Should annual flowers be thrown away right after they finish blooming? A rundown of common varieties

Generally speaking, hobbyists who grow potted plants hope that the money they spend once will let them grow the plant for many years. However, different flower varieties have different lifespans, because nature is fair: flowers that are naturally beautiful often have shorter lives, and once they finish blooming you can just throw them away without wasting more effort keeping them alive. The 4 kinds of flowers introduced below are all "one-time" flowers, for your reference when choosing and buying.

Zinnia

Zinnia is also called zinnia by flower stall owners; its blooming period can run from early summer to late autumn, lasting as long as a hundred days, but once the blooming period is exhausted it means the plant will wither and die, as it is an annual flower. If the zinnia you bought has already finished blooming, you can keep only its seeds and sow them again the following spring, otherwise it can be thrown away at any time.

Lily

Just from the name you can see its meaning is very good, carrying the sense of "a hundred years of happy union"; after blooming, besides its elegant flowers, it also has a rich fragrance, so lilies sell very well on the flower market. The bulb is usually planted in soil, blooms only once, and once the stems and leaves gradually wither you can decisively discard it. If you want lilies to bloom again the next year, that is not impossible, but you must know how to let the bulb absorb enough nutrients and energy; only if the bulb is grown strong is it possible, yet generally indoor potted plants find it very hard to grow the bulb strong, so it is almost a "one-time" flower.

Campanula

Campanula is a summer flower; its blooming time can last 2~3 months, the flower shape is delicate and charming, looking especially like a wind chime, hence it is also called bellflower. For growing, it is mostly potted, and buying it at the flower market costs about ten yuan, but it is a one-time herbaceous flower variety; after it finishes blooming in the first year it should be thrown away directly, and bought again the next year.

Petunia

Petunia is also called garden petunia; it is a climbing plant, but because it is short it does not climb, so it is very suitable for growing on a small balcony. Generally, when choosing one at the flower market there are diverse flower colors such as black, blue, spotted, and waved. However, although petunia is a perennial plant, its branches age very easily, and even veteran growers keep it for one year at most. Still, each winter after the flowers fade, you can save some seeds or take some cuttings from the branches to make young plants, and the old plant can be thrown away.