Annual Plants: Centerpieces (Thrillers and Fillers)

Vocabulary flashcards covering centerpiece annual plants, their scientific names, characteristics, growing conditions, and visual identifications.

Centerpiece Annuals

Upright or mounded annuals prized for their long-lasting, vibrant blooms that provide striking color, height, and floral display in mixed plantings without requiring staking or deadheading.

Dahlia (Dahlia × hybrida)

A summer annual available in hundreds of varieties ranging from $1\text{--}5'$ tall, featuring dramatic dinnerplate forms and roots/tubers that can be dug and stored.

Zonal Geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum)

A classic bedding and container plant growing $12\text{--}24''$ tall that thrives in full sun and moderately rich soil, requiring regular deadheading to maintain steady blooms.

Petunia (Petunia × hybrida)

A profuse summer-blooming annual ranging from $6\text{--}18''$ tall that benefits from stem pinching during early weeks and regular deadheading for full growth.

Calibrachoa hybrida "Million Bells"

A petunia-related spilling annual ($6\text{--}12''$ height) forming a dense trailing mat of small blooms that requires minimal care, no deadheading, and dislikes overwatering.

Angelonia angustifolia

A heat-loving tropical annual ($12\text{--}18''$ tall) with an upright, glabrous habit and small two-lipped snapdragon-like flowers that do not require deadheading.

Salvia 'Victoria Blue'

A sturdy, clump-forming thriller annual ($18\text{--}24''$ tall) with rough aromatic foliage and spiky racemes of deep violet-blue flowers with silvery calyxes that bloom until frost.

Red Salvia (Salvia splendens)

A long-time garden favorite ($12\text{--}24''$ tall) featuring bold red flower spikes that serve as a vertical thriller or filler accent in beds and containers.

Marigold (Tagetes erecta / T. patula)

A mounding annual ($6\text{--}36''$ tall) providing $80\text{--}90$ days of yellow, orange, or creamy blooms, known for its pest-repelling qualities and high tolerance to heat.

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Picotee'

A fast-growing annual that reaches $4\text{--}6'$ tall, producing white double daisy-like flowers edged in red that bloom for $80$ days and self-seed readily.

Zinnia elegans

A sun- and heat-loving annual ($6''\text{--}4'$ tall) with sturdy stems and daisy-like flowers where cutting blooms encourages even more flower growth.

Verbena bonariensis

A tall, slender annual ($3\text{--}6'$ tall) featuring tight clusters of rich lilac flowers atop long swaying stems that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

A cool-season annual ($6\text{--}36''$ tall) with bright flowers available in almost every color except true blue, serving as a key nectar source for bumblebees.

Nicotiana alata (Flowering Tobacco)

An annual ($18\text{--}36''$ tall) featuring fuzzy sticky foliage and tube-shaped flowers that open during the evening or night, releasing a sweet aroma to attract moths.

Pentas

A compact, bushy tropical annual ($12\text{--}24''$ tall) known for its star-shaped flower clusters that bloom continuously all summer without essential deadheading.

Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower)

A tall, airy thriller annual ($3\text{--}5'$ tall) with spidery flowers, thorny stems, and long seed pods that adds architectural height and attracts pollinators.