Flowering plants that complete their life cycle within one growing season are called annuals. Perennials are flowering plants whose life cycle extends up to three years.

Below is a list of annual plants and their botanical names

1. Marigolds (Tagetes erecta)

Marigolds are some of the most common garden flowers. These annual flowers have a strong scent that repels insects. 

Marigolds are native to southwestern North, South, and Central Americas. There are 30 recorded Marigold species

Characteristics

• Marigolds grow up to 160 cm in height.
• They come in red, orange, or yellow colors
• They do well in sunny weather

Fun Fact: Marigolds are edible. Their flowers contain lutein, which is good for our eyes.

2. Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)

This plant is native to North America, where it is a common garden flower. There are 22 recorded Zinnia species of herbs and shrubs.

Zinnia is perennial when growing in the nativity, mostly in the Southern United States and Mexico.

Zinnia are annuals in other areas.

Characteristics

• Zinnia grows up to a height of 120cm.
• Colors range from white, green, red, pink, yellow, orange, salmon, lavender, and mauve.

3. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Sunflowers are annual plants grown mainly for their seeds. 

These plants are native to the United States of America, with approximately 70 species available.

Characteristics

• Sunflowers grow up to 180cm tall
• Sunflower leaves are long and grow out in spirals
• The head of a sunflower plant can have a diameter of up to 30cm

Quick facts about sunflowers

1. Sunflowers can absorb harmful substances from the soil – scientists are known to plant sunflowers to help the land recover in areas affected by nuclear disasters.
2. Sunflowers follow the sun –These miniature suns have biological clocks that help them follow the sun as it moves during the day, then back to their original position by night.
3. The tallest sunflower ever recorded was at a height of 9 meters.

4. Petunia (Petunia x hybrida)

Petunias are among the most easily recognizable flowers worldwide. They are annual flowering plants that belong to the nightshade family. Petunias are native to South America.

The common garden varieties are grouped into 2: the compact, erect type, which grows to a height of 15-25cm. On the other hand, the long-stemmed petunias grow up to 46cm tall.

Characteristics

• Petunia leaves are oval-shaped and have smooth margins
• The flowers have a funnel shape with five petals and sepals.
• Grows well in a temperate climate

5. Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)

These annual ornamental flowers are native to Mexico and South America. 

Cosmos has a total of 40 species on record. The more common garden varieties are Cosmos sulphureus and Cosmos bipinnatus.

Characteristics

• Cosmos foliage has a fern-like appearance
• The flowers of the common garden varieties come in shades of pink|yellow to dark rose, orange or red

6. Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)

Nasturtium is an annual flower native to Spain. These plants have a mild peppery flavor with a mustard-like aroma. Both the leaves and petals of this plant have nutritional value.

The plant contains high levels of Vitamin C, which helps improve the immune system. The leaves are most effective before flowering because of their antibiotic properties.

Characteristics

• Nasturtium leaves are almost circular and have light-colored leaves.
• The flowers are brightly colored red, yellow, and orange and spread over 21/2 inches wide.
• These plants can grow to a height of 30cm.

7. Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)

More commonly known as Touch-Me-Not, Impatiens are perennial flowers native to Kenya and Mozambique. 

The plant has also naturalized in other parts like North America and Australia.

Characteristics

• Impatiens can grow to 61 cm tall
• The leaves have a glossy appearance, with toothed edges that have pointed tips

Fun fact: Impatiens get the name touch-me-not because a ripe seed capsule can explode violently when touched.

8. Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

Also known as sweet alison, sweet alyssum is an annual plant grown as a short-lived perennial. 

The herb is native to the Mediterranean region.

Characteristics

• Sweet alyssum has four-petaled flowers in lavender, purple or pink.
• The flowering stalks grow to 30cm tall.

9. Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

Barley is the fourth largest grain crop after wheat, rice, and corn. It is also an annual crop whose nativity can be traced back to Egypt.

This annual crop is commonly used for baking, although primarily grown as animal fodder and malt for alcoholic beverages.

Characteristics

• Barley grows from erect stems with few alternate leaves
• The plant thrives near desert areas

10. Oats (Avena sativa)

Oats are annual plants originating in Asia Minor. These crops are a breakfast staple in many places around the world. 

Countries widely cultivating oats include Russia, the USA, Poland, China, Canada, France, and Australia.

Characteristics

• Oats can grow to a height of 1.5 meters
• Grow well in temperate regions

11. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

Sorghum is also known as great millet or Indian millet. 

This annual plant originates from Africa and is grown as a food crop.

