Annual, Biennial & Perennial Herbs – Overview

The best way to decide what suits you and your garden / balcony is best if you have in mind what annual, biennial, perennial means and how this meaning affects the culture of the individual herbs. These terms are far less clear than it appears at first glance.

Annual plants

A fact that is not necessarily generally known and, above all, not generally present: There are annual plants, but for the botanist (and thus also very practical for your garden / balcony) they are quite rare.

Botanically, plants are considered annual if they reproduce only once in a continuous vegetation period and then die, which only occurs in herbaceous (non-woody) plants.

The time that a living being spends on earth is certainly different; Protozoa exist around 10 minutes until they become new individuals through cell division, glass sponges are estimated to be 10,000 years old and more – but it is not the rule that a plant really has a clearly defined annual life:

1. The “real annual plants” are the plants that grow for a summer and only reproduce once, once they have managed that they die.

A rather rare phenomenon in nature, normally the principle “the more offspring, the better” applies, one-time reproductive ability is the exception.

Since this exception only occurs with the herbaceous plants, there are also real annuals among the herbs, as examples in the literature Canary nasturtiums and virgin in the green are mentioned.

2. Other “annuals” are only grown once a year because their home is in friendly climates, but they are planted in temperate latitudes, whose frosty winter climate puts them off.

These “annuals” are available in abundance, as nowadays many plants from subtropical / tropical climates are grown and sold in cultivated forms for the domestic market. In their home country they are of several years old, and in reality they would like to and could live much longer.

3. Some plants are not really annual, but only weakened by breeding for large flowers, new color, maximum yield, etc., so that they can only survive one vegetation period. If you value healthy plants, nowadays general mistrust and good information is the order of the day for all cultivars of perennial plants offered as annuals.

If there is a warning here about cultivars, the breeding of plants should by no means be demonized in general. Plant breeding has been part of the gardening trade for millennia, if grass hadn’t been grown into grain, you and I and possibly the rest of humanity would not be here. And the breeders still have a lot of great plants such as B. Hundreds of apple varieties produced by patient and knowledgeable selection, healthy trees with fruits in many different flavors.

But uninhibited neo-liberalism strikes everywhere, also and especially in plant breeding: Growing plants in such a way that they do not survive more than one season is just as profitable as welding electrical devices in such a way that new purchases are made instead of recharging batteries.

4. Annual is rarely a fixed requirement – except for the “real annuals”, who just die off once they have blossomed, the so-called “annuals” have plenty of room for improvement.

The literature information on the lifespan / reproduction of a plant does not have to be accepted without comment, according to www.rainyside.com (a gardening website from the American Oregon) the Canary Nasturtium listed above under 1. as an annual is in USDA zone 9-10, i.e. in a climate that is at least 2 zones warmer than ours, an enduring climber.

In the case of many annual plants, it is worth trying to overwinter in the house / cellar, as a complete plant or as a root; with overwintering methods that have not yet been tried, you can try different things yourself.

“Annual” cultivars sometimes prove to be astonishingly willing to survive with good care and stay in a household for several years … You can actually just try out with each plant how long it actually lasts.

Biennial plants

Biennial (winter annual) plants need a break in their growing season due to cold or drought in order to flower. Also only occurs in herbaceous plants, they usually bloom in the spring following sowing, the seeds ripen in summer.

Biennial herbs are z. B. Fennel, Caraway Seeds, and Parsley; biennial crops carrot, cabbage, leek, parsnip and sugar beet. Which are usually only grown once a year – if something other than fruits and seeds are to be used, there is no other way. B. in the second year use up the nutrients stored in the root for flower formation, after which the root is no longer a pleasure.

But a parsley (which is often sold as an annual) is intended by nature to be overwintered (although here, too, there are said to be cultivars that can no longer do that). If you leave some of the parsley roots in autumn, you can harvest fresh parsley green in the following season from late spring to the beginning of autumn. When the parsley seeds are ripe, you can sow them right away or in the next spring (keep them well moist, parsley needs this to germinate), so a two-year-old parsley can become a lifelong garden guest.

