Understanding Annual & Perennial Plants and Why You Want Both in Your Garden

How familiar are you with the differences between annual and perennial plants? 

If you’re a seasoned grower, you’re familiar with the differences. However, if you’re just getting into gardening, it can be difficult to distinguish between these two types of plants.

The primary distinction is that annual plants complete their life cycle in a single growing season. From seed to full bloom, this type of plant comes with spring and dies with the frost. 

Perennials are able to overwinter successfully and will bloom again next growing season. If you’re thinking, why bother with annuals at this point, you’re asking the logical question. If you’re guaranteed to lose your flowers once winter hits, doesn’t it make more sense to buy a flower that will live for many years? 

Annuals offer several benefits that perennials do not. First, annuals have a longer blooming period than perennials and tend to have brighter, more vibrant flowers. Many annuals will bloom throughout summer while many perennials may only bloom in early summer. During the prime of a growing season, you can count on annuals to continuously brighten your garden. For some growers, color is the most important aspect of their garden, which leads them to prefer annuals. 

If you’re at the stage where you just want something to grow and aren’t as concerned with your garden’s color palette, don’t immediately default to perennials. Just because they are capable of living through the winter does not mean that perennials automatically survive. Many perennials need to be trimmed and pruned between growing seasons, while annual plants are more forgiving, usually only needing the typical water, fertilizer, and sunlight required by all plants.

If you’re looking to get your bearings, here’s a quick list of five common annuals and perennials:

Annuals

Petunias: Known for their vibrant colors and sweet fragrance. 

Marigolds: A classic choice for gardens, with a strong, earthy scent.

Zinnias: Available in a wide range of colors and sizes. 

Cosmos: A delicate and airy annual with a long blooming period.

Sunflowers: A cheerful and iconic annual with large, golden blooms.


Perennials

Daylilies: Known for their abundant blooms and ease of care.

Peonies: A classic perennial with large, fragrant flowers.

Lavender: A popular choice for its calming fragrance and beautiful purple blooms.

Hostas: A versatile perennial with striking foliage in various shades of green, blue, and yellow.

Black-eyed Susans: A cheerful perennial with bright yellow petals and dark brown centers.

We’ll end this article with a special mention of frost cloths. 

Frost cloths are a special type of fabric that protects plants from frost damage during cold nights. A frost cloth isn’t magic once there’s snow on the ground and nightly temperatures are regularly in the single digits, you can’t just place a frost cloth over some seeds and expect a bountiful harvest in a month. Instead, frost cloths allow you to extend your growing period past the first frost date (and you can also begin growing before the last frost date). This is especially valuable if you’re growing vegetables, as it increases the number of harvests in the growing season. 

For more info on frost cloths, check out this article. - Robin @ARBICO Organics

A Four Step Solution to Fly Control

If you raise horses or livestock, you’re familiar with flies. 

Too familiar, most likely. 

While a casual gardener will likely notice an increase in fly presence if they’re maintaining a compost pile, that pales in comparison to the struggles that ranchers undergo when dealing with fly populations. If you’re regularly working with horses and livestock and have struggled to keep your fly population under control, start by changing how you approach the issue. 

You can’t control a fly population by swooping in with a chemical “bomb”. 

Sure, you can kill a lot of flies with heavy application of pesticides, but a one-off, intensive coating of pesticide will only temporarily reduce a fly population. 

Instead, we recommend investing in a continuous 4-step control program to permanently solve your fly infestation. 

Flies breed in and are attracted to a variety of locations. 

Here’s a quick list to keep in mind while you read this article: 


Manure & Urination Areas: 

• Barns, stables, stalls, hospital pens, or loafing sheds

• Around corral posts, paddock areas and fence lines
• Around manure piles, pits, bins, or carts
• In kennel or coop areas
Watering & Feeding Areas:

• Under water troughs, near barrels, buckets
• Where spilling, dripping or leakage occurs
• Around bathing areas, drainage sites, and run-off areas
• Areas where feed, straw, or hay have decomposed
Other Fly-Breeding Areas:

• Around compost piles and family gardens
• Alongside garbage cans


The 4-Step Fly Control Program

1. Invest in a Form of Sustainable, Biological Population Control
Continuously spraying harsh chemicals will do little to solve the underlying issues that lead to explosions in fly populations. Additionally, if you’re using pesticides, you’re spraying them in barns, corrals, and other locations where horses and livestock spend time. The same chemicals that kill off flies can also cause skin irritation in horses. Prolonged exposure can lead to difficulty in breathing and digestion issues.

Try Fly Eliminators instead. Fly Eliminators are parasitic wasps that kill fly pupae. They’re not interested in humans or livestock, so there’s no worry of livestock experiencing the unintended consequences of heavy pesticide use. The Fly Eliminator will burrow into the fly pupae, killing it before it develops. Remember the fly hotspot list we previously provided? When first introducing Fly Eliminators to your ranch or garden, focus on these locations. Around the perimeter of these hotspots, make an indent in the ground with the heel of your shoe, then deposit a handful of eliminators in this indent before covering it with dirt or straw. Reapply every 3-4 weeks. If fly pupae are unavailable, the eliminators will simply die off.


2. Manure Control

Flies love manure so much because it provides their offspring with necessary nutrients while being poisonous to many birds and other common insect-eating predators. Flies find manure by its smell, and when you get the large piles that happen in a stable, you’re making it really easy for flies to find their preferred breeding ground. To accelerate the breakdown of manure, try using a product such as SCD Barn Kleaner.