Characteristics

• Sorghum grows to a height of 2.4 meters. Sometimes it grows as high as 4.6 meters.
• Sorghum stalks and leaves are coated with a whitish wax.

12. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Cotton is an annual crop native to tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, like Africa, USA, and India.

Characteristics

• Grows to 1.2 meters in height
• Leaves are broad and heart-shaped with coarse veins

13. Sisal (Agave sisalana)

Sisal is a perennial plant native to Mexico. This succulent plant is grown for its fiber.

Its characteristics include the following:

• Sisal plant stalks can grow to 90cm tall.
• Sisal stalks are 60-180 cm long and 10-18cm wide.
• Its flowers are yellow.

14. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

Safflower is an annual flowering plant. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia. 

Dried safflowers can be used to obtain a red dye used in textiles.

Characteristics

• Grows up to 1.2 meters tall
• Flowers come in red, yellow, orange, or white

15. Red deadnettle (Lamium purpureum)

Red or purple deadnettle is an annual flowering plant native to Europe and Asia.

The most common features of a red deadnettle are:

• It grows to a height of 10-30cm
• Its stems are square-shaped

Characteristics of annuals

In general, these are the characteristics of annual plants:

• They produce flowers and fruit within the first year of growth
• Their growth cycle falls between Spring and Summer

How many types of annual plants are there?

Annual plants can be grouped into three categories according to their uses:

• Annual crops
• Seasonal flowers
• Garden weeds

Annual crops

The perfect example of annual crops is cereals like wheat (Triticum aestivum). Others include corn, rice (Oryza sativa), and oats (Avena sativa). 

Most legumes and vegetables like beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and peas (Pisum sativum) are also annuals.

Seasonal flowers

Most seasonal flowers are garden favorites. Seasonal flowers maintain their life cycle regardless of whether they’re in their place of origin or have been planted elsewhere. 

Sunflowers (Helianthus annus) are the most common seasonal flowers.

Garden weeds/ wild plants

Garden weeds are annual plants that grow abundantly in the wild. Most of the plants in this category are used in herbal medicine. 

For instance, Poppy (Papaver sp.) flowers are considered a pain reliever for mild aches and pains.

Carter

IW’s Chief Editor and a lover of green spaces.

The post 15 annual plants and their botanical names appeared first on InsightWeeds.

As a result, many people spend a lot of time and money eradicating weeds from their gardens, lawns, backyards, and around their properties.

However, not all weeds are bad. On the contrary, some can be beneficial; for example, some are edibles, while others are excellent flowering plants.

Furthermore, some can have medicinal properties and several other benefits.

There are 7 common weeds that produce pink flowers:

1. Mallow

Mallow weed, or common mallow (Malva neglecta) as it is known, is one of the most widespread weeds you will come across.

It is an annual broadleaf weed commonly found in lawns, gardens, nurseries, and poorly maintained landscapes.

Mallow weed has bright green leaves with hairy stems. It typically grows by spreading but can grow upright in favourable conditions. It also produces flowers, which are light pink or white.

The weed is considered invasive as it has a robust taproot system, which guarantees its survival even under harsh conditions.

While mallow is a weed plant, it also has several beneficial properties. You can forage it for its medicinal properties, particularly the roots that have anti-inflammatory benefits.

Mallow is also edible (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits). It is highly nutritious, rich in vitamin A, B, and C, and contains calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

2. Clover

Clover (Trifolium ssp.) is a perennial wild flowering plant. It is commonly found in lawns and flower beds and is regarded as a weed as it is invasive in poorly maintained areas.

It is also hard to eradicate since it can easily survive mowing and some types of herbicides. Clovers are easy to identify as it is one of the few weeds with small pink flowers you will come across.

The flowers bloom around early spring and form a cluster that appears like a small ball of light pink petals. The plant also has three-lobbed leaves, which are petal-shaped.

While finding a clover plant in your garden or lawn can be concerning, the plant does offer several benefits.

First, it is a flowering plant that can provide a nice appearance to your landscape. It is also a good source of nectar and can help pollinate your crops.

Lastly, clover is a nitrogen-fixing plant that enriches the soil and has a deep root system, preventing soil erosion.

If these benefits are nothing compared to the damage this plant has done to your lawn, follow these clover removal techniques.

3. Joe Pye weed

Joe Pye weed is among the most common tall weeds with pink flowers. You can quickly identify it by its towering size, with the plant reaching up to 7 feet or more.

Its flowers (which can also bloom in shades of purple and white) have a pleasant vanilla-like scent.

Some people consider the Joe Pye plant a weed as it has thick and deep rhizomes that help it spread. It also produces many seeds, which can scatter far.

