Gardening Quiz - Annuals - Bedding Plants (Questions)

Bedding plants epitomize formal gardening and the UK is famous throughout the world for this type of multi-coloured display.

In the 1980s and 1990s regimented rows of Alyssum, Lobelia and Marigolds were a regular sight in front gardens. Nowadays such disciplined plantings are the preserve of local authorities and public parks whilst in domestic gardening there has been a swing towards less formal planting schemes.

There is still a place for bedding plants in private gardens and where a gardener requires a brilliant flash of colour that can be quickly produced it is bedding plants that fit the bill.

To see a larger image, click on the picture.
1. The plants that we call 'Marigolds' are members of the genus that botanists know as what?
[ ] Impatiens
[ ] Marigold
[ ] Pelargoniums
[ ] Tagetes
2. What is the name by which Mesembryanthemums are usually known?
[ ] Dog Daisy
[ ] English Daisy
[ ] Livingstone Daisy
[ ] Oxeye Daisy
3. The scientific name for red-flowered Salvia often used as a bedding plant is what?
[ ] Salvia divinorum
[ ] Salvia officinalis
[ ] Salvia pratensis
[ ] Salvia splendens
4. What is the common name of Ageratum houstonianum that is often grown as a summer bedding plant?
[ ] Boss flower
[ ] Floss flower
[ ] Gloss flower
[ ] Moss flower
5. 'Sweet Alyssum' was once classified in the genus of Alyssum but it has now been reclassified as what?
[ ] Aster
[ ] Campanula
[ ] Lobularia
[ ] Mimulus
6. The popular edging plant known as Lobelia erinus is a native of where?
[ ] Northern Europe
[ ] Eastern Asia
[ ] Southern Africa
[ ] Western Australia
7. Under what conditions do Pansies produce the best display?
[ ] Cool
[ ] Very cold
[ ] Very hot
[ ] Very humid
8. The bedding plant that is usually referred to as 'Geranium' does not in fact belong to the Geranium genus. To what genus does it belong?
[ ] Papavar
[ ] Pelargonium
[ ] Philadelphus
[ ] Philodendron
9. Bedding Violas are in the same family as which of the plants given below?
[ ] Antirrhinum
[ ] Diascia
[ ] Nemesia
[ ] Pansy
10. This is a lovely double-flowered variety of which popular bedding plant?
[ ] Begonia
[ ] Impatiens
[ ] Ivy Geranium
[ ] Portulaca
Gardening Quiz - Annuals - Bedding Plants (Answers)
1. The plants that we call 'Marigolds' are members of the genus that botanists know as what?
[ ] Impatiens
[ ] Marigold
[ ] Pelargoniums
[x] Tagetes
In the UK the name 'Tagetes' is normally reserved for a member of this genus that has feathery foliage and a multitude of small flowers. There is not a genus called 'Marigold'!
2. What is the name by which Mesembryanthemums are usually known?
[ ] Dog Daisy
[ ] English Daisy
[x] Livingstone Daisy
[ ] Oxeye Daisy
3. The scientific name for red-flowered Salvia often used as a bedding plant is what?
[ ] Salvia divinorum
[ ] Salvia officinalis
[ ] Salvia pratensis
[x] Salvia splendens
4. What is the common name of Ageratum houstonianum that is often grown as a summer bedding plant?
[ ] Boss flower
[x] Floss flower
[ ] Gloss flower
[ ] Moss flower
5. 'Sweet Alyssum' was once classified in the genus of Alyssum but it has now been reclassified as what?
[ ] Aster
[ ] Campanula
[x] Lobularia
[ ] Mimulus
6. The popular edging plant known as Lobelia erinus is a native of where?
[ ] Northern Europe
[ ] Eastern Asia
[x] Southern Africa
[ ] Western Australia
7. Under what conditions do Pansies produce the best display?
[x] Cool
[ ] Very cold
[ ] Very hot
[ ] Very humid
Pansies do not grow well in the heat of the summer - the flowers get smaller as the weather gets hotter
8. The bedding plant that is usually referred to as 'Geranium' does not in fact belong to the Geranium genus. To what genus does it belong?
[ ] Papavar
[x] Pelargonium
[ ] Philadelphus
[ ] Philodendron
9. Bedding Violas are in the same family as which of the plants given below?
[ ] Antirrhinum
[ ] Diascia
[ ] Nemesia
[x] Pansy
10. This is a lovely double-flowered variety of which popular bedding plant?
[ ] Begonia
[x] Impatiens
[ ] Ivy Geranium
[ ] Portulaca