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.
Clump forming evergreen perennial with delicate deep green leaves, bronze when young in Spring. Produces large pendent red flowers in Spring above the foliage. Grows happily in any soil in sun or shade.
Epimedium x rubrum is a great ground cover plant in the shade under trees and shrubs. The leaves are flushed with red when young and turn reddish-brown in autumn, remaining throughout the winter. Crimson and yellow flowers appear in mid- to late spring.
A gently spreading plant that forms a lovely evergreen clump in a few years. The small green leaves are nicely flecked with bronze and the foliage is topped, starting in early April, with an incredible number of short flower spikes laden with small yellow bells.
Barrenwort. Bishop's Mitre. A clump-forming perennial with heart-shaped green leaves, copper-red and brown when young. Charming pink and yellow flowers with red tinted spurs. Height 30cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from March to April. Evergreen. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Giant Helleborine. Terrestrial orchid. Ovate to lance shaped leaves. Flower spikes nodding, greenish yellow veined maroon and brown. Height 40cm. Spread 1m. Part or full shade. A vigorous plant happy in a damp well drained spot.
Desert Candle. Foxtail Lily. A tufted perennial with narrow bluish green leaves, producing a tall flower spike of rusty orange flowers. Height 150cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Fleabane. A clump-forming perennial with basal leaves. Pretty semi-double lavender-blue daisy-like flowerheads. Height 45cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Fleabane. A woody-based carpeting perennial with grey-green leaves. Pretty yellow centred flowers with white petals fading through pink to purple. Height 15-30cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Protect from winter wet.
Golden-leaved Sea Holly. Striking electric blue, teasel shaped flowers stand tall over contrasting golden foliage. A real dazzler in the border.
In the centre of a violet-blue ruff-like collar of long, jagged edged spikes sits a thimble-like mound of tiny blue flowers. These are carried on stiff stems that rise from a clump of mid-green leaves. The flowers start pale blue and darken with age.
Sea Holly features open umbels of prickly steel-blue flowers which are a favourite for cutting, fresh or dried. This unique dwarf strain is ideal for the front of a sunny border or in mixed containers. The short stems produce metallic-blue sprays that remain attractive for weeks. Attractive to butterflies.
Wallflower. A bushy perennial with grey green narrow leaves. Clusters of rich mauve flowers. Height 75cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to August. Evergreen. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Blooms very early with no cooling requirements. High heat tolerance and will flower during summer season. These are first-year flowering, very quick in production, and easy to program.
An upright wallflower with blooms that change from mauve to yellow. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Suitable for the bed, border as well as large patio containers, on its own, or with other perennials or patio plants.
Milk white flowers with a hint of cream. A great combination against the dark green foliage. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Pineapple Flower. A bulbous perennial with strap-shaped leaves. A striking plant when in flower, has stems of pale green flowers, purple margined topped with a rosette of leaves. Height 30-60cm. Spread 20cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Pineapple Flower. A bulbous perennial with strap-shaped burgundy red leaves. A striking plant when in flower, has stems of red flowers, purple margined topped with a rosette of leaves. Height 30-60cm. Spread 20cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Joe Pye Weed. A perennial with mid-green leaves. Bears domed clusters of wine-red flowers on purple-red stems. Flowers from July to September. Height 2m. Spread 1m. Herbaceous.
Joe Pye Weed. A perennial with mid-green leaves. Domes of lavender rose flowers on shorter self-supporting stems in late summer. Height 2m. Spread 1m. Herbaceous. Foliage colour Green. Hardy. Planting instructions Water thoroughly before planting.
White Snakeroot. A perennial with chocolate leaves. Bears pretty clusters of pink-purple flowers. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
An evergreen perennial with whorls of grey-green lance-shaped leaves edged in yellow. In the cooler months, the foliage becomes flushed with shades of red, pink, and orange. From early spring it bears clusters of lime-green flowers.
Wood Spurge. A spreading evergreen perennial with shiny dark green leaves and flowers with light green bracts. Height 60cm. Spread Indefinite. Flowers from April to June. Evergreen. Hardy. Harmful if eaten/skin + eye irritant. Really excellent ground cover in shade.
A hardy perennial giving a great display of silver white foliage throughout the year, complimented with silver white flower heads. Drought tolerant. Height 75cm. Spread 75cm. Evergreen.
A bushy evergreen perennial with grey-green leaves and flowers with yellow-green bracts. Height 1m. Spread 1m. Flowers from April to June. Evergreen. Frost hardy. Harmful if eaten/skin + eye irritant.
Cypress Spurge. A spreading perennial with densely whorled, needle-like, bluish green leaves, flushed purple if in full sun and flowers with yellow bracts. Height 20-40cm. Spread Indefinite. Flowers from April to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Harmful if eaten/skin + eye irritant.
A fabulous variety with unique red growth tips in autumn and winter- red noses like Santa's reindeer!
Honey Spurge. A rounded shrub with stout stems of narrow, dark green leaves, honey scented flowers with yellow-brown bracts. Height 1.2m. Spread 1.2m. Flowers from April to June. Likes a sheltered warm site. Sap is an irritant to some.
A semi-prostrate perennial with leaves spiralling from base to tip. Leaves are fleshy bright blue-green. Flowers with vivid yellow bracts. Height 30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from April to July. Evergreen. Harmful if eaten/skin irritant.
An unusual plant for the moist shade garden. It forms a mound of large green maple-shaped leaves, heavily veined with crimson. In early summer, the plants are topped with fluffy, pink flower umbels.
Queen of the Prairies. A spreading perennial forming large clumps in moist soil. with fresh green leaves. plumes of deep rose-pink flowers become paler as they age. Height 2.5m. Spread 1.2m. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A spreading perennial forming large clumps in moist soil. Fresh green foliage. Plumes of deep rose-pink flowers become paler as they age from July-August. Height 2.5m. Spread 1.2m. Herbaceous.
Meadowsweet. Queen of the Meadows. A clump-forming perennial with green, strongly veined, leaves, white-downy beneath, dense plumes of creamy white flowers. Height 60-90cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from May to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Blanket flower. A bushy, often short lived perennial with mid-green leaves. Free-flowering with deep red flowers with a yellow edge. Height 35cm. Spread 35cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Blanket flower. A bushy, often short lived perennial with mid-green leaves. Free-flowering with orange-red flowers. Height 35cm. Spread 35cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Flowering perennial with intense red flowers, it has a very uniform upright habit and flowering time. A great subject for the border or containers.
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