However, the plant has several benefits. It is attractive and, therefore, a good ornamental plant that will help brighten your landscape.

Joe Pye provides nectar for bees and pollen to wildlife. You can also use it to provide shade for your plants.

4. Dead nettle

Dead nettle is a type of herbaceous flowering plant. It has green, nettle-like leaves with serrated edges and an arrow tip.

Non-stinging hairs on the bottom part also cover the leaves. It blooms beautiful flowers, which can appear in pink, red, and purple shades.

Dead nettle is considered an invasive weed plant, as it can produce several thousand seeds, which will easily overwhelm other plants or grasses.

However, it offers several benefits, making it worthwhile to cultivate. For example, its pink flowers and silvery leaves are quite attractive.

It is also edible and foraged for its leaves, which taste similar to spinach when cooked.

5. Herb Robert

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) is an annual or biennial flowering plant. It is a tall-growing plant – reaching up to 50 cm high – producing small, pink flowers.

The flowers, which have five petals, bloom around spring up to late summer and start of autumn. Herb Robert is considered a weed as it is a highly invasive plant.

It produces many seeds scattered far and wide by wind, wildlife, pets, and human beings. However, it is cultivated in some areas for its medicinal properties.

In folk medicine, it treats diarrhoea, toothaches, and nose bleeds. Furthermore, you can use the plant’s leaves as an insect repellent by crushing them and rubbing them over your body.

6. Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill

Dove’s foot crane’s-bill is a type of lawn weed with pink flowers. It has round-shaped leaves, which are slightly hairy.

Its flowers bloom from around spring to late summer and can vary in colour from shades of pink to purple.

Doves-foot cranes-bill usually invades poorly maintained lawns with poor soils.

It is quite invasive, with deep fibrous root systems that make it hard to eradicate. However, it is cultivated by some people for its medicinal benefits.

It is particularly helpful in treating external injuries and sores. Its extract is also useful in winemaking, which is said to help with gout and joint pains.

7. Rosebay willowherb

Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is known by several local names, such as great willowherb, bomb weed, or fireweed.

You can identify it by its tall reddish stems (which can reach up to 2.5 meters high) and bright pink flowers.

Rosebay willowherb is an invasive plant that can spread far wide through its root system. As a result, it can easily take over large areas of poorly maintained landscapes.

However, it also does offer several benefits. To start with, it is an ornamental plant that can improve the curb appeal of your property.

It also provides pollen to wildlife and nectar to bees, which in turn help to pollinate other crops.

Conclusion

Having weeds invade your garden, lawn, or backyard can be worrying. However, the above weeds with pink flowers are not all that bad.

While they are invasive and can be pretty hard to eliminate, they come with several benefits ranging from medicinal and ornamental to edible.

Therefore, you can let them grow or even deliberately cultivate them.

Related Guides

• Weeds that look like small trees 
• Weeds that look like tomato plants
• List of weeds that look like rhubarb

Carla Etheridge

Carla is a student pursuing a B.S in Agricultural Systems Technology. With a passion for landscaping for over 4 years, Carla loves plants. She has previously contributed to several other sites in the space before joining InsightWeeds.

The post 7 common weeds with pink flowers appeared first on InsightWeeds.

You can also control the most common weeds in Virginia by minimizing soil disturbance.

When you cultivate or dig the ground, it tends to bring more seeds to the surface. If exposed to the sun or light, the seeds will germinate and cause more problems.

Since different weeds have different removal methods, a more practical way of getting rid of unwanted plants on your lawn or garden is to identify them.

Here are some weeds you will see in most areas of Virginia (with pictures and scientific names) and how to remove them.

1. Annual Bluegrass – Poa annua

The annual bluegrass is a widespread, low-growing turfgrass that is common in temperate climates. It has a fibrous rootstock, and its stem can grow to a height of 25 centimeters.

Its leaves are short, blunt at the tips, smooth above and below, and vivid green.

Annual bluegrass is invasive or weedy. When it grows in your area, the best way of controlling it is to withhold water until it shows drought stress.

You can also use pre-emergent herbicides to limit its germination, but you must apply them before the seeds germinate.

2. Common chickweed – Stellaria media

The common chickweed is an annual or perennial flowering plant germinating in the autumn or late winter and forming large mats of foliage.

When it comes to weed identification, you will know you are dealing with the plant because it has a weak, slender stem with oval leaves and small white flowers.

You will find the weed in lawns and areas of partial shade to sun in moist soil.

Common chickweed needs seeds to reproduce. To keep it away from your lawn, you need to mow from time to time to prevent the spread of its seeds. While a weed killer may help, choose one that is selective to avoid harming your grass.

