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.
Kaffir Lily. A pretty clump-forming perennial with sword-like bright green leaves. Spikes of pale pink flowers in autumn. Height 50cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from September to November. Herbaceous. Frost hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
A summer sunset sky sums up the colours of this flower. It has much stronger stems than other varieties making it ideal for cutting gardens and pond margins. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining, ordinary, or chalky soil or compost. Possible Situation: Perfect for the border, raised bed or large container to create some height as well as adding form and texture to the garden situation.
A clump-forming perennial with erect very dark purple stems and leaves. Clusters of star-shaped pink flowers with orange-red centres from late summer and early autumn. Height 45-60cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous.
Stunning dark purple foliage and large, cherry coloured flowers. Its habit is compact: 16” wide and 8” tall. Sunsparkler® 'Plum Dazzled' flowers from summer to autumn but with its beautiful foliage colour, it will colour your garden the entire gardening season.
Ice Plant. A clump-forming perennial with upright stems of grey-green leaves. Dense clusters of starry dark pink flowers in late summer. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from August to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Sedum that starts life as a compact plant, with sumptuous dusty almost blue-black succulent foliage, before spreading and trailing as it matures. Plentiful flower clusters emerge revealing delicate, pink flowers. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Amazing, huge inflorescences (flower heads), a short and very upright habit, glossy purple black leaves, dark pink flowers, and multiple crowns. Remarkably disease free and long-lived. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Large, silvery white leaves have a soft, downy texture, which makes it ideal for a sensory garden, but it will also make an eye-catching feature for a border or pot where it will thrive in a hot, sunny spot. It quickly forms a good-sized clump and will become tolerant of drought once established. It also tolerates salt-laden winds, so will also flourish in a coastal setting.
Tall cork screw stems of scented white flowers up to 45cm high. Enjoys some lime and likes a loamy soil. An easy and hardy orchid Evergreen. Hardy.
Lambs Ears. A mat-forming perennial with grey-green leaves. densely white-woolly. Erect woolly stems of purple-pink flowers. Height 45cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to September. Evergreen. Hardy.
Deep green serrated leaves cover the ground completely. Lilac pink flower on foot long stems rise above flat growing, ground covering foliage in June July and August.
Straight stems are topped with short fat spikes of purple-pink flowers (a very unusual colour), which sit above a rosette of long, mid-green leaves. Lots of stems, lots of colour.
Stoke's Aster. An evergreen perennial with rosettes of mid-green leaves with conspicuous greenish white midribs. Long-lasting large blue flowerheads with a whitish blue centre from mid-summer to early autumn. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Evergreen. Hardy.
Meadow Rue. An erect airy perennial with dainty leaves and fluffy deep lilac flowers with purple stamens in early summer. Height 1m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Clump forming perennial with a mass of finely divided grey-green leaves, resembles those of a maiden-hair fern. Bunched heads of fluffy purple and cream flowers on strong stems in summer. Height 2-3m. .Requires full sun & well drained soil.
We are confident enough to say that this is the best Tiarella in the world to date with large, fragrant flowers over contrasting, well-cut, bronzed foliage. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Traditionally a border plant, but we would recommend this plant for the container. Put it with other Tiarellas, Heucheras or even summer foliage and flowering plants.
Foam Flower. Attractive deeply divided leaves, chocolate maroon centre, purple-black in winter. Spikes of cream flowers in late spring or early summer. Height 25cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Semi-evergreen. Hardy. Great ground cover or for trailing over walls.
Dissected Maple-like leaves, engraved with dark chocolate central blotches, produce a lush shiny green mound. “Skyrocketing” on tall sturdy stems, spires are studded with round rosy buds and frothy pink and white star-shaped flowers. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Traditionally a border plant, but we would recommend this plant for the container. Put it with other Tiarellas, Heucheras or even summer foliage and flowering plants.
'Spring Symphony' is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial, to about 30cm, with deeply-lobed, green leaves marked with dark purple along the midribs. Upright stems carry spires of small, starry, creamy-white flowers, opening from pale pink buds, in late spring and early summer.
Foam Flower. Attractive leaves, chocolate maroon centre, purple-black in winter. Spikes of pink flowers in late spring or early summer. Height 25cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Semi-evergreen. Hardy. Great flowering variety with slight fragrance.
A tufted, clump-forming perennial which has erect branching stems with long lance-shaped, mid green leaves. From early summer to early autumn, large, three-petalled violet-blue flowers are borne in clusters at the end of shoots.
Not a completely new variety, but brought a new lease of life. This Tradescantia has fairly succulent, large, broad, purple leaves with pink flowers emerging in summer. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Most frequently seen as a house plant, but we see no reason that it shouldn't be used in patio containers, or even in the border as often seen in the tropics.
An erect arching perennial with narrow green leaves. Height 60cm. Spread 50cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Empress is an herbaceous perennial with ovate leaves and in summer and autumn, on red wiry stems, it bears large white, orchid-like, star-shaped flowers with dark-maroon speckling.
Tricyrtis in general are autumn flowering plants. This variety is notable - not only for its early flowering summer nature, but also its particularly good, compact habit. Flowers are star shaped, lilac-white with exotic fine burgundy spots. Ideal Conditions: Prefers partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Perfect for those spots in the garden which receive morning or evening sun, either in a pot, raised bed or border.
Globeflower. A clump-forming perennial with open. deep yellow flowers with a central tuft of rich orange in mid-summer. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Globeflower. A clump-forming perennial with glossy deeply divided leaves. Pale yellow flowers in late spring and early summer. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Common Valerian. All Heal. An upright perennial with bright green leaves. Branched stems bear clusters of pink or white flowers throughout the summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 40cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Nettle-leaved Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with rosettes of grey hairy. mid-green leaves. Erect stems of saucer-shaped pale yellow flowers with a purple eye from mid to late summer. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to August. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with rosettes of downy, grey-green leaves. Erect spikes of saucer-shaped light pinkish brown flowers with a purple eye in summer. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Hardy.
Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with grey-green wrinkled leaves. Erect spikes of saucer-shaped peach and gold flowers in summer. Height 20-40cm. Hardy.
Compact reinterpretation of the renowned Verbena bonariensis. This smaller version retains all the charm of its taller relative, showcasing delicate clusters of lavender-blue flowers. Designed for modern gardens and smaller spaces, it's an embodiment of grace without the requirement of vast space.
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Any questions? Email us or give us a call on 01904 400092.
