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.
A perennial with rosettes of deep green leaves. Stout stems with tiers of deep red flowers with purple eyes in late spring and early summer. Height 60-90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Cowslip. A native perennial with rosettes of mid-green leaves. Stout stems bear clusters of nodding pale to deep yellow, fragrant flowers in spring. Height 10-20cm. Spread 15-20cm. Flowers from April to May. Evergreen. 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.
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.
Primrose. A native perennial with rosettes of deeply veined green leaves. Clusters of pale yellow fragrant flowers with a pale orange eye. Height 5-15cm. Spread 15-30cm.
Primrose. A native perennial with rosettes of deeply veined green leaves. Clusters of cream fragrant flowers with a pale orange eye. Height 5-15cm. Spread 15-30cm.
Primrose. A native perennial with rosettes of fragrant red flowers. Evergreen.
An alpine with rosettes of evergreen green leaves and clusters of flowers in spring. Height 10-15cm. Spread 15-20cm. Flowers from March to May. Evergreen. Hardy.
Pure white, bell shaped flowers are carried above a clump of long, soft green leaves that is spotted with silver. It is said to be more vigorous than 'Sissinghurst White', which would make it a wonderful addition to the garden.
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.
Lungwort. A clump-forming perennial with velvety pale green leaves with a bold cream margin and pretty coral-red flowers from late winter to mid-spring. Height 30cm. Spread 80cm. Flowers from February to April. Evergreen. Hardy.
Lungwort. A clump-forming, semi-evergreen perennial with profuse clusters of large, deep shrimp pink flowers in spring.
Compact, clump-forming semi-evergreen perennial with profuse clusters of large outfacing, coral to pink to violet flowers in spring.
Mid-green leaves with silvery white spots and pretty bright cobalt blue flowers in spring. A clump-forming perennial. Height 35cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from April to May. Deciduous. Hardy.
Pink flowers that turn purple to blue March-May. Silver, small, spotted leaves, good soil preferred. 25cm. Superb leaf colour. Light shade. Pink flowers.
Pasque Flower. An alpine with finely divided light green leaves and pendent bell-shaped white flowers in spring, followed by fluffy seedheads. Height 10-20cm. Spread 20cm. Flowers from March to May. Herbaceous. Hardy.
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.
A silver-grey leaved perennial with daisy-like white flowers with a small yellow centre. Height 30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Frost 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.
Large shiny umbrella shaped red tinted foliage. Tall plumes of white flowers appearing in June to August. Very easy to grow. Prefers moist soil in shade. Height 175cm. Spread 100cm. Hardy.
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.
Tree Poppy. An upright, deciduous subshrub with grey-green leaves and cup-shaped white flowers with prominent yellow stamens in summer. Height 1-2.5m. Spread Indefinite. Flowers from June to August. Deciduous. Frost hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
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.
Compact, floriferous Rudbeckia, bearing bright yellow, black-eyed blooms from midsummer through to autumn. Best in moist but well-drainged soil or compost, in full sun. Divide congested clumps from autumn to spring.
A clump-forming, erect herbaceous perennial to 60cm, with oval, dark green, roughly hairy leaves and black-eyed bright yellow daisies to 7cm in width from late summer to mid autumn.
A clump-forming perennial with pretty, bright, double lemon-yellow flowers from mid-summer to mid-autumn. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to October. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A clump-forming perennial with pretty bright double golden-yellow flowers from mid-summer to mid-autumn. Height 175cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to October. Herbaceous. Hardy.
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.
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.
Rich purple flowers from mid-summer, flowering for a long period. Pale olive green foliage with an upright growth habit.
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