3. Common Blue Violet – Viola sororia

The common blue violet is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant that self-seeds freely in lawns and gardens.

Its leaves and flowers emerge directly from the rhizomes and form a basal rosette. In suitable growing conditions, the weed tends to multiply in numbers and is thus considered invasive.

As one of Virginia’s many common blue violet weeds, it has a taproot system that makes it easy to remove.

You can kill it selectively on large lawns using broadleaf-based herbicides such as 2,4-D or Dicamba. The best time to remove it is during the fall.

4. Corn Speedwell – Veronica arvensis

Corn speedwell is an annual flowering plant that grows as a weed in gardens, waste places, cultivated land, and pastures.

It has hairy leaves and can grow to a height of 40 centimeters from the taproot. You can also identify the plant because of its small and weak stem with rounded and toothed lower leaves.

Classified among invasive weeds in Virginia, you can control it using specific broadleaf herbicides. A pre-emergent or post-emergent weed killer that combines triclopyr and dicamba can be useful it eliminating the plant.

5. Creeping Charlie – Glechoma hederacea

The creeping Charlie is a perennial plant considered to be an aggressive weed of lawns and woodlands.

When trying to identify weeds by photo, you will notice the plant has round, kidney, or fan-shaped crenate opposed leaves. It tends to spread by seed and comes in variable sizes, depending on the environmental conditions in which it is growing.

Since the plant spreads by seeds, it is exceptionally challenging to eradicate it. It has an extensive root system, which means you cannot remove it through hand pulling.

The only way to kill creeping charlie is by using a horticultural herbicide.

6. Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale

The dandelion is a herbaceous perennial plant known for its yellow flower heads.

It grows in temperate regions in lawns, on disturbed banks, on waterways, on roadsides, and in areas with moist soils.

As a weed, it sprouts from unbranched taproots and produces several stems that can reach 40 centimeters in height.

When the dandelion grows on your lawn, you can eliminate it using a broadleaf herbicide. Uprooting it may not offer a better solution because of its taproot system that will grow back.

7. Hairy bittercress – Cardamine hirsute

The hairy bittercress is an annual or biennial plant whose seeds germinate in the fall and remain green throughout the winter.

It flowers in the spring and often grows a rosette of leaves at the base of its stem. Its stem is hairless, and the leaves do not clasp on it.

If the plant is growing on your lawn, chemical control is the best option for eradicating it.

Use a pre-emergent herbicide in the late summer before its seeds germinate. A post-emergent weed killer can also work when applied to young and actively growing weeds.

8. Wild Garlic – Allium vineale

The wild garlic is a perennial, bulb-forming noxious weed with a strong garlic odor. It has a fibrous outer layer with a stem that grows up to 120 centimeters. Its leaves are slender and waxy in texture.

Wild garlic is among the many grass weeds in Virginia. You must dig it out deep and wide from the ground to eliminate it.

You can also apply a selective herbicide for a long-lasting solution.

9. Purple Deadnettle – Lamium purpureum

The purple deadnettle is an aggressive weed that tends to spread quickly whenever it invades a yard or garden.

As an annual plant, it grows in the winter and germinates in the spring or fall. You will find it in thin grass because it thrives in this environment.

You can identify the deadnettle because of its square stem with an umbrella or small and light-purples flowers. It also has pointed leaves that appear red to purple and are one inch long.

As one of the many lawn weeds in Virginia, you can control it by growing a healthy, thick yard and applying enough fertilizer. Pre-emergent herbicide is also useful to apply before its germination.

10. White Clover – Trifolium repens

The white clover is a herbaceous perennial plant sometimes used as a forage crop. It is common in most grassy areas, including lawns and gardens.

It produces heads of whitish flowers with trifoliolate, smooth elliptic to egg-shaped and long-petioled leaves throughout its growth.

White clovers grow in clumps and are considered among pasture weeds in Virginia.

Thus, natural methods, such as hand-pulling, are the best way of getting rid of the plant. But you must ensure you remove the entire root system to prevent it from re-growth.

Learn more about clover weed removal here.

Conclusion

Some of the common weeds in Virginia include Dandelions, Blue Violets, and Annual Bluegrass, among others. The plants can be annual or perennial and grow in various areas, including yards, disturbed areas, lawns, and gardens.

If these unwanted plants become invasive, you can eradicate them by uprooting or using herbicides.

Related

• Top 20 most common weeds with pictures
• How to use pre-emergent in North Carolina

Carter

IW’s Chief Editor and a lover of green spaces.

The post List of common weeds in Virginia (with pictures) appeared first on InsightWeeds.