA zones 3–10
  • Pumpkin Cucurbita pepo (Pumpkin Group) – Sprawling annual vine with large edible fruit. Needs a long warm growing season. USDA zones 3–10
  • Pumpkin / Winter squash Cucurbita maxima – Large-fruited storage squash. Long warm season (90–120 days) needed to mature fruit fully — frost-tender at both ends of the cycle. USDA zones 2–11
  • Roselle (Jamaica sorrel) Hibiscus sabdariffa – West African hibiscus relative grown as an annual or short-lived shrub, with pale yellow hibiscus flowers and — the principal feature — fleshy bright red sepals (calyces) that swell and persist after the flowers drop. USDA zones 9–11
  • Runner bean Phaseolus coccineus – Climbing bean with bright red (or white) flowers and long flat pods. A British staple of cottage and allotment gardens. USDA zones 3–11
  • Safflower Carthamus tinctorius – Thistle-like annual with spiny leaves and golden-orange flower heads. One of the oldest cultivated crops, grown for both red and yellow dye (from the flowers) and for safflower seed oil. USDA zones 4–11
  • Sea island cotton Gossypium barbadense – Tropical cotton species producing the longest, finest and silkiest cotton fibres in cultivation. The source of premium extra-long staple cottons including Sea Island, Pima, and Egyptian. USDA zones 9–11
  • Shallot Allium cepa Aggregatum group – Multiplying onion that splits into a cluster of bulbs from a single planted set. Milder, more refined flavour than onion. USDA zones 3–10
  • Spider flower Cleome hassleriana – Tall South American annual with rounded heads of white, pink, or magenta flowers with long protruding stamens that give the spidery appearance and the common name. Continuous flowering from mid-summer to first frost. USDA zones 2–11
  • Spilanthes (Toothache plant) Acmella oleracea – Sprawling tropical perennial with curious red-and-yellow button flower heads. Chewing the flower head produces a strong tingling, numbing sensation — a topical local anaesthetic. USDA zones 9–11
  • Stocks (Gillyflower) Matthiola incana – Short-lived Mediterranean perennial usually grown as a winter or spring annual, with dense spikes of single or double clove-fragrant flowers in white, pink, mauve, red, or purple. USDA zones 7–10
  • Subterranean clover Trifolium subterraneum – Self-regenerating annual clover with the unusual habit of pushing its own seed underground after flowering. The backbone of southern Australian dryland pasture. USDA zones 7–10
  • Sunflower Helianthus annuus – Tall annual with massive single yellow flower heads tracking the sun. The seeds feed bees, songbirds and humans alike. USDA zones 2–11
  • Sunn hemp Crotalaria juncea – Tropical Asian legume — perennial in true tropics, grown as an annual elsewhere. Reaches 2 m in 60 days, producing extraordinary biomass for nitrogen fixation and mulch. USDA zones 3–12
  • Sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima – Low-spreading honey-scented annual or short-lived perennial covered in dense clusters of small white, pink or purple flowers from spring until frost. USDA zones 5–9
  • Sweet corn Zea mays (var. saccharata) – Tall annual grass producing edible immature ears. Wind-pollinated — plant in blocks, not rows, for proper pollination. USDA zones 2–11
  • Sweet pea Lathyrus odoratus – Annual twining climber with paired pinnate leaflets, terminal tendrils, and stems of fragrant pea-flowers in almost every colour through summer. The classic British cottage-garden cut-flower annual. USDA zones 2–11
  • Tomato Solanum lycopersicum – Tender warm-season annual fruit. Wide variety of sizes and colours. USDA zones 2–11
  • Tomato — Black Cherry (heirloom) Solanum lycopersicum "Black Cherry" – Mahogany-purple heirloom cherry tomato with rich, almost smoky flavour — among the deepest-flavoured cherry types. USDA zones 2–11
  • Tomato — Brandywine (heirloom) Solanum lycopersicum "Brandywine" – Iconic large pink heirloom beefsteak from Pennsylvania. Reference flavour for many tomato lovers. USDA zones 2–10
  • Tomato — Mortgage Lifter (heirloom) Solanum lycopersicum "Mortgage Lifter" – West Virginia heirloom beefsteak named for the family-farm depression-era story. Large pink-red fruit, low acidity, mild and sweet. USDA zones 2–10
  • Tomato — Sweet 100 (cherry) Solanum lycopersicum "Sweet 100" – Modern indeterminate cherry tomato bred for very high yield and sustained sweetness through the season. USDA zones 2–11
  • Tomato — Tigerella (heirloom) Solanum lycopersicum "Tigerella" – UK-bred striped salad tomato. Compact, early, and reliable — well suited to short cool summers including British and northern European gardens. USDA zones 2–10
  • Tomato — Tommy Toe (Australian heirloom) Solanum lycopersicum "Tommy Toe" – Australian heirloom cherry-to-cocktail-sized tomato. Notably tolerant of heat and humidity, where many heirlooms struggle. USDA zones 2–11
  • Upland cotton Gossypium hirsutum – Tropical and subtropical shrub grown as an annual for the white seed-hair fibre that surrounds the seeds in mature capsules (bolls). Accounts for roughly 90% of world cotton production. USDA zones 8–11
  • Watermelon Citrullus lanatus – Large vining annual demanding sustained summer heat to ripen sweetly. Hardiness zone alone misleads — heat-unit accumulation is the real constraint. USDA zones 3–11
  • White mustard Sinapis alba – Fastest-establishing green manure — germinates in 3–4 days. Glucosinolates released when the green mass is incorporated act as a natural soil biofumigant. USDA zones 2–10
  • Winter rye Secale cereale – The hardiest winter cereal — grows when nothing else will. Standard autumn-sown cover crop in cold-climate gardens; exceptional root system improves soil structure. USDA zones 3–9
  • Woolly pod vetch Vicia villosa subsp. dasycarpa – Heat-tolerant subspecies of hairy vetch suited to Mediterranean and Australian climates. Same nitrogen-fixing benefits with better summer survival. USDA zones 5–10
  • Yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor – Slender annual semi-parasite of grass roots, with hooded yellow flowers and inflated seed capsules. The single most useful plant for establishing wildflower meadows. USDA zones 3–8
  • Zinnia Zinnia elegans – Bright daisy-flowered annual in almost every colour, holding well as a cut flower and feeding bees and butterflies through high summer. USDA zones 2–11

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