Garden Scheme
Annuals are spaced to close the gap within a single season, so they go in tighter than perennials of the same mature size. There is no year three to plan for and no root competition to worry about past autumn.
Plant library · Spacing charts
Annual flower spacing chart
Center-to-center spacing for 50 annual flowers, with mature height and spread, bloom season, and sun needs — spacing for plants that get one season to fill their space.
Spacing across this chart runs from 6 inches (15 cm) to 2.5 ft (75 cm). Sort by any column heading.
| Plant | Spacing | Mature size | USDA zones | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
African DaisyOsteospermum ecklonis
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
African MarigoldTagetes erecta
|
18 inches45 cm | 3 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
AgeratumAgeratum houstonianum
|
9 inches23 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
AngeloniaAngelonia angustifolia
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Annual Geranium (Zonal Geranium)Pelargonium x hortorum
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
BacopaSutera cordata
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
BidensBidens ferulifolia
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
CalendulaCalendula officinalis
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
CalibrachoaCalibrachoa spp.
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.75 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
CelosiaCelosia argentea
|
12 inches30 cm | 2 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
China AsterCallistephus chinensis
|
12 inches30 cm | 2 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
CleomeCleome hassleriana
|
18 inches45 cm | 4 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
ColeusSolenostemon scutellarioides
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Partial Shade |
CosmosCosmos bipinnatus
|
18 inches45 cm | 4 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
CupheaCuphea ignea
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Dusty MillerJacobaea maritima
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | 7–11 | Full Sun |
Fan FlowerScaevola aemula
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.75 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Flowering TobaccoNicotiana alata
|
12 inches30 cm | 3 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Four O'ClockMirabilis jalapa
|
2 ft60 cm | 3 ft tall, 2.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
French MarigoldTagetes patula
|
9 inches23 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
FuchsiaFuchsia spp.
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Partial Shade |
Garden PansyViola x wittrockiana
|
9 inches23 cm | 0.75 ft tall, 0.75 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
GazaniaGazania rigens
|
9 inches23 cm | 0.75 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
GomphrenaGomphrena globosa
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
HeliotropeHeliotropium arborescens
|
15 inches40 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
ImpatiensImpatiens walleriana
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Shade |
LantanaLantana camara
|
2.5 ft75 cm | 3 ft tall, 3 ft wide | 7–11 | Full Sun |
LisianthusEustoma grandiflorum
|
9 inches23 cm | 2 ft tall, 0.75 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
LobeliaLobelia erinus
|
9 inches23 cm | 0.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Partial Sun |
Love-in-a-MistNigella damascena
|
9 inches23 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Marguerite DaisyArgyranthemum frutescens
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Morning GloryIpomoea purpurea
|
18 inches45 cm | 10 ft tall, 3 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Moss RosePortulaca grandiflora
|
12 inches30 cm | 0.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
NasturtiumTropaeolum majus
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
NemesiaNemesia strumosa
|
6 inches15 cm | 1 ft tall, 0.75 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
New Guinea ImpatiensImpatiens hawkeri
|
15 inches40 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Partial Shade |
PentasPentas lanceolata
|
18 inches45 cm | 2 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
PetuniaPetunia x hybrida
|
12 inches30 cm | 1 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
SnapdragonAntirrhinum majus
|
12 inches30 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
StaticeLimonium sinuatum
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
StockMatthiola incana
|
9 inches23 cm | 2 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
StrawflowerXerochrysum bracteatum
|
12 inches30 cm | 3 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
SunflowerHelianthus annuus
|
18 inches45 cm | 8 ft tall, 3 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Sweet AlyssumLobularia maritima
|
9 inches23 cm | 0.5 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Sweet PeaLathyrus odoratus
|
6 inches15 cm | 6 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
VerbenaVerbena x hybrida
|
18 inches45 cm | 1 ft tall, 2 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
VincaCatharanthus roseus
|
12 inches30 cm | 1.25 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Wax BegoniaBegonia x semperflorens-cultorum
|
9 inches23 cm | 1 ft tall, 1 ft wide | — | Partial Shade |
Wishbone FlowerTorenia fournieri
|
9 inches23 cm | 0.75 ft tall, 0.75 ft wide | — | Partial Shade |
ZinniaZinnia elegans
|
12 inches30 cm | 2.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide | — | Full Sun |
Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. Mature sizes are planning estimates and shift with cultivar and local conditions. Hardiness is shown only for non-annual, species-level entries.
How to use this chart
Mass bedding displays — petunias, marigolds, alyssum in a solid block — are planted at the close end of the range so the colour reads as one sheet with no soil showing. The same plant used as a single accent in a mixed border wants the full spacing here so its shape stays visible.
Containers are the exception to all of it. Pots are watered and fed far more heavily than beds, and annuals in them are routinely planted at half these distances to look full immediately — accepting that the planting is spent by the end of the season.