Care & Guidance
Whilst you enjoy your perennials for their fantastic foliage or beautiful blooms, it's really the roots you're buying - because the roots allow the plants to come back every year. Use these tips to make sure your perennials get off to the right start.
Container grown perennials are easy to plant and commonly available. Start digging a hole that's a little wider but no deeper than the pot your new perennial came in. Loosen the roots, and spread them out if the plant has become rootbound* (*when roots start to grow in circles around the edge of the pot). Then firm the soil in around the roots and water well.
Planting Tips: water your perennials well after you plant them. Then lay a 2-3 inch deep layer of mulch over the soil around your new plants. The mulch will help the soil hold moisture and prevent weeds from growing. Give taller perennials such as delphiniums, holihocks and peonies support by staking them. Anchor single stems by inserting a rod or sturdy stick into the ground and tying the stem to it. Keep clump forming plants with multiple stems standing, by growing through a hoop. Regularly deadhead and divide your perennials to keep them healthy and looking beautiful.
Deadheading: simply means cutting the faded flowers off your plants. It makes your plants look better and it prevents them from setting seed so you don't have a mass of seedlings popping up in your garden.
Dividing: One of the best things about perennials is that they grow bigger and better each year. But many start to crowd themselves out if they get too big. Keep them performing well by digging them out of the ground and splitting them into smaller chunks every 3 or 4 years. Early spring and autumn are the best times to divide most perennials. A couple of exceptions include bearded iris and hosta: split these perennials in summer.
Watering: There's no one-size fits all rule for watering perennials. Some varieties stand up to drought and others need to be kept moist all the time. Keep your plants healthier and make watering a breeze by grouping plants in acccordance with their watering needs. No matter what perennials you're growing, be sure to keep them all well watered in the first year - that allows them to become well established.
Feeding: If you have rich soil or improve it with garden compost or other forms of organic matter on a regular basis, you probably won't need to feed your plants, But if you're burdened with poor soil, fertilising can be helpful. Take care not to over fertilise - this may make your plants flower less, suffer root injury, or even kill your perennials.
Winter Care: Perennials that are reliably cold hardy in your region shouldn't need any special winter care. But spreading a layer of mulch over them after the soil freezes can help prevent winter damage during an especially cold season. Many gardeners like to leave the dead stems of their perennials standing all winter, providing food for birds. Perennials can help to catch snow, which is one of the best winter mulches.
Bear's breeches. A clump-forming perennial with deeply cut, dark green leaves. Spikes of white flowers with purple bracts produced in summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Hardy.
Yarrow. A large herbaceous perennial with masses of tiny salmon flowers that fade to cream on tall stems above green coloured feathery foliage. Spreads to 25cm over the season. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with moist soil or compost. Hardy.
Yarrow. A compact clump forming perennial with evergreen silvery grey leaves. Dusky Orange fading to yellow flower heads. Height 80cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to September.
An unusual Yarrow with fabulous double, white pompom like flowers from June to September. Very good for cutting and drying.
Monkshood. An upright perennial with dark green leaves. Dense spikes of indigo-blue flowers. Height 1.4m. Spread 40cm. Flowers from July to September. Hardy. CAUTION toxic if eaten.
A very dark, vigorous, black leaved new form. Worth growing for the foliage alone. Very fragrant flowers in September and October. Height when in flower up to 2m. Plant at 60cm centres in fertile soil, they tend to hate thin alkaline soils.
Member of the Ranunculaceae family. A clump-forming perennial with black pinnate leaves and pink spike forming flowers Jul-Sep. Height 60cm. Spread 40cm. Herbaceous.
Member of the Ranunculaceae family. A clump-forming perennial with black pinnate leaves Pink spike forming flowers Jul-Sep. 60cm. Spread 40cm. Herbaceous.
A lovely, modern cultivar with large umbels of rich, violet-blue flowers during mid-late summer. The strong and sturdy stems can take on a glorious dark purple hue when the sunlight catches them. Excellent for container planting. Height to 90cm.
This is the darkest Agapanthus inapertus pendulus cultivar. Drooping inky indigo flowers in late summer. Deciduous. Height 80cm. Spread 50cm.
Clumps of large, strap-shaped leaves, from which large umbels of blue-throated, white trumpet-shaped flowers appear from summer into autumn.
Hardy cultivar which produces large umbels of dark blue flowers above distinct deciduous leaves having dark violet blue/black bases. Sunny well drained spot. Height 60cm-80cm.
Produces an elegant display of dark, purple-black buds that open to reveal starry, violet blooms. The domed flower heads perch neatly upon stiff, upright stems above the slender, arching foliage. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm.
A strong growing hybrid with nodding, blue-purple flowers. Height: 30". Flowers: July - August.
A compact, clump-forming perennial to 50cm tall with deciduous, strap-like, dark green foliage. In summer, it bears large, rounded umbels of flowers up to 20cm across on short, sturdy stems; the trumpet-shaped flowers are a deep blue at the base with white flaring petal tips.
An attractive ground cover plant with rich evergreen foliage and spikes of blue flowers in spring. Remove spent flowers if required. Height 20cm. Spread 35cm.
Burgundy Glow is a creeping perennial with evergreen leaves, silvery-green suffused with wine-red, and short spikes of deep blue flowers in late spring and early summer.
Bright gold leaves and beautiful blue flower spikes in the spring and summer. Excellent as a groundcover, especially in shady positions.
Compact, dense, mat-forming, evergreen to semi-evergreen perennial with narrowly ovate, pale grey-green leaves with cream to pale yellow margins, flushed pink in spring, and spike-like whorls of blue flowers in late spring and early summer.
Drooping heads of rich pink large flowers. This mid-height Allium is a great show-stopper once established in the garden with guaranteed flowering. Upright stems of 35cm produce a mass of ball bearing shaped deep pink flowers above short foliage. This allium like many is great for bees and other pollinating insects.
Peruvian Lily. Violet royal purple flowers cover the foliage during summer. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
An upright, bushy, tuberous perennial with lance-shaped, dark green leaves and from early summer into autumn, open clusters of funnel-shaped, magenta flowers with flecked, white-marked throats.
Peruvian Lily. Tuberous perennial. Creamy white flowers with a dark pink throat and splash of yellow. Height 40cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to August. Deciduous. Sheltered Site. May cause skin allergy.
Peruvian Lily. Tuberous perennial. Compact, clump-forming perennial with dark green lance-shaped leaves and clusters of funnel shaped full red flowers which have dark brown speckles and a hint of yellow on the inner petals in summer and autumn. Deciduous. Sheltered site. May cause skin allergy.
Mon - Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat & Sun 9:00am - 5:00pm
Any questions? Email us or give us a call on 01904 400092.
