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 alpine primula with evergreen rosettes of rounded green leaves and clusters of flowers in shades of pink, orange & reds in spring. Height 15-20cm. Spread 15cm. Flowers from March to May. Evergreen. Hardy.
A perennial with large mid-green leaves. Stout stems with tiers of deep orange flowers in early summer. Height 60-90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A perennial with small rosettes of green leaves covered in deep blue farinose. Small deep violet bell-shaped flowers in rounded flattened heads on short stout stems from mid to late summer. Height 20-30cm. Spread 15-20cm. Flowers from July to August. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Drumstick Primula. A perennial with rosettes of mid-green leaves. Stout stems of rounded, rose flowers in spring. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from April to May. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Drumstick Primula. A perennial with rosettes of mid-green leaves. Stout stems of rounded. white flowers in spring. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from April to May. Herbaceous.
Unusual, Polyanthus style, Old Fashioned Primrose with unique green flowers, each petal with a ruffley edge which is pale; almost as if it was rimmed with frost. Chartreuse green with a green eye. A Charming curiosity for fellow lovers of green flowers.
Japanese Primrose. A perennial with large pale green leaves. Stout stems with tiers of white tinged pink flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Japanese Primrose. A perennial with large green leaves. Stout stems with tiers of crimson flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 45-75cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A perennial with rosettes of soft downy leaves. Dense heads of small tubular red flowers. Flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 45cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A perennial with rosettes of soft downy leaves. Dense heads of small tubular. Red flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 45cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Deep rich purple, double flowers in spring, over rosettes of bronze-flushed leaves. Sun or part shade. Humus-rich soil. Height 15 cm.
Tough and easy to grow, this unusual variety of Primrose makes a neat low clump with a long lasting display of dusky red flowers throughout early and mid spring.
Lungwort. A clump-forming perennial with dark green leaves and pretty violet-blue flowers in spring. Height 35cm. Spread 45cm. Flower colour Violet. Blue. Flowers from April to May. Deciduous. Foliage colour Green. Hardy. Planting instructions Water thoroughly before planting.
Compact, clump-forming, semi-evergreen perennial with profuse clusters of large, outfacing, pink flowers maturing to blue in spring.
New Variety. Pointed silver gilded apple green leaves, superb for contrasting under-planting. Can be placed in borders, raised beds and containers. Prefers partial shade, with free draining soil or compost. Flowers from April to May. Height 35cm. Spread 30cm.
Pink and violet flowers March-May. Almost entirely silver leaves. good soil preferred. 25cm. Superb leaf colour.
Stunning, herbaceous perennial grown for its mound of sparkling, silvery-grey, rounded leaves that are edged with dark green. A profusion of small, very pale blue, bell-shaped flowers appear during mid to late spring, proving very popular to early bees.
Lungwort. Jerusalem Cowslip. A clump-forming perennial with bristly. white spotted bright green leaves and pretty pure white flowers opening from pale pink buds in spring. Height 30cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from March to May. Evergreen.
Cream-silver leaf edges add extra interest to this shade garden favourite. Once the showy raspberry-red spring flowers are done blooming, they are covered by newly emerging foliage, providing a tidy look with no effort. Herbaceous perennial.
Pasque Flower. An alpine with finely divided light green leaves and pendent bell-shaped red flowers in spring, followed by fluffy seedheads. Height 10-20cm. Spread 20cm. Flowers from March to May. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Chinese Foxglove. A rosette-forming perennial with conspicuously veined mid-green leaves. Pretty semi-pendent pinkish purple flowers spotted inside. Height 1.5m. Spread 50cm. Flowers from June to September. Semi-evergreen.
Chinese Rhubarb. A bold perennial with jagged dark green leaves reddish green when young. Tall stems of white pink or crimson flowers. Height 2m. Spread 1.8m. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
The darkest foliage of any Rodgersia to date, 'Bronze Peacock' emerges with huge bronze fans of colour in the spring. The metallic-looking leaves have a thick, shiny texture, and add great sculptural interest to any planting situation. Ideal Conditions: Prefers partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Rodgersia pinnata is a large deciduous perennial forming a spreading clump of large, more or less pinnately divided leaves, with erect, conical sprays of cream or pink flowers in summer. Height 1.2m Spread 75cm.
Black-eyed Susan. A clump-forming perennial with mid-green leaves. Bright golden yellow daisy-like flowers with a blackish brown centre from late summer to mid-autumn. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from August to October. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Attractive, fiery red flowers with bright yellow edges and a unique V-shaped habit. Branches well and flowers very early, and it will look great far beyond your summer.
A low-maintenance plant that thrives in well-drained soil, particularly during winter. Abundant yellow and red flowers that grace your garden throughout the summer months. While generally hardy, it may benefit from protection during severe frost.
A more compact selection of the popular, and taller, Henry Eilers with usual bright yellow flowers but whose petals are rolled so as to give a striking quill like appearance. Sunny open spot. Height; 90cm - 1.2m.
Masses of attractive rich flowers which blooms from early summer to autumn. Hardy perennial and easy to grow. Bushy habit. Prefers a moist well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. Height: 50 - 60 cm. Spread: 40 - 50 cm.
A majestic beauty that rises to a meter in height for a wonderful cottage-style border. 'Blackjack Gold' holds aloft rounded golden flowers with black cones on richly branched flowering stems, perfect for flower cutting and highly pollinator friendly.
A valuable late season bloomer to brighten borders during July to October. Numerous long stemmed, golden yellow tipped flowers which are typically darker towards the centre. Colours fade from orange-red to bronze. Prefers full sun with free-draining soil or compost.
An erect bushy perennial with grey stems bearing pointed lance shaped glossy mid grey- green leaves. Aromatic to touch. Produces striking blue /silvery flower spikes. Height 35-45 cm. Spread 30 cm. Excellent for coastal regions.
Stalks of dark blue and blue flowers emerge from striking black stems amidst green foliage. Height 90cm.
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