Rocket points at the oak tree outside. "That tree was here when Grandpa was a kid!"
Then he looks at his bean seedling. "Will my bean live that long?"
Raven thinks. "What do you notice about gardens each spring? Some plants come back. Some are new."
Nova hovers between them. "Plants keep different clocks," she hints. "Count the years."
An annual goes from seed to seed in one year or growing season.
In that time it grows, blooms, makes seeds and dies.
A biennial needs two years. It grows leaves the first year.
In its second year, a biennial makes flowers, fruit and seeds.
A perennial lives more than two years.
| Kind | How long | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | One year or season | Bean, pea, sunflower |
| Biennial | Two years | Carrot |
| Perennial | More than two years | Dandelion, oak tree, maple tree |
In its first year, a carrot plant grows leaves and stores food.
If a carrot plant keeps growing, it flowers and makes seeds in its second year.
Some perennials have soft stems that die back to the ground each winter.
New stems grow back from the plant's crown each spring.
Trees and shrubs have woody stems that last through cold winters.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| A sunflower is an annual. | ? |
| A dandelion is a perennial. | ? |
| A biennial lives only one month. | ? |
Clock-reading pros! Tomorrow we compare life cycles and read our test results.