3. Maggot Control
While Fly Eliminators do a great job of eliminating pupae, it’s important to have an answer for each stage of fly development, and those that come from maggots, or larvae, are the stage of a fly’s life cycle that precedes the pupae. Hister beetles or nematodes are natural predators of maggots who, like Fly Eliminators, don’t concern themselves with larger organisms. We’ve put together a separate article on nematodes, so check that out if you’re curious about the benefits that a healthy nematode population can have on pest management.


4. Adult Fly Control

No pest control is 100% effective, and there will be adult flies that make it past the
larval and pupal stages of development. A simple, non-chemical method of dealing with adult flies is to set up a solar fly trap. This will lure flies away from manure piles and into the baited trap. Once the flies are in the trap, they are baked alive by redirecting and focusing the heat of the sun. Setup is simple and takes seconds—check out this video if you want to see the solar fly trap in action. - Robin @ARBICO Organics

Marching and Munching: The Fall Armyworm Invasion

There's nothing worse than seeing a horde of fall armyworms mowing down that lawn you've been painstakingly trying to care for all year!

Fall armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda) are a significant pest that can cause severe damage to lawns and turf, pastures, and grain crops. As a homeowner or lawn care professional, understanding how to identify, manage, and prevent these pests is crucial to maintaining healthy, vibrant lawns.

In this article, we'll learn about the life cycle of fall armyworms, how to identify them, recognize their damage in turf, and implement eco-friendly methods to control populations and prevent infestations.

Identification and Lifecycle

Fall armyworms are typically identified by their smooth bodies and distinctive, inverted "Y" marking on
their heads. The caterpillars can vary in color from green to brown to almost black, depending on their age and the environment. They also have a wide dark stripe that runs alongside their body. They can often grow to 1 to 1.5 inches long.

The lifecycle of the fall armyworm is divided into four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa, and moth. They usually overwinter in more southern portions of the US as a pupa in the soil. As soil temperatures increase in the spring and early summer, the pupae will emerge as moths and begin migrating to northern locations.

In mid-summer, adults will mate, and females will lay eggs. A single female can lay upwards of 1,000 eggs, and it only takes 2-10 days for the eggs to hatch.

The caterpillars grow through 4 instar stages. They will feed day or night but are most active around dusk and dawn. If populations are large enough, the caterpillars can often crawl side by side, mowing down vegetation as they advance toward your lawn. That's where the name "armyworm" came from.

After 2-3 weeks of feeding, fall armyworms dig into the soil and pupate. Multiple generations can occur each year if conditions are right.

Understanding this lifecycle is key to effectively managing fall armyworm populations, as interventions can be timed to target the most vulnerable stages.

 
Damage and Symptoms
Fall armyworms can cause significant damage to lawns and turf, often before their presence is even noticed. Early instar larvae primarily feed on the upper leaf surfaces, creating "windowpane" effects where the leaf tissue is chewed away, but the lower epidermis remains. This type of damage may initially appear as small, translucent patches on the leaves and is typically not too severe.

The first three instars feed on the upper leaf surfaces, creating "windowpane" effects where the leaf tissue is chewed away, but the lower epidermis remains. This type of damage may initially appear as small, translucent patches on the leaves and is typically not too severe.

However, the last instar is where the caterpillars gain their appetite. Almost 85% of grass damage is done by this 4th instar!

The caterpillars consume entire leaves at this stage, often leaving behind only the stems. This can result in large patches of dead or dying grass, which may appear brown or tan.

Other symptoms of fall armyworm damage include irregular patches of thinning grass, frass (insect
droppings), and the caterpillars themselves. Identifying these symptoms early is crucial to implement control measures before significant damage occurs.

 
Eco-friendly Methods to Control
Controlling fall armyworm populations in an eco-friendly manner involves a combination of prevention, using organic insecticides, and encouraging natural predators. These methods help manage infestations and protect the environment and beneficial organisms.

 
Monitoring and Prevention
Regular monitoring is crucial for early detection and effective management of fall armyworms. Inspect your lawn during mid-summer and early fall, especially early morning or evening. Look for the characteristic "windowpane" damage on grass blades, frass, and caterpillars.

If you have a large lawn or yard, you can deploy pheromone traps to check when females are flying and if your control measures are working.

 
Organic Insecticides
Organic insecticides can be an effective and environmentally friendly option when intervention is

necessary. Products containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used against caterpillar pests, including fall armyworms. Bt is a natural bacterium that produces toxins harmful to specific insect larvae but is safe for humans, pets, and beneficial insects. However, keep in mind that Bt residues don't last more than two days on grass, so you'll need to spray frequently for good coverage and control.

Neem oil, another organic option, disrupts the life cycle of insects and deters feeding. It's important to follow the application instructions carefully and apply these treatments during the early larval stages for maximum effectiveness.

Additional insecticides include pyrethroids and spinosads; however, these are ineffective against larger fall armyworm caterpillars. Make sure to time this with their early hatching or growth stage.

 
Natural Predators
Encouraging natural predators in your lawn can provide long-term control of fall armyworm populations. Birds, predatory beetles, and parasitic wasps are some of the natural enemies of these caterpillars. Planting a diverse array of flowers and shrubs can attract these beneficial predators. Additionally, reducing broad-spectrum insecticides helps protect these natural allies, allowing them to thrive and naturally reduce pest populations.

Implementing these eco-friendly control methods helps manage fall armyworm infestations and promotes a healthy and sustainable lawn ecosystem.

 
Fall armyworms are a significant threat to lawns and turf, capable of causing extensive damage if left unchecked. Understanding their lifecycle and recognizing the symptoms of an infestation are crucial first steps in managing their numbers. If you are early to catch them and take action quickly, you can effectively manage and prevent infestations. - Grant @ARBICO Organics