When I first stepped into my yard with plans for an organice vegetable and fruit garden I immediately began to pay close attention to the existing plants. The mint in the front yard spreads like weed as it gradually begins to take the whole side of one yard. Black currants keep popping up everywhere, even in cracks which is really quite annoying especially since I'm no fan of the berry. The lemon tree never really seems to be without lemons (that's odd :/). And what happened to that little spot of cilantro? It just vanished without a trace. Yes, I paid very close attention to the yard, I was beginning to get to know my existing friends only to find out that they were all a lot more complicated than anticipated. So what's with it anyway? Some stay, some go, some... you can't even get rid of.
A little bit of book-worming and typing questions into the handy dandy computer which of course has all the answers I was able to find out a few very important and interesting information on classifying plants: annuals, self-seeding annual, biennials and perennials; classifying plants by their longevity or their not-so-long lifecycles.
Annuals
(Annus: "year" = one year)
"Never make it past a year, and some even die before the end of one season" -Easy Growing by Gayla Trail
An annual normally germinates, flowers and dies in a year or season. A single seed-to-seed cycle for a plant classified as an annual can occur in as little as month to several months depending on the plant species. Summer annuals germinate, flower, produce seed, and die during the warmer months of the year. While winter annuals germinate in autumn or winter, living through the winter and then blooming in winter or spring.
Examples of annuals: corn, wheat, rice, lettuce, peas, watermelon, beans, zinnia, marigold, basil, bush beans, dill, cilantro, sunflower, potatoes, radishes
Self-Seeding annuals
The self-seeding annual is exactly what it sounds like, an annual (which has a lifecycle of one year) that can self-seed. This means that during the flowering stage of the annual the plant will be able to drop seeds and if successful grow new seedlings the following season. And while you can say that this is very much like being a perennial in that the self-seeding annual will always be in the garden due to the self-seeding characteristic, it isn't quite so. The difference between the perennial and self-seeding annual would be that the perennial never dies, instead goes dormant only to come back from the same root-stock the following season. While the self-seeding annual dies and a new seedling must again germinate and grow from seed, forming new roots and all.
Examples of self-seeding annuals: dill, cilantro, sunflower bush beans, black currant
Biennials
(Bienni: "two" = every two years)
"Plants survive from the same root for two years tops, making lots of leaves in year one, followed by flowers and seeds in the second year." -Easy Growing by Gayla Trail
As you can probably already tell where this is going a biennial is a plant that takes two years to complete its lifecycle. The first year is marked by the plant growing leaves, stems and roots when the cooler months fall upon the plant the plant enters a period of dormancy. Then in the following spring or summer the stems of the biennial plant grow and flower, producing fruit and seeds then eventually dying. And while it normally takes a biennial two years to complete its lifecycle it can vary may complete it in a far short time (within a few months) if grown under extreme climates; common in vegetables or flowers exposed to cold conditions.
Examples of biennials: onion, parsley, carrot, caraway
Perennials
(Per: "through" + Annus: "year" = through the year)
"Flower and set seed yearly, yet they spring forth and prosper from the same root almost indefinitely... More expensive in stores but are worth it for their longevity." -Easy Growing by Gayla Trail
A perennial (my favorite) is a plant that lives for two years or more (how low maintenance of them, wouldn't you agree?). Perennials grow and bloom over the warmer months (spring and summer) then die back during the cooler months (autumn and winter). These plants then return on their own during warmer month (normally during spring) from their root-stock, this is in addition to seeding themselves, which means you'll have new seedlings popping up if the plant was successful.
Because the perennials live through the year the plant itself can be quite old, as a result the perennial often has deep, extensive root systems which can be beneficial in many ways. A deeper root system not only means the plant will be more hardy as it will have longer root systems to look for nutrients water deeper into the soil but the long root system also prevents soil erosion and is able to capture dissolved nitrogen before it can contaminate ground surface water.
Examples of perennials: shrubs, trees, orchids, grass, lavender, rosemary, garlic, mint, bay, oregano, marjoram, thyme, strawberries, blueberries
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