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.
Upright, perennial with dark green leaves. Bears long lasting clear lavender-blue flowerheads on stout stems. Height 60cm. Spread 40cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Upright feathery plumes of mauve-purple flowers. Astilbe 'Black Pearls' is a late flowering variety with sturdy upright stems that make unusual cut flowers. The bright blooms contrast beautifully with its exceptionally dark green foliage, which forms a dense and leafy clump. This showy perennial enjoys a reliably moist soil, making a good choice for damp borders or planted next to a pond.
Clump-forming perennial with handsome green foliage. Long lasting plumes of deep red flowers heads during summer. Flower-heads turn brown and remain on the plants into the autumn. Ideal for soils that remain moist all summer.
Soft pink flower spikes. Leave change to light green in summer. Red edged foliage. Vigorous and floriferous plant.
Upright, clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with palmate, deeply lobed, mid-green leaves and, in summer, erect, branching stems bearing umbels of tiny, dark red to reddish-purple flowers surrounded by prominent, lance-shaped, maroon bracts.
Bergenia are evergreen rhizomatous perennials with leathery, rounded leaves and dense, erect clusters of bell-shaped pink or white flowers in spring 'Bressingham White' is an evergreen, rhizomatous perennial to 35cm, with dull green, rounded leaves and plentiful erect racemes of pure white flowers.
Clump-forming, evergreen perennial bearing oval, leathery, glossy, dark green leaves and, in spring, upright, dark stems bearing dense clusters of open bell-shaped, pale pink flowers turning darker pink with age.
Elephant's Ears. Clump-forming hardy perennial with rounded mid-to dark green leaves, tinted purple in winter. Flowers pale rose-red to dark pink on red flower stems. Height 30cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from February to April. Evergreen.
Magenta-pink flower clusters shoot skyward above tight mounds of glossy foliage in spring. Attractive evergreen leaves turn satiny chocolate-purple from late fall through winter.
This forms a low clump of green leaves, which develop luminous red wine tones in the winter. Taller stems of rich rose-pink, double to semi-double flowers show above the polished foliage in mid spring. Prefers full sun or partial shade with free draining, but moist soil or compost. Ideal in spring containers or an early splash of colour in a border.
Herbaceous evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its wonderfully bold, coarse texture can be very effective in a balanced garden composition. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season.
Deep pink flowers on short stems above shiny green leaves. Large blooms on petite plants provide a very showy display in early spring. Very floriferous. Winter foliage is clean, shiny, and almost black. Deer resistant.
Compact growing cultivar producing clear pink flowers in abundance. Flowers March - May. Height 25cm. Any reasonable soil. Any site except extreme shade.
Elephant's Ears. Clump-forming perennial with broad green leaves. White flowers ageing to pink. Height 30-45cm. Spread 45-60cm. Flowers from April to May. Evergreen. Hardy.
An architecturally striking ornamental. A Yucca-like perennial with variegated yellow and grey-green, strap-shaped leaves. The foliage is more than enough interest for any garden situation, but flamingo pink flower spikes might emerge in summer after several years to mature. They are tipped with gorgeous mauve bracts.
Forming tufts of leaves adorned with small purple flowers in spring, this new terrestrial orchid from Japan is easy to grow in all gardens. It loves partial shade and any good garden soil that remains cool. Height to 50cm, flowers early summer. Winter hardy.
Great for under-planting to trees and shrubs or add in with your favourite border. This low maintenance perennial plant thrives in shade but will happily perform in sunny locations too.
A quick-growing, clump-forming deciduous, rhizomatous perennial with large, heart-shaped green foliage. Panicles of small, blue flowers with white edges appear in spring. Ideal ground cover for shady areas.
Large, mint green heart-shaped leaves are coated with silver. Sprays of soft blue flowers.
Bellflower. Clump-forming perennial with heart-shaped toothed mid-green leaves. Attractive upturned open bell-shaped pure light blue flowers. Height 25cm. Spread 45-60cm. Flowers from June to August. Semi-evergreen. Hardy.
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.
Loddon Anna' is a valuable plant for the border with its erect, branching stems which bear large, soft, lilac-pink, bell-shaped flowers right through the summer. Plant in sun or, to preserve delicate flower-colour, partial shade, and in rich, moisture-retentive soil to encourage plenty of growth and flowers. Plants may need staking in more exposed areas. The Royal Horticultural Society have given it the Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Height 120cm. Spread 60cm.
Milky Bellflower. Upright perennial with, narrow, toothed, mid-green leaves. Large panicles of open bell-shaped, dark violet blue flowers. on leafy stems. Height 75cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous.
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.
Produces upto 50 amazing blooms of striking pink-tentacled flowers which flutter above green foliage to give two months of summer colour. A unique and interesting low growing perennial for the front of a sunny border. Height: 45cm (18"). Spread: 25cm (10").
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.
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