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.
The heuchera 'Cinnabar Silver' has interesting, silvery foliage with dark veins. Heuchera are versatile. Besides the flowers themselves, heuchera leaves impress with an intense shape and colour. They are a valuable source of nectar. Violet, loose clusters of inflorescences stand above a silvery foliage.
Bright lime yellow-green foliage, cream flowers to 50cm², usually August. Sun or part shade. Well drained neutral soil.
Semi-evergreen, herbaceous perennial grown for its ruffled, rounded leaves in shades of orange-red. In spring, it bears open panicles of small, bell-shaped flowers on dainty stems.
Clump-forming, mounded, semi-evergreen to evergreen perennial with rounded, lobed, reddish-brown leaves and slender, wiry, dark red stems bearing open panicles of small, red flowers from late spring into summer.
Mound-forming, semi-evergreen, herbaceous perennial with rounded, purple-black leaves and tall, arching stems of tiny, bell shaped coral flowers in spring until summer.
'Dale's Strain' has unique silver-blue marbled foliage that grows in handsome mounds. It is an excellent drought tolerant ground cover for shady areas. Long wands of white flowers attract native bees and hummingbirds when they bloom in spring.
Blood Red veins electrify the bright golden leaves of this stunning plant. Foliage changes from shades of yellow in spring to chartreuse in summer and autumn. Ideal in a container, when finished they can be planted into a bed or border with well drained soil (Heuchera dislike wet roots).
Perennial evergreen with violet purple foliage. White flowers, small on a stem of 30 cm in June-July.
Purple-black maple-shaped, purple-black leaves with heavy silver overlay and dark veining. Pink flower sprays on long stems late spring early summer. Height: 20-25cm. Spread 25-30cm. Sun/partial shade.
Forms a mound of luxuriant foliage with a fluted edge that is reminiscent of the colours of a blackcurrant and blueberry smoothie. Short sprays of purple-pink flowers appear in summer. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Fast growing Heuchera has the reddest leaves ever, a great crown, and it is a vigorous grower. The leaves are cut and somewhat ruffled and reddest in the spring and fall when the temperatures are cooler. The 14" spikes with white flowers in mid summer compliment and contrast with the foliage.
Forming open mounds, the leaves of this attractive perennial emerge pinkish red and then take on tan, and later rich red colours in the autumn. Hardy.
Forming open mounds, with leaves of glossy purple. Hardy.
A mound-forming, semi-evergreen, herbaceous perennial with lime-green to mid-green, mottled foliage and tall, arching stems of tiny, bell-shaped, white flowers in spring until summer.
Compact, semi-evergreen. Yellow leaf, creamy white flowers from summer to autumn. Shade loving.
Coral Bells. A mound of red leaves with dark scarlet flowers in open panicles in summer. Height up to 2ft. Flowers from June to August. Semi-evergreen.
Frosted, ruffled leaves that are a shocking LIME GREEN! The flowers are small and pure white and the plant is a vigorous grower. Needs partial to full shade.
Dark burgundy veins are strong in spring, with a hint of violet throughout the year. Pale pink flowers bloom on short stems spring, right through summer. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Evergreen, clump-forming perennial with attractive rounded leaves and racemes or panicles of small, tubular flowers with colourful calyxes. Ideal as ground cover in a herbaceous, mixed or shrub border. The flowers are good for cutting and are attractive to bees.
Coral Flower. An attractive mound of glossy metallic bronze-red foliage. Airy panicles of greenish cream flowers in early summer. Height 45-60cm. Spread 45-60cm. Flowers from April to July. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Vibrant, unusually coloured variety of Heuchera with a typically compact habit. The stunning variegated semi-evergreen foliage is a striking mixture of rich maroon veins and edges contrasting with the brighter silver hues of the leaves centre. Supplementing the already impressive foliage are beautiful repeat flowers of warm soft pink which bloom from May until September.
Lovely amber-orange foliage and bears small green and yellow flowers on slender stems during summer.
Black, round leaves on a medium large mound.
A great landscape plant with round leaves, a good crown, and purple to silver leaves. With hardy H. richardsonii breeding you get greater cold tolerance and good rust resistance.
Showy red to burgundy foliage and bears small green and yellow flowers on slender stems during summer.
A great landscape plant from Heuchera richardsonii breeding (making it more cold tolerant). Forms a dense, rounded mound with burgundy-silver to silver leaves. Excellent rust resistance.
Shiny, broad,. smooth, round leaves that are almost glassy in texture. The black leaves are so smooth they almost appear to have been polished. A knock-out effect with any golden-foliaged plant!
Paprika is an evergreen, herbaceous, perennial grown for its ruffled, rounded leaves in shades of gold, orange and bronze. In spring it bears open panicles of small bell-shaped flowers on dainty stems.
The ruffled leaves have a soft peach colour in the spring and fall and are bright orange with a touch of red during the summer. Taller shoots of white coloured flowers appear on this variety in late spring.
Pretty pale pink flowers all spring summer and autumn. Leaves are a pink-caramel in spring and early summer, deepening into late summer and autumn.
A mound-forming, semi-evergreen, herbaceous perennial with green to mid-green, mottled foliage and tall, arching stems of tiny, bell-shaped, red flowers in spring until summer.
Striking red/marmalade coloured leaves. Flowering in May and continues until July. Creamy white flowers in spring and summer. Height 60cm. Highly suitable for borders, but also in pots as a patio plant. Prefers sun or semi-shade. Extremely winter-hardy.
Rio is an evergreen, herbaceous perennial grown for its ruffled, rounded leaves in shades of gold, orange and bronze. In spring, it bears open panicles of small, bell-shaped white flowers on dainty stems.
A vigorous, clump-forming, semi-evergreen to evergreen perennial bearing rounded to ovate, lobed leaves in numerous shades of orange. Panicles of small, bell-shaped, cream flowers bloom on slender stems in summer.
Slightly ruffled foliage, silver with rose-purple tints. In spring the purple is more intense. Shade will bring the silver through more, whilst sun will make it more purple tones. White flowers. Large neat habit with multiple crowns.
Heuchera 'Sugar Frosting' is a lovely variety with a tight growth habit. The foliage is matt-burgundy with frosted metallic markings. Grow in a mixed border, or container with other plants, where the foliage can act as a foil for other plants. Grow in moist, but well-drained soil of moderate fertility.
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