Trees have different life cycles. Some trees live for a short time, while some others live for centuries. Plants are named annuals, biennials and perennials depending on the length of their life cycles.
Annuals live for a year. They grow, produce flowers and die within the span of a year. Plants such as petunias and zinnias are annuals. When these plants die, they leave seeds that will grow into new plants. Not all such plants live for an entire year. A seed-to-seed cycle can occur in the span of even a month. Many desert plants live for only a week and thus they are called ephemeral.
Biennials live for two years. In the first year, the tree spends time storing its food for the winter months. The tree produces flowers and seeds in the second year and the tree dies later. Turnips, carrots and beets are biennials.
Perennials live for more than two years. Such plants do not flower in the initial years. However, in course of time, they flower and fructify and repeat it every year. These plants grow into huge trees and occupy more space than other smaller plants. Most perennials can be grown from cuttings or seeds. Chrysanthemums, peonies, irises and lupins are some popular perennials found in gardens.
Picture Credit : Google