The 16 Best Annual Flowers to Plant in Southern California Gardens

Southern California is a magical place. It has sunny weather all year, you can go and hit the beach whenever you want, and if you’re in Los Angeles you may spot a few celebrities doing their thing. One of the things that Southern California is known for is that it is pretty much a desert. This dry region lacks rain. However, sometimes the region will get bouts of rain. When that happens, it’s time to plant flowers so you can see them grow and bloom in the spring. So let’s take a look at the 16 best annual flowers to plant in Southern California gardens.

Zinnia

Southern California is known for being hot and dry, and zinnias are amazing flowers that can be planted in the spring and have some beautiful blooms by summer. Zinnias (Zinnia) require the full sun to grow.

Cosmos

You should plant cosmos (Cosmos) in early spring and expect a bloom by summer. Because these flowers are native to drier regions, they require the full sun to grow.

Snapdragon

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum) are best planted either in the autumn or early spring months. You should expect a bloom sometime later in the season, as well. Snapdragons require sunny conditions to grow.

Lobelia

Lobelias (Lobelia) are best planted in the spring and will bloom in the summer. They are vibrant plants that do great with full sun and sometimes even partial shade.

Marigold

This beautiful orange flower called Marigold (Tagetes) is best planted in the spring and it’ll take a few months to bloom. These flowers require full sun to grow.

Pansy

Pansies (Viola tricolor var. hortensis) are flowers that are best planted in the early spring for blooming soon thereafter or even late summer for blooms during autumn. These flowers require full sun, but also some shade.

Petunia

Petunias (Petunia) should be planted around late spring or early summer. They will bloom shortly thereafter. It’s also imperative that they get 5-6 hours of full sunlight for them to grow beautifully.

Nasturtium

Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) should be planted around the springtime, between March and May. These beautiful orange flowers will then start to bloom around the late summer and continue to bloom until autumn. Nasturtiums require full sun to grow beautifully.

Dianthus

For best results, you should plant dianthuses (Dianthus) in the spring for blooms in the summer. These gorgeous flowers do require full sun to bloom fantastically.

Salvia

The best time to plant your salvia flower (Salvia) is in late May or even early June. This will give the flower the best possible outcome to bloom beautifully by summer. Like other flowers on this list, you need to have full sun for these flowers to bloom gorgeously.

Amaranth

Amaranths (Amaranthus) grow best when planted in late springs so they can bloom perfectly in the midst of summer. These flowers love the sun and heat, which means full sun is required for amaranths to grow.

Strawflower

Strawflowers (Xerochrysum bracteatum) can be planted in the springtime for a bloom in early summer. That’s when they grow best because they’re used to warm weather. For strawflowers to grow beautifully, they will require full sun.

Geranium

Geraniums (Geranium) grow best with full sun so they can bloom fantastically. You should plant these flowers in the late spring for a summer bloom or even in the fall for a late autumn bloom.

Sunflower

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are called as such for a reason; they need the full soon to grow into beautiful sun-looking flowers. You should plant them around May so they bloom in mid-summer, like August.

Celosia

Celosias (Celosia) are beautiful flowers that need the full sun to bloom gorgeously. You should plant them around early spring so they can bloom beautifully in early summer.

Scabiosa

Scabiosa (Scabiosa) needs the full sun so it can grow into the majestic flowers they are. You should plant the scabiosa in early spring so they can bloom around three months later.