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.
Perennial Phlox. An erect perennial with narrow green leaves and fragrant clusters of crimson-red flowers in mid-summer and early autumn. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Perennial Phlox. An erect perennial with narrow green leaves and fragrant clusters of pink flowers in mid-summer and early autumn. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
An upright, suckering perennial with evergreen dark green leaves and tubular cream flowers in summer. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Height 1m.
An upright, suckering perennial with evergreen dark green leaves and tubular deep rose flowers in summer. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Height 1m.
Upright suckering shrub with evergreen dark green leaves and tubular, deep pink flowers in summer. Height 1m. Spread 1.2m. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Frost hardy. Sheltered site.
This herbaceous perennial has attractive bright orange lantern shaped seed heads that appear in autumn. Ideal plant for a container display, great end of year interest and goes well with Heucheras.
False Dragonhead. An erect perennial with toothed mid-green leaves and spikes of white flowers. Height 60cm. Spread 40cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Forms a loose, spreading, bushy plant, from which short, upright spikes of upward-facing tubular, lipped flowers grow all around resembling mini-snapdragons. White flowers between July and September.
False Dragonhead. An erect perennial with toothed mid-green leaves and spikes of rose pink flowers. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy. Thrives in partial shade.
Creamy leaves speckled and flecked in green in delightful contrast to the screaming red-purple stems. The foliage is grand and holds up beautifully even in the sun, as long as it's well watered. Dies back into the ground every winter.
Balloon Flowers are summer-blooming cousins to the more familiar Bellflowers. Plants form a mound of green foliage, bearing inflated buds that open into star-shaped blue blossoms. This medium-height selection is great for the border, or in mixed containers.
'Bressingham Purple' is an herbaceous perennial with striking, dark-purple, pinnate leaves. From early to mid-summer, it bears large, single, light-blue flowers which contrast with its dark stems and foliage.
Jacob's Ladder. A clump-forming perennial with divided green and creme variegated foliage and pretty lavender-blue flowers in early summer. Height 30-90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Jacob's Ladder. A clump-forming perennial with divided green foliage and sky-blue flowers in early summer. Compact variety suitable for containers. Height 40cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Jacob's Ladder. A clump-forming perennial with divided green and creme variegated foliage and pretty lavender-blue flowers in early summer. Height 30-90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Forms a ferny mound of green foliage that has deep purple-blue highlights from spring into summer. The foliage grows about 1ft. tall and is topped by loose clusters of lightly fragrant, blue flowers in late spring.
Jacob's Ladder. A clump-forming perennial with ferny dark green foliage and pretty lilac-mauve flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to June. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Free-flowering plant produces upright sprays of pretty lilac-blue flowers. These are carried on straight stems with a ladder work of mid-green leaves and forms a long-flowering bushy plant.
Forms a ferny mound of green foliage that has deep purple-blue highlights from spring into summer. The foliage grows about 1ft tall and is topped by loose clusters of lightly fragrant, blue flowers in late spring.
Solomon's Seal. A perennial with red tinted stems of narrow leaves. Small tubular creamy white flowers. Height 1m. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy. Harmful if eaten.
Solomon's Seal. A dwarf perennial with stems of green leaves striped white. Tubular creamy white flowers. Max height 30cm. Max spread 20cm. Flowers May June. Full sun/partial shade. Hardy. Harmful if eaten.
Solomon's Seal. A perennial with red tinted stems of narrow leaves. Small tubular creamy white flowers. Height 60cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy. Harmful if eaten.
Cinquefoil. A spreading, clump-forming perennial with dark green leaves. Flat bowl-shaped apricot-yellow flowers with a deep carmine-red eye in summer. Height 10cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Strong petite flowering stems appear from the slightly dusted foliage from spring to early summer. Opening to a double bloom of copper orange petals surrounding a sublime yellow eye. Height 40cm. Spread 30cm. Prefer loamy sandy soil. Plant in full sun /part shade.
A perennial with large mid-green leaves with a red midrib. Stout stems with tiers of reddish pink flowers with a yellow eye in early summer. Height 60cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Moist site.
Candelabra Primrose. A perennial with large green leaves. Stout stems with tiers of flowers in late spring and early summer. Mixed colours. Height 40cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A perennial with small rosettes of green leaves covered in white 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.
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.
Abundant terracotta coloured tubular flowers held in whorls above mid green scalloped rosettes of foliage. Ideal Conditions: Prefers partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Ideal for shady borders or planting near streams and ponds.
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, lilac 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 white flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
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.
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