Armitage’s Manual of Annuals,
Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials

a book by Allan M. Armitage

Illustrations by Asha Kays and Chris Johnson

Armitage has compiled descriptions and assessments of 245 genera of true annuals as well as plants that behave like annuals in USDA zones 1–7. Focusing on plant identification, successful culture, and garden uses, he discusses 279 species in detail and summarizes the distinguishing features of hundreds of cultivars. The book also includes useful lists that make it a practical guide for the dedicated home gardener.

Awards for this book:

• American Horticultural Society Book Award
• Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Book
• Garden Writers Association Garden Globe Awards
• New York Times Editor’s Choice - Best Books for Gardening

Media reviews of this book:

“Sure to please even the most discriminating plantaholic. Go annuals, go Armitage.”

—George Graine, VMGA Report, Virginia Master Gardeners Assoc., Sep/Oct 2003

“Describes in great detail the pros and cons of the garden habits of flowering plants that bring color and pleasure to the home landscape, but do not persist as long as we’d wish.”

—Georgene Bramlage, Suite101.com, July 15, 2003

“A truly authoritative book on annuals (it also includes biennials and half-hardy perennials) ... Armitage’s writing style is approachable, friendly, and seasoned with touches of humor.”

—Mary Pyne Tucker, Greater Atlanta Gardener, Spring 2003

“An excellent tome”.

—Winston Dunwell, University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service. ornamental and environmental horticulture book list, March 31, 2003

"A complete book about temporal plants that grow in this region. There are more than 100 photos, but the information is the primary reason to get this tome."

—Joel Lerner, Washington Post, May 3, 2003

Publishing details:

Hardcover, 604 pages, 6"x9", 125 color photos, 107 line drawings, 1 map, 75 tables.

© 2001 Timber Press, ISBN 0-88192-505-5

An excerpt from this book:

An annual may be defined botanically as a plant that completes its entire life cycle within the space of a year: it grows, flowers, produces seed, and then dies, regardless of temperature or other environmental conditions.

Gardeners, however, do not use that definition in defining annuals and perennials. From a gardening standpoint, an annual is usually defined as a plant that dies because it is unable to survive extremes of cold or heat, that, the winter is too cold or the summer is too hot — and that is what I mean when I use the word "annual" in this book. When a typical garden annual, such as geranium or a petunia, is grown in a greenhouse, it will flower and produce seed many times over, surviving for years.

The difficulty of the gardener’s definition of annuals is obvious: winters and summers vary depending on latitude and altitude. Is an annual in Duluth still an annual in Miami, even though it survives winters perfectly well in Florida? Or conversely, will a perennial in Fargo be a perennial in New Orleans even though it dies because of summer heat? For better or worse, I have made an arbitrary decision as to what most people accept as a garden annual. Using the USDA hardiness zone map as a guide, I consider all plants that are "usually" killed by winters in zones 1 to 7 (global warming and recent mild winters notwithstanding) annuals. That includes all Canada (except its west coast) and at least three-quarters of the land mass of the United States. According to the USDA zone map, winter temperatures in zone 7 (the southernmost zone in my definition) range from 0 to 10 degress Fahrenheit, although most annuals die when sustained temperatures of 20 degrees Fahrenheit are experienced.

Other plants, commonly used as winter annuals in southern zones, are later pulled out because they cannot tolerate warm summers. These same plants may be fine summer annuals in cool summers. Such a group would include pansies, violas, English daisies, pot marigold, snapdragons, and hybrid pinks (the Appendix includes a list of these winter annuals as well.) Gardeners in the southernmost areas of the country, in such gardening oasis as Houston, San Diego, or Key West, may find this book more useful as a guide to perennials rather than as a guide to annuals. No matter what we call thses wonderful plants, let’s enjoy the beauty they provide.

About Allan Armitage

Allan M. Armitage is professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, Athens, where he teaches, conducts research, and runs the University of Georgia Horticulture Gardens. His publications include nine other books and more than 350 articles and papers. Allan Armitage won the Perennial Plant Association’s Award of Merit

Ordering information:

Armitage’s Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials (Hardcover) (B-006)
Each $39.95
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