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.
An upright shrub with aromatic dark green leaves. Clusters of star-shaped yellow flowers from mid-summer to mid-autumn followed by large fruit which flush pinkish red on ripening. Height 1.2m. Spread 1.2m. Flowers from July to October. Fruits from September Deciduous.
Huge, flat clusters of flowers up to 3” across, smother the evergreen shrubby foliage in spring, and Masterpiece will continue through to autumn. 12-18 inches height and spread.
Candytuft. A spreading evergreen subshrub with dark green leaves. Clusters of white flowers occasionally flushed lilac in late spring to early summer. Height 30cm. Spread 40cm. Flowers from May to June. Evergreen.
Relatively fast growing spreading evergreen that typically reaches around 30cm in height. It has dark green sword-shaped leaves. In early spring it begins to produce beautiful 4 petaled pure white flowers in eye-catching dense clusters which last until the end of spring.
Spreading sub-shrub with dark green shiny evergreen foliage and mildly scented dense flower heads in late Spring to early Summer. Flat clusters of white flowers with small pink centres.
A perennial with basal. divided dark green leaves and tubular. trumpet-shaped deep rose-pink flowers produced in early to mid-summer. Height 60cm. Spread 30cm. Flower colour Pink. Protect from winter wet.
A slender, delicate iris grown for its upright, small, black flowers, finely flecked in contrasting canary-yellow at its throat. Flowers May to July. It grows best in constantly moist soil and makes an eye catching feature in a sunny, boggy area of the garden, or beside water. Caution: Harmful if eaten.
Evergreen Iris. An iris with bright dark green leaves and stems of dull purple flowers tinged with yellow in early summer. Large seed capsules split open to reveal scarlet seeds in autumn. Height 30-90cm. Spread 30-90cm. Flowers from June to July. Evergreen. Grows in dry or moist soil.
Flowers are fan-shaped, with three drooping petals called falls and three upright petals called standards. Glaucous-green, sword-like fans of stiff upright leaves with some dying back in colder climates in winter.
Lots of sword like leaves and masses of red and orange flowers in May and June. Height 70cm. Harmful if eaten.
Fragrant soft blue flowers with white centres. A rebloomer (5-6 blooms per stalk) and vigorous grower. Flowers July - September. Forms a clump of green sword-shaped leaves. Height 90cm. Prefers full sun but will tolerate light shade. Well drained soil. Requires well-drained, loamy soil.
Orris Root. A tall bearded iris with sword-like narrow grey-green leaves and stems with white flowers in late spring. Height 80cm. Spread 30cm.
Rhizomatous perennial to 1m tall, with fans of sword-shaped, greyish-green foliage. The highly ruffled flowers, produced in mid-to-late spring, have primrose-yellow standards and blue-violet falls, with orange beards.
Upright spiky clumps support showy blooms. Blooms late spring to mid summer. Mature Height: 32-36 Inches.
Orris Root. Large flowers with wide, deep violet purple brims on white background. Sword-like leaves are deciduous, pale green. Flowers appear usually from mid May on sturdy, about 90-95 cm tall stems.
A bearded iris with sword-like narrow green leaves and stems of purest white flowers in May and June. Repeat flowering later in the summer. Height 80cm. Spread 45cm. Semi-evergreen.
Grey-green pointed strap-like leaves growing from a rhizome, which also produces flowers in a wide range of colours. The flowers have 3 falls (outer petals) and 3 standards (inner upright petals). Bearded irises are so called because the falls have soft hairs down the middle. Orange Chariot has apricot orange standards and falls, with a darker orange beard.
Rich red petals range from bright and light to deep wine red, and the bloom is centred by bright orange stamen and yellow-orange beards.
Clear rose pink standards over violet purple falls edged rose pink. Beard is red-orange. This is in a class by itself. Blooms are ruffly and large and stalks are well branched. Has fertile pollen.
Rose Queen is a pale pink to lavender-pink iris with darker rose-pink stripes on the falls.
Light sky blue flowers with ruffled edges appear on sword-shaped foliage. Light blue and violet tints gives a denim look to petals. Blooms with the first warmth of spring.
Compact, clump-forming, rhizomatous, deciduous perennial with upright, strap-like, dark grey-green leaves and, in summer, erect stems bearing flowers with pale blue styles, dull violet standards, and veined, dark reddish-purple to reddish-brown falls, yellow at the margins.
'Butter and Sugar' is a clump-forming perennial with narrow, leaves and stems to 80cm, bearing 2 white flowers, the standards with a yellow sheen, the falls flushed lemon yellow towards the centre.
Clumps of bushy leaves and tall stems of purple-blue flowers in early summer. Elegant. older style. Height 60-90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Harmful if eaten. Happy in a sunny border or in a bog garden.
The flowers of this iris have fawn-coloured falls with a hint of apricot and are adorned luminous gold markings. Creamy white standards attract the eye and emphasize the blossom's unusual colour. Siberian Iris are easy and long-lived perennials for garden and landscape.
Flowers in shades of deep yellow, cinnamon, creamy yellow, white, and lavender. Siberian irises have elegant, delicate flowers atop vertical columns of strap-like green foliage that look great all season long.
Exotic looking, ruffled blousy blooms are produced during the summer with intriguing markings that have inspired many botanical artists over the years. Easy to grow, preferring moist soil in sun or part shade. Height 70-80cm (28-32). Spread 30-45cm (12-18). Fully hardy perennials.
Multi-coloured flowers with shades of violet, lavender, red, yellow and gold with a sweet fragrance that sit above clump forming, long strapping green foliage.
Showy and uniquely coloured blooms in pale faded mauve and gold-tinged burgundy velvet. A beautiful sibirica type which will naturalise well and is easy to grow.
Iris 'Pink Parfait' produces soft lavender-pink blooms with lighter edging. As the flowers open fully, a yellow centre with a white halo can be seen. Iris sibirica are tough performers, equally at home in moist, boggy soils and dry areas
Vigorous clumps of bushy leaves and tall stems of dark purple flowers with attractive veining from early to mid-summer. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous.
Clumps of bushy leaves and tall stems of pinkish mauve flowers from early to mid summer. Height 1m.
Vigorous clumps of grass-like evergreen leaves and fragrant. pale lavender to deep violet flowers with a band of yellow on the falls from early to mid-summer. Height 30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from January to March. Evergreen. Hardy. Sheltered Site. Harmful if eaten.
White flowers with yellow centre. Height 70cm.
Blue flowers with yellow centre. Height 60cm.
A clump-forming perennial with pretty tubular pale yellow flowers. Height 60-120cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers August. September. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold winds.
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