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.
Field Scabious. A clump-forming perennial with dull green leaves and bluish lilac or pink pincushion flowerheads. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Red Hot Poker. A clump-forming perennial with narrow grass-like. arching leaves and spikes of orange-red flowers. Height 60-90cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Clump forming perennial with spikes of yellow flowers from green buds and arching leaves flowering from June to September. Height 60cm. Spread 60cm.
Clump forming perennial with spikes of narrow lemon flowers from green buds and arching leaves flowering from June to September. Height 80cm. Spread 60cm.
A showy dwarf variety, bred for smaller spaces and long bloom time. Multiple spikes of creamy orange flowers are adored by hummingbirds. Deer resistant grass-like foliage adds great texture to beds and borders. Plant in warm, sunny spots for bright color from summer to fall.
Clump forming perennial with spikes of pale yellow flowers from bronze stems and arching leaves in July to September. Height 1m. Spread 60cm.
One of the palest hybrids, green tipped buds opening palest creamy-yellow. There will probably never be a pure white poker but this is probably the closest so far. Height up to 1.2m. Spread 80cm.
A relatively tall plant, to 140cm, with clean coloured upright to arching foliage and rather long, narrowish flower heads. Floriferous, with an unusual flower habit as only the very lowest of the peachy orange florets with dark orange stripes fade at maturity, to pale apricot cream. Flower stems darkish.
A compact habit and long-lasting blooms makes Kniphofia 'Lemon Popsicle' a superb addition to beds, borders and patio containers. Height 60cm. Spread 40cm.
Red Hot Poker. A clump-forming perennial with narrow grass-like, arching leaves. Flower spikes of buff-tinted, pale yellow, opening from pale green buds ageing to ivory. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Delicious spikes of sweet mango-orange, bloom continuously through summer into fall. The short grassy foliage looks neat all summer. A terrific drought tolerant garden plant. Great in the mid-border.
Large fat pokers, tawny apricot in colour fading to lemony cream are carried on sturdy upright stems above strong clumps of evergreen foliage. Height 60cm. Spread 40cm.
Red Hot Poker. A clump-forming perennial with narrow grass-like arching leaves. Flower spikes of coral red. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Massive foliage plant with very large (wide and long) keelless greyish leaves (keeled when young) and stumpy coral and cream pokers April - June, 1.3m x 1m, evergreen.
A poker with a twist! 'Papaya Popsicle' is an all-summer bloomer which has a very short compact habit. A prolific bloomer with spikes of flowers the color of ripe papayas. Charming, grass-like foliage looks neat all summer! Great for small gardens or in a container. Loved by hummingbirds!
Clump forming perennial with red and orange bi-colour flowers and it will bloom throughout summer.
This late-flowering South African red hot poker rooperi boasts a broad, squatty head. Each flower head is exquisitely patterned yellow at the bottom and bright orange all the way to the top.
Red Hot Poker. A clump-forming perennial with narrow grass-like, arching leaves and flower spikes of scarlet buds opening bright yellow. Height 1m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Red Hot Poker. Ornamentally impressive, drooping, tubular, bi-colour flower spikes. Yellow flowers open from red buds so you have a sometimes red, sometimes yellow effect.
An exceptional poker, tawny apricot buds open cream from dark bronze stems Jul-Oct, 1.2m. Easy and very prolific in flower over a long period.
Red Hot Poker. A clump-forming perennial with narrow. V-shaped leaves and flower spikes of red buds opening to orange then fading to yellow. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from September to October. Evergreen. Hardy.
Lovely heads of bronzy-green, aging to golden yellow. August-September. [3'+] 91cm.
Attractive golden silver and green foliage and purple flowers, excellent weather resistance and winter hardy. Good for baskets and tubs. Neat compact habit.
A clump-forming perennial with green leaves. heavily veined. produces pinkish purple flowers from late spring to summer. Height 45cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from April to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
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.
Ardèche is the earliest Lavandula angustifolia on the market. With its short stems on very silvery foliage, Ardèche is a very special variety.
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 grey-green leaves and spikes of lavender-blue flowers from mid to late summer. Height 75cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from July to August. Evergreen. Hardy. Planting instructions Back-fill with soil mixed with peat and a suitable fertiliser.
Lavender. A rounded bushy shrub with grey-green leaves and spikes of purple-blue flowers in summer. Height 1m. Spread 1.5m. A large variety. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Frost 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.
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.
An absolutely astonishing little dark purple lavender that makes a smashing hedge. Height 45cm.
Lavender. A compact bushy shrub with narrow variegated leaves and spikes of purple-blue flowers from mid to late summer. Height 75cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to August. Evergreen. Hardy.
Large flower spikes on well-branched, bushy plants, have a feel-good fragrance. Long-flowering plants are ideal for planters and garden beds.
Lavender. An aromatic evergreen shrub with narrow, grey leaves. Large rounded, purple flowerheads with conspicuous bracts are borne through summer. Height 70cm. Needs well drained soil in sun.
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