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.
Peony. A clump-forming perennial with mid-green, deeply cut foliage and pretty very large double apple blossom pink flowers tinted and shaded with silver. Height 90cm. Spread 80cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sun or shade.
Peony. A clump-forming perennial with deep green foliage and pretty, large double, rose-pink flowers fading to white. Height 80cm. Spread 80cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Unusual, rare and highly collectable; tree peonies are highly prized. Shunkoju has an interesting large double flower of petals both light and dark shades of pink. Any fertile, free draining soil in full sun or partial shade in any sheltered position. Mid-late flowing season.
Poppy. An upright perennial with narrow, densely hairy leaves and semi-double to double flowers in bright shades including orange-red, yellow, pink, salmon pink and white with narrow petals. Height 30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A large-leaved bushy perennial. Tubular-shaped deepest purple flowers. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi evergreen. Plant in full sun. Protect from frost. Sheltered site.
A large-leaved bushy perennial with large, pretty tubular-shaped, wine-red flowers with a lighter red throat. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered Site.
A large-leaved bushy perennial with large, pretty tubular-shaped, mid-blue flowers. Height 45cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered Site.
This rarely seen penstemon is very unassuming, refined and we think, rather interesting with spires of tiny, dark, purplish - brown pendant flowers that have faint pin stripes of cream in the throat. 30cm x 30 cm.
A large-leaved bushy perennial with large, pretty tubular-shaped, wine-red flowers with a lighter red throat. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered Site.
Fresh, glossy leaves on a short and compact plant throughout summer. It begins to show beautiful lavender-to-violet flowers in June.
Clumps of burgundy foliage turning deep green by mid summer. Dark red stems with clusters of lavender-pink flowers in spring (Apr-Jun). Height 3-4ft. Well drained soil. Sunny position.
A narrow-leaved bushy perennial with small, pretty, tubular shaped, rose-pink flowers, paler pink inside with pink veins. Height 45-70cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen.
A bushy perennial with pretty tubular-shaped pink flowers with a white spotted throat. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered site.
A bushy perennial with pretty tubular-shaped, pink flowers with a white throat. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered Site.
Upright perennial, narrow leaves. White flowers tinged with lilac. Height 80cm. Protect in winter.
Upright perennial. Narrow leaves. Magenta flowers with lighter pink centres. Height 80cm. Protect in winter.
Upright perennial. Narrow leaves. Purple flowers. Height 80cm. Protect in winter.
Upright perennial. Narrow leaves. Red flowers. Height 80cm. Protect in winter.
Husker Red is a bushy perennial to 75cm tall, with lance-shaped, wine-red young leaves and stems, panicles of bell-shaped, pure white flowers 2.5cm long in late spring and early summer.
A bushy perennial with pretty tubular-shaped pink flowers with a white throat. Height 60cm. Flowers from July to October. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered site.
'Wedding Day' is a long-flowering herbaceous perennial, producing elegant creamy white flowers above fresh green oval leaves from mid-summer into autumn. It grows in sun or partial shade, and looks lovely dotted through a border.
Dark Plum trumpets with white speckled throats.
A compact bushy, branching, semi-evergreen perennial with lance-shaped, mid-green leaves and upright racemes of small tubular, purple and white flowers from mid-summer to mid-autumn.
A compact, bushy, branching, semi-evergreen perennial with lance-shaped, mid-green leaves and upright racemes of small, tubular, Purple flowers from midsummer to mid-autumn.
A compact, bushy, branching, semi-evergreen perennial with lance-shaped, mid-green leaves and upright racemes of small, tubular, Rose and white flowers from midsummer to mid-autumn.
Bushy cultivar with lance-shaped, mid-green leaves and, from midsummer into autumn, upright racemes of small, tubular, deep purple flowers with white centres. One of the darkest purple Penstemons. Position: Full sun, partial shade. Soil: Almost any soil.
A large-leaved perennial with large tubular shaped, pretty, burgundy-red flowers. Height 60cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered site.
A large-leaved perennial with large tubular-shaped. pretty pure white flowers becoming pink tinged. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-evergreen. Protect from frost. Sheltered Site.
Semi-evergreen perennial with green leafy stems. From mid summer to late autumn, it bears racemes of large, creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers with deep pink markings.
Glossy green leaves compliment the lavender flowers in July, the seed heads that follow are showy and great for cutting, a very hardy and tough perennial.
Pure white foxglove like flowers are carried on upright stems that are leafy and form a bushy plant. Ideal for bedding out and borders.
Compact variety with loose racemes of sky blue tubular flowers. Height 20cm Spread 20cm.
A large-leaved perennial with large tubular-shaped. pretty greyish blue flowers. suffused purple and green. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Semi-Evergreen.Protect from frost. Sheltered Site.
A mat-forming, evergreen perennial with dark green leaves turning brown in autumn and spikes of pale pink flowers becoming deep pinkish red. Height 25cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to October. Evergreen.
An upright shrub with deeply cut silver-grey leaves and spikes of violet-blue flowers in late summer and early autumn. Height 1.2m. Spread 1m. Flowers from August to September. Deciduous. Hardy.
Silvery green foliage contrasts w/tiny blue flowers. Also known as Russian Sage, this is a perennial staple, and now there are seed produced varieties! Sky blue flower spikes beautifully set off slivery green foliage.
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