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.
Dwarf perennial of mounding habit with a profusion of large, brilliant red flowers from summer to fall. Perfect to create a long-lasting floral show, this workhorse perennial is ideal for mixed beds, borders, containers and small gardens.
Tickseed. A clump-forming perennial with narrow, mid-green leaves and golden-yellow, daisy-like, flowerheads. Height 40cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from March to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Flowers are two-toned burgundy with light pink tips. The advantages are the hardiness, the clean, manicured habit, the extremely long bloom time, and the feathery, mildew resistant foliage.
A truly unique colour, luscious petals of mango-orange with a red overlay make this a much admired Coreopsis. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Ideal for pots on the patio, in border fringes or raised beds. Resilience: Half-hardy. Habit: Mound Forming.
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.
Large, deep ruby flowers are fringed with a collar of frosty white. Ht 80cm. Flowers June - August. Ideal for pots on the patio, in border fringes or raised beds. Prefers full sun with free-draining soil or compost. Can survive winter in very well protected situations, especially if sheltered from hard frosts.
A compact mound covered with watermelon-pink flowers. Annual - can overwinter in mild climates, replant in spring.
Tickseed. A bushy perennial with narrow, finely dissected leaves and lemon-yellow, daisy-like flowerheads. Height 50cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Tickseed. A bushy perennial with narrow finely dissected leaves and golden yellow daisy-like flowerheads. Drought resistant. Height 20-30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May 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.
An erect perennial with bronze tinted filigree green leaves and dense racemes of bright, slender tubed, wedgewood blue flowers. Prefers a cool moist position. Summer dormant. Height 30cm. Spread 20cm. Flowers from May to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
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.
Sea Kale. A spreading mound-forming perennial with large, blue-green leaves. Thick stems carry dense racemes of white flowers. Thrives in a coastal position. Height 75cm. Spread 60cm. 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.
A perennial with sword-like mid-green leaves. Erect branched spikes of flaming red with hints of burnt orange on the throat of the flowers. Height 50cm. Spread 8cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Frost hardy.
Deep red reflexed flowers with streaks of maroon, larger than other crocosmia flowers and more proliferous. Flowering July - August. The leaves are upright and pleated so attractive even when not in flower. They like moisture retentive soil in full sun.
A perennial with sword-like mid-green leaves. Arching, branched spikes of upward-facing, funnel-shaped, orange-red flowers. Height 35cm. Spread 8cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous.
A bold perennial with pleated, sword-like mid-green leaves. Arching, branched spikes of upward-facing, funnel-shaped, bright red flowers. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Frost hardy.
A perennial with sword-like mid-green leaves. Erect branched spikes of striking red flowers. Height 50cm. Spread 8cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Frost hardy.
A perennial with pleated, sword-like, mid-green leaves. Arching spikes of upward-facing, funnel-shaped, orange-red flowers. Height 1.2m. Spread 8m. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous.
'Meteor' is a clump-forming perennial with upright sword-shaped leaves and arching racemes of orange-yellow tubular flowers with yellow throats in summer.
A perennial with sword-like mid-green leaves. Arching, branched spikes of lemon-yellow flowers. Height 60-75cm. Spread 8cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Frost hardy.
A superb dahlia with dark metallic bronze deeply divided leaves. Semi-double bright red flowers with bright yellow anthers. Height 1.1m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Not hardy.
For a top quality cut flower. Height 60cm. Large, cactus-type flowers with quilled bright pink going to yellow petals. Exquisite.
Huge creamy coloured flowers and contrasting peachy centres. Perfect for border or patio containers they will produce a fabulous display throughout the summer and provide excellent cut flowers for the vase. Height 120cm and spread 50cm. Flowers June to September.
Compact, upright, bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial with toothed, pinnate, dark green leaves and strong, upright stems bearing large, double, pink flowers with wide, pink to lilac-pink petal tips.
Compact, upright, bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial with toothed, pinnate, dark green leaves and strong, upright stems bearing large, double, white flowers with wide, pink to lilac-pink petal tips.
Compact, upright, bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial with toothed, pinnate, dark green leaves and strong, upright stems bearing large, double, white flowers with wide, pink to lilac-pink petal tips.
Bicoloured variety with a yellow centre and orange/red outer petals. Superb garden performance, flower colour and form. Continually produces flowers all summer through to the first frosts. Branch freely and are strong sturdy and compact plants.
Compact, double flowered dahlia with masses of brightly coloured flowers against a background of dense foliage.
Compact, double flowered dahlia with masses of brightly coloured flowers against a background of dense foliage.
90cm high, huge yellow flowers with bronze centres on sturdy upright stems. Excellent for borders and cut flowers.
120cm high, huge white flowers tipped with purple on sturdy upright stems. Excellent for borders and cut flowers.
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