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.
Heuchera 'Sugar Frosting' is a lovely variety with a tight growth habit. The foliage is matt-burgundy with frosted metallic markings. Grow in a mixed border, or container with other plants, where the foliage can act as a foil for other plants. Grow in moist, but well-drained soil of moderate fertility.
Spring leaves like cinnamon stars. These big, palmately cut leaves darken in the summer and lighten up again in the fall. Its H. villosa breeding gives it a big bold habit.
Veiled leaves rosy pink to rosy orange, a compact dense habit, and reblooming rose pink flowers in short wands. Use in the front of the border, for accent, or in containers.
Neat and compact - fresh petite limey green foliage topped with masses of lemony green flowers in spring/summer and autumn. Excellent for smaller containers, window boxes or front of borders in part shady spot.
The large soft blue leaves grow into nice big mounds within a few years. Leaves take on a green-blue hue with more exposure to sun. Keep in deep shade if you want to bring out the true colours of Blue Angel.
Heart-shaped green leaves with a pale yellow edge. Violet blue flowers between July and August. Height 30cm. Spread 75cm. Sun or shade beware of slugs.
Very nice heart-shaped leaves are mostly green with a thin bolt of yellow through the middle of the leaf. Leaves emerge mostly green with yellow centres. By summer the leaves are medium green with a cream centre.
Medium sized hosta with thick, pale green leaves with a dark green margin and a chartreuse halo in between. This hosta was created, named, introduced and registered by Gerard Heemskerk in 2011. Hosta plants are versatile- They grow well in part sun to semi-shade, in herbaceous borders, planters or containers. Perfect for low maintenance gardening! Their decorative foliage is a wonderful addition to your summer garden.
Lovely green leaves and a cream yellow margin. Forms a lovely looking mound once mature.
Heart-shaped, bluish green heavily puckered leaves forms magnificent clump. Shady site. White flowers in summer. Height 60cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Heart-shaped, pure white with green splashed edges. Pale lavender flowers in summer. Height 50cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sun or shade beware of slugs.
Foliage remains attractive until first frost. A lovely addition to shady areas. It forms attractive, dense mounds of upright, heart-shaped blue-green leaves, 7in. Easy grower, Hosta 'First Frost' grows 16 in. tall (40 cm) and spreads 24-36 in. (60-90 cm).
Delicate mauve flowers which begin to flourish in July until August that are slightly scented and complement the blue/green variegated foliage well and reach a height of 30cm. Easy to grow and maintain.
Midsized, has dark-green leaves with a margin that begins creamy-yellow, ageing to white. Very fragrant near-white flowers appear in July.
Vigorous clump forming hosta. Heart shaped cupped olive-green leaves with white margins. Funnel shaped lavender-blue flowers in the summer. Height 55cm. Spread 1m.
Large Hosta that has fragrant white flowers and grows in sun/shade. The height is 60cm and the growth is medium. Herbaceous. Shelter from cold, drying winds.
Heart-shaped, mid golden leaves with dark green edges. Superb foliage. Pale lavender flowers in summer. Height 50cm. Spread 75cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sun or shade beware of slugs.
Beautiful glossy green leaves with deep ridging. In summer blue-lavender bell shaped flowers appear above the foliage on long slender stems. Ideal for a shady area. Height 40cm. Spread 90cm.
Fast growing slightly shiny green leaved hosta, wavy edges make this a lovely plant when mature. Very prolific leaf production make the mound very dense - grows really well in the ground.
Glaucous green leaves with a broad central area of lime green. Fragrant lavender-blue flowers. 75cm. Britain's best selling Hosta.
Hosta 'King Size' is a fabulous sport from H. 'Empress Wu' that has the same huge stature, without the glaucous coating on the leaf. The enormous dark green leaves are shiny because of the lack of wax to the leaf. Give this Hosta some bright morning sun and some room to grow. Lavender flowers in summer. Good Pest Resistance with maturity.
Small hosta with lance-shaped leaves with cream-yellow centres and green margins. Pale purple flowers are borne on tall spikes in July.
Large, clump-forming, perennial to about 60cm height and 120cm across, with oval to heart-shaped, slightly cupped, dark green leaves with sometimes wavy, irregular, creamy-white margins. Tubular, lavender-blue flowers are produced in spikes from early to mid-summer.
Fairly large hosta, which grows 2 ft. tall (60 cm) and spreads 3-4 ft. (90-120 cm). Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society. A part shade to full shade lover, it is best grown in rich, moist, well-drained soils.
Large, clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with thick, puckered, broadly oval, grey-blue leaves and tall scapes bearing racemes of funnel-shaped, white to pale lavender flowers in summer.
Large mid-green leaves flushed purple-red at the base. Pale purple flowers carried on purple-red stems. 60 x 60 cm.
Glossy dark green leaves and a wide cream margin. Leaves emerge glossy dark green in spring with a bright yellow margin. The leaf margin slowly turns white as the season progresses.
Rounded to heart-shaped, deeply puckered grey-blue leaves. Greyish white flowers in early summer. Height 60cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Gigantic mound of powdery blue foliage. At maturity, this hosta has a lazy, relaxed appearance. At up to 5' wide and 3' tall at maturity, this giant blue hosta is great as a specimen plant or mass planting in the background.
Smooth, lance-shaped, glaucous leaves to 20cm long, are topped with spikes of handsome, lavender-grey, bell-shaped flowers in mid- to late summer.
Green leaves vigorous growth Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sun or shade beware of slugs.
Large, cream-white leaves mature to a lush green. Spays of lavender-blue flowers appear in summer. ‘White Feather’ has a compact habit and is perfect for growing in pots and at the front of the shady herbaceous border.
Elegant heart-shaped, yellow-green leaves becoming deeply puckered when mature. Pale lilac flowers in mid to late summer. Height 75cm. Spread 1.2m. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Puckered heart-shaped glaucous green leaves with a bold wide cream margin. Pale lavender-blue flowers in summer. Height 45cm. Spread 1m. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy. Shelter from cold drying winds.
Large hosta, bearing beautiful veined green leaves with yellow margins, which contrast beautifully with purple flowers from July to August. It's more tolerant of sun than other hostas, so is perfect for growing in a sunny or partially shaded border.
A rapidly spreading perennial with pretty variegated leaves with shades of green, pale yellow and red small yellow-green flowers are surrounded by white bracts. Height 15-30cm. Spread Indefinite. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Protect with a winter mulch. Can be used as a marginal aquatic plant.
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