We were at a greenhouse symposium last winter and someone asked me if I thought the perennial craze was over. While I think perennials are definitely here to stay, I also think gardeners are realizing that for color all summer, annuals can't be beat.

For new gardeners and the more experienced (note I didn't say "old"), there are some exciting things happening with annuals.

There are several new series of F1 vinca coming on the market Titan, Cora, Sundevil Extreme, and Cobra readily come to mind. This is a new innovation in vinca, a crop that is traditionally open-pollinated.

Open-pollinated crops are usually inbred lines that are grown in a field and open-pollinated by insects or wind. Not very labor intensive. F1 hybrids are a cross between 2 inbred parent lines that are emasculated, then hand pollinated to prevent any accidental pollination. This is very labor intensive, and thus the seeds are more costly, but the benefits are generally worth it. Larger flowers, more vigorous plants, more disease resistance are usual results.

In the trials last summer, I was very impressed with the disease resistance and flower size of these new F1 vincas.

For the new gardener, zinnias are a great choice as they are easy to grow, come in a variety of heights, and attract butterflies. Benary seed has a line of 3-4 foot tall cutflower types that are available in 13 different colors. I saw these in the Idea Garden at Longwood last summer, and they have excellent mildew resistance, stunning colors (lime green!) and good vase life.

The Profusion zinnia series is a dwarf mounding type with great garden performance, but not as attractive to butterflies. Three colors won the All-American Award; Cherry 1999, Orange 1999 and White 2001, but the new colors Fire, Coral Pink and Deep Apricot are just as wonderful.

Another great new old-standard is Non-stop Mocha begonias. The Non-stops are very floriferous, double begonias that come in a variety of colors and are great for part shade garden beds or mixed containers. The Mochas have stunning dark foliage that really sets off the colorful blooms.

I may never convince my friend who has a "Friends don't let friends buy annuals" bumper sticker on her car, but if you've turned up your nose in the past, you may want to try some of these new all-summer bloomers.