Perennial plants

Botanically, the plants are called perennial, which after several years (sometimes decades) growth form flowers and seeds and exhaust themselves in such a way that they then exhale their life.

Really tragic plant shapes that cause quite a media hype every few years, with headlines like: “The GAU am Gartenteich”, “Germany’s favorite bamboo is dying worldwide – but dealers are selling the giant grass on”, “The worldwide dying of bamboo alarms garden owners” and finally Already in the headline more informative “When the bamboo blooms, it has to die too”.

Some agave species, the Tillandsia ferreyrae and the Talipot palm, do the same, and the giant bromeliad Puya raimondii needs at least 50 to 70 years to form its 8 m high inflorescence and thus the highest inflorescence in the world: commons.wikimedia .org / wiki / File: Chukiqayara, _Vacas_14.JPG, the people down there are real and not from the toy factory.

Other plants, which we horticulturally call perennial, are also in the garden for several years, but by no means die when they have blossomed / fruit (also after the interruption of the vegetation period due to cold or drought). They live happily on, sometimes for decades, and keep bringing new harvests.

In botany this is called “persistent” and occurs in herbaceous plants (shrubs) and woody plants (subshrubs, shrubs, trees, lianas). The gardener doesn’t care about the precise definition, the main thing is that the herb lives as long as possible – that way it does the least work and brings the most harvest.

Overview of annual, biennial, perennial herbs

There are really many herbs, adding up the types and cultivars (often tasting very differently) leads to the four-digit range. Since that is a bit much for an overview, the “official herbs of the Germans” are presented here:

The official herbs of the Germans can be found in the German Food Book, which describes in the “Guidelines for Spices and Other Seasoning Ingredients” how herbs should look in German retail. The German food book typifies our merchandise, i.e. the most sold and therefore also the most widely used herbs. In the following, these herbs are classified according to annual, biennial, perennial / persistent:

1. (Also) annual herbs

• Anise, Pimpinella anisum, umbellifers, dried (and ground) fruits
• Basil, mint, Ocimum basilicum, dried, rubbed sepals and leaves, occasionally with flower and fruit parts, annual and perennial varieties
• Savory, labiates, Satureja hortensis, dried, stripped leaves, annual summer savory
• Cumin, cumin, umbellifer, cuminum cyminum, dried fruits
• Dill, dill seeds, umbellifers, anethum graveolens, dried split fruits, dill tips = dried leaf tips
• Chervil, umbellate, Anthriscus cerefolium, dried, rubbed leaves, cultivar A. cerefolium var. Cerefolium
• Coriander, umbellifer, Coriandrum sativum, dried fruits
• Caraway seeds, umbelliferous plants, Carum carvi, dried fruits, biennial, there are annual varieties
• Black cumin, buttercup, Nigella sativa, small black seeds
• Celery leaves, umbelliferous plants, Apium graveolens, dried cut leaves, annual to perennial
• Mustard seeds, cruciferous vegetables, Sinapis alba (white mustard), Brassica nigra (black mustard) or Brassica juncea (brown mustard), dried seeds
• Onions, lilies, Allium cepa and Allium fistulosum, dried, cut into pieces or ground onions, annual to perennial

2. (Also) biennial herbs

• Fennel, umbelliferae, Foeniculum vulgare, dried fruits, biennial to perennial • Caraway seeds, see above
• Parsley, umbellifers, Petroselinum crispum, dried leaves of the flat-leaved or curly-leaved form

