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.
False Mallow. An erect perennial with rounded rich green leaves. Spikes of purple-pink flowers with fringed petals from early to mid-summer. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Campion. A loosely tufted alpine with narrow, mid-green leaves. Sprays of rounded white fringed flowers, sometimes pink tinged in early summer. Height 15cm. Spread 20cm.
Golden Rod. A compact bushy perennial with bright green leaves. Clusters of bright yellow flowerheads in late summer and early autumn. Height 25cm. Spread 25cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Lambs Ears. A mat-forming perennial with grey-green leaves. densely white-woolly. Erect woolly stems of purple-pink flowers. Height 45cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to September. Evergreen. Hardy.
Deep green serrated leaves cover the ground completely. Lilac pink flower on foot long stems rise above flat growing, ground covering foliage in June July and August.
Stoke's Aster. An evergreen perennial with rosettes of mid-green leaves with conspicuous greenish white midribs. Long-lasting large blue flowerheads with a whitish blue centre from mid-summer to early autumn. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Evergreen. Hardy.
Meadow Rue. An erect airy perennial with dainty leaves and fluffy deep lilac flowers with purple stamens in early summer. Height 1m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Meadow Rue. An erect clump-forming perennial with dainty leaves and white flowers with yellow stamens in early summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Meadow Rue. An erect clump-forming perennial with dainty leaves and double lilac-mauve flowers in summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Clump forming perennial with a mass of finely divided grey-green leaves, resembles those of a maiden-hair fern. Bunched heads of fluffy purple and cream flowers on strong stems in summer. Height 2-3m. .Requires full sun & well drained soil.
Tall, sturdy, charcoal black stalks are clothed with columbine-like green foliage, and topped with clusters of pure white frothy flower heads.
Foam Flower. Attractive deeply divided leaves, chocolate maroon centre, purple-black in winter. Spikes of cream flowers in late spring or early summer. Height 25cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Semi-evergreen. Hardy. Great ground cover or for trailing over walls.
Dissected Maple-like leaves, engraved with dark chocolate central blotches, produce a lush shiny green mound. “Skyrocketing” on tall sturdy stems, spires are studded with round rosy buds and frothy pink and white star-shaped flowers. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Traditionally a border plant, but we would recommend this plant for the container. Put it with other Tiarellas, Heucheras or even summer foliage and flowering plants.
'Spring Symphony' is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial, to about 30cm, with deeply-lobed, green leaves marked with dark purple along the midribs. Upright stems carry spires of small, starry, creamy-white flowers, opening from pale pink buds, in late spring and early summer.
Foam Flower. vigorous, glossy, and beautifully marked leaves. It makes a great ground cover or use in hanging baskets. A great non-climbing Ivy replacement! Delicate whorls of soft starry white flowers in spring. Height 30cm. Spread 35cm. Well drained soil. Partial shade/shade.
Toad Lily. An erect perennial with softly hairy stems and glossy dark green leaves. Upward-facing star-shaped pink freckled flowers. Spotted inside early autumn. Height 80cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from September to October. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Empress is an herbaceous perennial with ovate leaves and in summer and autumn, on red wiry stems, it bears large white, orchid-like, star-shaped flowers with dark-maroon speckling.
Birth Root. Stinking Benjamin. A choice perennial with handsome mid-green leaves. Deep purple-red or sometimes white or yellow flowers in spring. Height 50cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from April to May. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A clump-forming perennial with narrow greyish green leaves. Fragrant lilac flowers from mid-summer to early autumn. Height 45-60cm. Spread 25cm. Flower colour Lilac. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Foliage colour Grey. Green. Frost hardy.
Nettle-leaved Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with rosettes of grey hairy. mid-green leaves. Erect stems of saucer-shaped pale yellow flowers with a purple eye from mid to late summer. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to August. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with grey-green wrinkled leaves. Erect spikes of saucer-shaped yellow flowers with a purple eye in summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to August. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with rosettes of downy, grey-green leaves. Erect spikes of saucer-shaped light pinkish brown flowers with a purple eye in summer. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Hardy.
Elegant white flower spikes with primrose-yellow centres. Generally grown as a biennial or short lived perennial. Will self seed to provide a fresh crop of plants in the next spring that will flower in the following year. Height 120 cm. Spread 45 cm.
Compact reinterpretation of the renowned Verbena bonariensis. This smaller version retains all the charm of its taller relative, showcasing delicate clusters of lavender-blue flowers. Designed for modern gardens and smaller spaces, it's an embodiment of grace without the requirement of vast space.
A stiff, compact, open clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with erect, branching stems bearing few oblong to lance-shaped, wrinkled, toothed, dark green leaves, hairy beneath, and branched clusters of small salverform, purple flowers from midsummer to early autumn.
A tall erect perennial with pretty clusters of violet flowers. Height 2m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Frost hardy. Shelter from strong winds.
Small purple-pink flowers held on spikes at the tops of tall, elegant stems. The foliage is a lovely purple-green, with an almost metallic sheen.
Dense clusters of deep purple-magenta flowers are held in domed heads and emit a delicate fragrance through the hazy summer months.
Giant Ironweed. Tall plant for the back of the border. Erect stems bearing heads of dark violet flowers from late summer into autumn. Height 6'- 8' feet. Spread 3-5 feet. Attractive to all pollinators.
A mat-forming perennial with toothed green leaves. Erect spikes of bright blue flowers in summer. Spread 45cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Culver's Root. A tall erect perennial with dark green leaves. Spikes of white flowers from mid-summer to early autumn. Height 1.5m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous.
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