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.
Spring Vetchling. A dense clump-forming perennial with upright stems. Purplish blue to pink flowers in spring. Height 50cm. Spread 50cm. Flowers from March to May. Attractive to bees and other pollinators. Herbaceous.
Lavender. Compact and uniform Lavandula with intense blue flowers and narrow silvery grey leaves from mid to late summer. Height 60cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Evergreen.
Lavender. Compact and uniform Lavandula with purple flowers and narrow silvery grey leaves from mid to late summer. Height 60cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Prolific even in first season. Evergreen.
Lavender. A compact bushy shrub with narrow silvery grey leaves and spikes of dark purple flowers from mid to late summer. Height 60cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Evergreen. Hardy.
Lavender. A compact bushy shrub with narrow silvery grey leaves and spikes of dark purple flowers from mid to late summer. Height 60cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Evergreen. Hardy. Plant 30cm apart for dwarf hedging. Dead head in November and cut back in April.
Large flower spikes on well-branched, bushy plants, have a feel-good fragrance. Long-flowering plants are ideal for planters and garden beds.
Lavender. A compact shrub with narrow silvery grey leaves and spikes of white flowers from mid to late summer. Height 60cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Evergreen. Hardy. Plant 30cm apart for dwarf hedging. Dead head in November and cut back in April.
A compact evergreen shrub with linear, grey-green leaves, and small round purple flowers heads tipped with large purple bracts.
Grows to a height of about 30 cm and is characterized by an intense fragrance and exotic-looking purple flowers. It blooms in June-August. This variety of lavender is used to obtain high-quality essential oils.
Lions Tail. Member of mint family, tender, evergreen shrub with spectacular orange flowers in tiered layers. Great patio plant and in the greenhouse for winter.
Leontipodrum Alpinum is a perennial to 20cm in height, with narrow, grey-green leaves and starry white-felted flowering heads in late spring and early summer.
Produces large amounts of medium semi-double, white daisy flowers. Height 10-14 inches. Spread 17 inches.
Long blooming and compact with semi-double flowers.
Delightful double flowers with soft lemon yellow petals and darker golden yellow centers on a compact plant with a tight, low habit. Incredible flower power with a profusion of blooms.
'Shortstop' will provide classic Shasta Daisy flowers with full, bright white petals surrounding a rich yellow centre on a compact plant that naturally maintains a tight, low habit.
A clump-forming perennial with glossy, dark green leaves and fringed, semi-double white flowers with yellow centres. Height 60cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous.
Blazing Star. Gayfeather. Tall stems with narrow leaves topped with long-lasting violet-mauve flowers in dense spikes. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A large clump-forming perennial with intense deep glossy black rounded leaves maroon beneath and tall red stems of deep orange flowers with brown centres. Flowers mid-summer to early autumn. Height 1m. Spread 1m. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site. Moist site.
A clump-forming perennial with deeply cut leaves, purple-green stems bear slender racemes of yellow flowers. Height 90cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Large deeply indented and lobed palmate leaves and corymbs of large daisy-like flowers from May-Aug. Height 1.5m. Best suited to moist soil in full-part shade.
Lily. A beautiful lily with trumpet-shaped white flowers strongly flushed purple on the outside in early summer. Height 10-30cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Petals of deep cherry-pink with a crisp white edge.
Lilyturf. An evergreen perennial with narrow dark green leaves, dense spikes of lilac blue flowers in autumn. Height 25cm. Spread 45cm. Evergreen.
A free flowering selection with plenty of blue-purple spikes in late summer-autumn. Evergreen grassy foliage makes neat clumps for shade.
Lilyturf. An evergreen perennial with narrow dark green leaves. Dense spikes of white flowers Sept - Nov. Height 30cm. Spread 45cm. Evergreen.
Tufted, grass-like perennial that typically grows to 10-15” tall and features strap-like, arching leaves that emerge an unusual but attractive white in spring. Leaves acquire green speckles as the growing season progresses, eventually becoming totally green by autumn.
Lilyturf. An evergreen perennial with narrow dark green leaves striped white, dense spikes of bright lavender flowers in autumn. Height 30cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from September to November. Evergreen. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Cardinal Flower. A short-lived perennial with bronze-tinted bright green leaves, scarlet-red flowers with reddish purple bracts from summer to early autumn. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A perennial with deep purple-red stems and leaves. Scarlet flowers from late summer to mid-autumn. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flower colour Scarlet. Flowers from August to October. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A clump-forming perennial with soft hairy light green leaves. Flowers from late summer to mid-autumn. Height 60-120cm. Spread 30cm.
A regal beauty for a border where the stunning flower spikes will be a talking point. Blue spikes flowers. Beautiful and unusual.
A regal beauty for a border where the stunning flower spikes will be a talking point. Blue spikes flowers. Beautiful and unusual. A mix of all colors, except yellow.
Lush dark green foliage and striking yellow and purple flowers that bloom from early summer to early autumn. Full sun or part shade. Generally hardy, protect from severe frost.
An ever popular garden perennial producing spectacular spikes of dense pea-like flowers in Golden to Creamy Yellow. Colourful spike flowers stand out above attractive cut-leaf foliage. Especially effective in borders and for massing. Adapts to most soil types. Blooms from Spring to Summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting.
An ever popular garden perennial producing spectacular spikes of dense pea-like flowers in ivory to pure white. Colourful spike flowers stand out above attractive cut-leaf foliage.
Lupin. A clump-forming perennial with attractive foliage and spikes of bicoloured, deep blue and white flowers in early and mid-summer. Height 90cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Harmful if eaten.
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