Annual Plants

• Outdoor plants can either be annuals -- needing replacement every year -- or perennials which move from the outside in warm weather to inside during the cold. Typical annuals that prefer the full sun are lobelia, pansies, marigolds, celosia, petunias, zinnias and phlox. A sun/shade mix is best for impatiens, snapdragons, salvia, begonias and nasturtiums. Decorating techniques include using only one species of flower but putting them in different sized pots; adding a new, exotic plant to a grouping of familiar stand-bys; and creating special color schemes, such as a red and white mix in a blue pot for late June and early July.
  
  

Perennials

• Outdoor potted perennials include English daisies, bleeding heart, geraniums and tulips. Various palm plants are also used extensively. Decorative pepper plants that bear various colored peppers are prized container plants for some homeowners. Unlike their garden relatives, the peppers usually are not eaten. Citrus trees are traditional container trees that will bear edible fruit if provided enough sunlight and nutrients. Because many container perennials are originally tropical plants, they are sensitive to cold weather.
  
  

Plant Care

• Annual plants need less care and concern because they are not expected to live past the season. It is important that they be potted in the correct soil and watered as needed. Perennials are normally much more deeply rooted and have a high demand for nutrients that may not be in the soil. Watering and feeding them must be a part of a regular routine, and re-potting them when they have outgrown their existing container is important to keeping a healthy plant.
  
  

Change of Seasons

• Moving a perennial plant in or out of the home at the change of seasons is not a "one day" task. The plant needs time to adjust to the new lifestyle. Setting it out in the spring or bringing it in during the fall for just an hour a day for several days, and then gradually lengthening that time, allows the plant to get used to a changed condition. When bringing the plant in for the winter, be extra careful that you do not bring in any bugs or pests. Give the plant a thorough washing and look carefully for ants, spiders and other small creatures in the soil.