These plants are rated as outstanding by private, commercial and government evaluators. The gardener can learn if a variety is AAS rated by reading seed catalogs, gardening magazines or asking knowledgeable garden store staff. All-America Selections are also available as transplants. Many gardeners keep their geraniums from one year to the next. This provides plants for inside the home during winter and it reduces the cost of new plants in the spring.
Begonias are another annual that are frequently wintered over by gardeners.
Common insect pests that affect annuals include aphids, spider mites, plant bugs, Japanese beetles and slugs. Refer to reference materials for plant-specific disease and insect problems.