Annuals complete their growth cycle in one year. To propagate themselves from year to year, annuals produce great quantities of seeds. If the flowers of annuals are cut before seeds can form, more blooms rapidly grow to assure a seed crop. Annuals usually produce more flowers than other types of flowering plants. They also flower earlier in their life cycle. Many annuals produce blooms from planting to frost.

Some annuals are perennial in warmer hardiness zones. Examples of perennials grown as annuals in Ohio are geraniums, dahlias, snapdragons, mealycup sage, pansies, and Iceland poppies.