3. Perennial / perennial herbs

• Basilica, so
• Chillies, nightshade plants, Capsicum frutescens + other Capsicum species, dried “pods”, cayenne pepper, chilli powder (= ground chillies)
• Tarragon, daisy family, Artemisia dracunculus, dried, stripped leaves + twig tips, (German, French or real E. = A. dracunculus var. Sativa tastes intense, Russian tarragon, A. dracunculus var. Inodora) is cultivated more often.
• Fenchel, s. o.
• Ginger, ginger plant, Zingiber officinale, dried rhizome
• Capers, capers, Capparis spinosa, still closed flower buds after wilting in vinegar, table salt or cooking oil
• Cardamom, ginger plant, Elettaria cardamomum, closed (ground) fruit capsules, cardamom seeds = seeds without pericarp
• Garlic, lily plants, Allium sativum, main onion + secondary onions (“cloves”), garlic powder + garlic granules made from dried garlic
• Turmeric, turmeric, ginger, Curcuma longa, briefly brewed and dried rhizome
• Lovage, umbelliferae, Levisticum officinale, dried leaves
• Bay leaves, bay leaves, Laurus nobilis, dried, stem-free leaves
• Macis, nutmeg, Myristica fragans, dried seed coat (botanically incorrectly known as mace)
• Marjoram, mint family, Origanum majorana, dried, rubbed leaves and inflorescences
• Nutmeg, nutmeg, Myristica fragans, dried seed kernel freed from the seed coat + seed coat
• Cloves, cloves, myrtle family, Syzygium aromaticum, dried flower buds collected shortly before blooming
• Oregano, wild marjoram, Dost, mint, Origanum vulgare, dried, mostly stripped leaves, flowers, upper parts of the stem
• Paprika, nightshade plant, Capsicum annuum var. Annuum + other types of Capsicum, ripe, dried fruits -> paprika powder, depending on color and degree of spiciness as delicacy paprika (dark red, mildly fruity), sweet paprika (red, mild, with a slight heat), paprika hot + rose paprika (red-brown, hot)
• Pepper, green, pepper plant, Piper nigrum, unripe harvested, green fruits that taste mild and aromatic when marinated in brine, woody climber
• Pepper, black, Piper nigrum, dried fruits that have not yet been harvested fully ripe, smell aromatic and spicy and taste strong
• Pepper, white, Piper nigrum, dried fruits that have been freed from the outer pericarp, smell aromatic and spicy and taste milder than black pepper
• Allspice, clove pepper, myrtle family, Pimenta dioica, fermented and dried fruits harvested before full ripeness, perennial tree
• Pink berries, pink pepper, sumac, Schinus terebinthifolius and other Schinus species, dried fruits
• Rosemary, mint family, Rosmarinus officinalis, dried leaves harvested during and after flowering
• Saffron, Iris family, Crocus sativus, dried stigmas of the flowers
• Sage, mint family, Salvia triloba (also known as Salvia fruticosa) and Salvia officinalis, dried, peeled or cut leaves
• Chives, lily plants, Allium schoenoprasum, cut and also dried leaves
• Sellerieblätter, s. o.
• Star anise, star anise family, Illicium verum, ripe, dried pollen, perennial tree
• Thyme, labiates, Thymus vulgaris and Thymus zygis, dried, stripped leaves and flowers
• Vanilla, orchid family, vanilla planifolia, fruits that are fermented and dried in the unripe state, perennial climbing plant
• Juniper berries, cypress plants, Juniperus communis, ripe, dried berry cones, perennial tree
• Cinnamon, laurel plant, Cinnamomum ceylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon or Canehl, noble cinnamon), Cinnamomum burmannii (Indonesian cinnamon, similar to Ceylon cinnamon), Cinnamomum aromaticum, Cinnamomum loureirii (dried cassia cinnamon, not so aromatic) and other types of dried wood cinnamon, such as canine flour , as a pole or ground, perennial trees
• Onion, like that

These were our herbs and spices according to the German Food Book (more precisely than reproduced here, family with scientific name + official species name including the abbreviation of the botanist who named it), only curry powder and mushrooms are missing.

The food book describes products by and for food production / trade and not for gardeners, hence the forms of conservation. Fresh herbs only appear under “Definitions”, but you can grow all of the 43 herbs just listed at home. Not all in the garden, because they are used to more warmth, but really all on the windowsill or in the greenhouse, even vanilla orchids (orchid lovers cultivate a lot, in theory they can carry pods that you could ferment) and cinnamon saplings (There are also real Ceylon cinnamon, Cinnamomum ceylanicum trees in exotic nurseries).

Conclusion
Even if you limit yourself to “our official” herbs, it could be tight in the herb bed or on the windowsill. If you cultivate the selection listed here, you can season everything that comes to your plate in your local culture. If you want more – go ahead! The annuals mentioned here often have perennial relatives, and about 1,457 other herbs are waiting to be grown by you.