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.
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.
Spring leaves like cinnamon stars. These big, palmately cut leaves darken in the summer and lighten up again in the fall. Its H. villosa breeding gives it a big bold habit.
Veiled leaves rosy pink to rosy orange, a compact dense habit, and reblooming rose pink flowers in short wands. Use in the front of the border, for accent, or in containers.
Neat and compact - fresh petite limey green foliage topped with masses of lemony green flowers in spring/summer and autumn. Excellent for smaller containers, window boxes or front of borders in part shady spot.
The large soft blue leaves grow into nice big mounds within a few years. Leaves take on a green-blue hue with more exposure to sun. Keep in deep shade if you want to bring out the true colours of Blue Angel.
Heart-shaped green leaves with a pale yellow edge. Violet blue flowers between July and August. Height 30cm. Spread 75cm. Sun or shade beware of slugs.
Very nice heart-shaped leaves are mostly green with a thin bolt of yellow through the middle of the leaf. Leaves emerge mostly green with yellow centres. By summer the leaves are medium green with a cream centre.
Mid-sized growing hosta. Creamy foliage with blue margins. Sturdy and rounded blue-green leaves with ivory centre.
Heart-shaped, bluish green heavily puckered leaves forms magnificent clump. Shady site. White flowers in summer. Height 60cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Foliage remains attractive until first frost. A lovely addition to shady areas. It forms attractive, dense mounds of upright, heart-shaped blue-green leaves, 7in. Easy grower, Hosta 'First Frost' grows 16 in. tall (40 cm) and spreads 24-36 in. (60-90 cm).
Tetraploid sport of Orange Marmalade, thick leaves with glowing golden-yellow centre set off by a blue-green border. Lavender flowers.
Clump forming perennial with medium yellow lime leaves edged green. Vigorous and desirable for late summer. Height 50cm. Width 75cm.
Large Hosta that has fragrant white flowers and grows in sun/shade. The height is 60cm and the growth is medium. Herbaceous. Shelter from cold, drying winds.
Heart-shaped, mid golden leaves with dark green edges. Superb foliage. Pale lavender flowers in summer. Height 50cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sun or shade beware of slugs.
Beautiful glossy green leaves with deep ridging. In summer blue-lavender bell shaped flowers appear above the foliage on long slender stems. Ideal for a shady area. Height 40cm. Spread 90cm.
'Guacamole' has avocado green, veined foliage with darker green margins. This hosta forms large, dense clumps and thrives in partial shade, where the sun can brighten the leaf centres. In late summer, 3-foot-tall flower stalks emerge, bearing fragrant, lily like white blooms. Care: Moist, well-drained soil. Provide part to full shade and moist but well-drained.
Leaves emerge blue-green with an ivory centre, with a ruffled edge and a gentle twist and turn to almost completely blue-green by summer.
Fast growing slightly shiny green leaved hosta, wavy edges make this a lovely plant when mature. Very prolific leaf production make the mound very dense - grows really well in the ground.
Glaucous green leaves with a broad central area of lime green. Fragrant lavender-blue flowers. 75cm. Britain's best selling Hosta.
Hosta 'King Size' is a fabulous sport from H. 'Empress Wu' that has the same huge stature, without the glaucous coating on the leaf. The enormous dark green leaves are shiny because of the lack of wax to the leaf. Give this Hosta some bright morning sun and some room to grow. Lavender flowers in summer. Good Pest Resistance with maturity.
An architectural, vase-shaped plant. Large glaucous blue-grey, veined leaves. Pale lilac flowers in summer. Height 70cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Very striking hosta, it has lance-shaped green leaves with a wide yellow margin that turns cream. Height: 35-45 cm Flower: Lavender. Position: Semi-Shade / Shade. Growth Rate: Fast.
Variegated green foliage with prominent white edges. Lilac flowers. Protect from slugs.
Large, clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with thick, puckered, broadly oval, grey-blue leaves and tall scapes bearing racemes of funnel-shaped, white to pale lavender flowers in summer.
Large mid-green leaves flushed purple-red at the base. Pale purple flowers carried on purple-red stems. 60 x 60 cm.
Glossy dark green leaves and a wide cream margin. Leaves emerge glossy dark green in spring with a bright yellow margin. The leaf margin slowly turns white as the season progresses.
Large, deep blue foliage edges with bright green margins. The leaves are heavily corrugated with thick substance. Hardy in zones 3-9, Grow in part shade to full shade locations. This native perennial likes to be grown in moist well drained locations.
Rounded to heart-shaped, deeply puckered grey-blue leaves. Greyish white flowers in early summer. Height 60cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Green leaves with a cream to white edge and red petioles. Height: Medium 40-45 cm. Flower: Lavender. Position: Semi-Shade / Shade. Growth Rate: Medium.
Smooth, lance-shaped, glaucous leaves to 20cm long, are topped with spikes of handsome, lavender-grey, bell-shaped flowers in mid- to late summer.
Pure white leaves with a dark green border. Gold streaks accent the interior margins where the white and green overlap. Lavender blooms in mid-to-late summer. Dwarf, compact form. Height 35-40 cm. Spread 75-80 cm.
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