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.
Bellflower. Clump-forming perennial with heart-shaped toothed mid-green leaves. Attractive upturned open bell-shaped pure white flowers. Height 25cm. Spread 45-60cm. Flowers from June to August. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Bell shaped flowers in shades of blue, lavender, purple or white adorn these summer flowering plants. Grows into a neat ball-shape, and bears deep, bright purple bell-shaped blooms. The foliage is dark green.
A dwarf hybrid with 30cm short upright candelabras, dense with 7.5cm long inflated cream bells; heavily marked inside with maroon spots. Forms a low creeping mat of foliage.
Indian Shot Plant. Perennial with very large green striped yellow foliage. Iris-like. bright shocking orange flowers. Height 1m. Spread 50cm. Flowers from July to October. Herbaceous. Not hardy. Sheltered Site.
Indian shot plant. Perennial with bold, dark, striped maroon foliage. Iris-like, bright red flowers. Height 1m. Spread 50cm. Flowers from July to October. Herbaceous. Not hardy. Sheltered site.
Indian Shot Plant. Perennial with very large green striped yellow foliage. Iris-like, bright shocking orange flowers. Height 1m. Spread 50cm. Flowers from July to October. Herbaceous. Not hardy. Sheltered Site.
Deep blue flowers in autumn. It forms a mound of slightly toothed, grey-green leaves with silver hairs on the undersides. It's perfect for growing in containers or towards the front of a sunny border. It's flowers are a magnet for bees.
Cupids Dart. A short-lived perennial with clumps of grass-like hairy green leaves. Single lilac-blue flowers with dark centres. Height 60-90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Hardheads. Knapweed. Clump-forming robust perennial with mid-green leaves and stout leafy stems carrying a bright yellow thistle-like flower. Height 1.4m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous.
A tough, hardy perennial with "thistle-like" large, lilac pink tufted cornflowers contrast against the silver frosted, soft, feathery foliage. Initially compact in the pot, but will grow taller through the season in containers or borders.
Valerian. An old cottage garden plant often seen growing on walls and dry, stony banks. Attractive fragrant white flowers above bright light green leaves. Height 1m. Spread 1m. Flowers from April to August. Herbaceous.
Valerian. An old cottage garden plant often seen growing on walls and dry stony banks. Attractive fragranced red flowers above bright light green leaves. Height 1m. Spread 1m. Flowers from April to August. Herbaceous.
Giant Scabious. Large clumps of dark green divided leaves topped with wiry branched stems with large pale primrose yellow flowers. Height 2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Spreading perennial with slender red stems and bright, green leaves, with wavy margins, tinted red in autumn. Brilliant blue flowers. Height 45cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Short lived perennial with succulent like leaves. Forms a stout clump which drips with dark purple flowers in drooping racemes in June and July.
Turtlehead. An erect perennial with leafy stems topped with dark pink or purple flowers with sparse yellow beards. Height 60-100cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Clump-forming perennial with prickly, dark green leaves, softly hairy beneath, and rich crimson thistle-like flowers. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Ornamental thistle. Pure white flowers appear on tall stems for several months in summer.
Clump-forming perennial with prickly, dark green leaves. softly hairy beneath, and rich crimson thistle-like flowers. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Lily of the valley. A creeping perennial with elegant, mid-green leaves striped white and stems of strongly scented, waxy white bell-shaped flowers. Height 23cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from March to April. Herbaceous.
A compact, upright, frost-tender, evergreen shrub with oblong, glossy, maroon leaves with bright pink margins and insignificant, creamy-white flowers in spring.
A completely unique colour scheme including vibrant greens, yellows, burgundy and glowing orange. The waxy leaves accentuate the vivid colours brilliantly. Great for large containers and protected borders.
Leaves of 'Inferno' are a vivid mix of bright red, gold, green and claret, and this colour intensifies and deepens as the temperatures drop in winter.
A rounded, evergreen shrub with spreading branches and handsome, bright green leaves, slashed yellow in the centre. Needs a male plant to form berries. Height 1m. Spread 1.m. Fruits from September Evergreen. Frost hardy.
Striking glossy purple foliage. Forms a bushy shrub 1.5m high. Ideal for smaller gardens. A classy container or border plant.
Tickseed. A clump-forming perennial usually grown as an annual with narrow mid-green leaves and semi-double deep yellow flower heads each flushed orange-yellow near the centre. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from April to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Tickseed. Compact mounded perennial which produces an abundance of fluffy, brilliant golden-yellow, pom-pom flowers, densely packed with multiple rows of petals.
Tickseed. Compact, mounded perennial which produces an abundance of fluffy, brilliant golden-yellow and orange pom-pom flowers, densely packed with multiple rows of petals.
Tickseed. A clump-forming perennial with narrow, dissected, leaves and rose-pink, daisy-like, flowerheads. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from March to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Cream blooms smother the beautiful thread like foliage throughout the summer months. Extremely drought tolerant and attractive to bees and butterflies. Great for containers and borders. Height & spread 45cm (18”). Prefers sun in well drained soil. Hardy perennial.
Stunning electric blue flowers exude the most heavenly scent and are produced over a low mound of feathery, purple-green foliage in the spring. Ideal Conditions: Prefers shade, or partial shade with moist soil or compost.
An evergreen perennial with light to mid-green fern-like leaves and dense spike-like racemes of deep yellow flowers with straight spurs. Self-seeds. Height 10-25cm. Spread 8-15cm. Flowers from April to July. Evergreen. Hardy.
A hybrid selection that absolutely shines, forming a low mound of ferny yellow leaves, streaked in chartreuse. Upright stems bear clusters of fragrant tubular flowers in a beautiful dusky purple shade. Best in regions with cool summers, where the plants can be in flower from spring right through to late fall.
Sumptuous velvet bronze flowers on lanceolate green foliage. Strongly scented and more compact flowering from July to October.
A clump-forming perennial with large. kidney-shaped. bristly. dark green leaves. Strong stems carry many branched panicles of white flowers. Height 2.5m. Spread 1.5m. Flowers from April to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
A bold perennial with pleated, sword-like mid-green leaves. Arching, branched spikes of upward-facing, funnel-shaped, bright orange and red flowers. Height 35cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Frost hardy.
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