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.
Angel's Fishing Rod. Wandflower. A clump-forming perennial with grass-like leaves. Graceful arching stems of delicate, bell-shaped deep pink, occasionally purple-red or white flowers. Height 1-1.5m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Frost hardy. Sheltered Site.
Compact habit with spikes of hot pink, creamy yellow and burgundy speckled throats borne all the way around the stems above the rosettes of large, glossy, dark green leaves. Prefers full sun or partial shade in free draining soil or compost.
A lovely very perennial Digitalis with apricot pink flowers in late Spring and again later if you keep dead heading. Produced from division. A cross between D. mertonensis and D. lutea. Sterile seed. Height - 100cm. Spread - 40cm. Semi-shade Soil - most soils apart from very dry or wet. CAUTION; toxic if eaten.
Hybrid between Digitalis obscura and Digitalis grandiflora. It has large, trumpet-shaped blooms in warm yellow and pink, with dark speckling in the throats. Sterile, it doesn't bear seeds and therefore flowers continuously throughout summer.
Stunning perennial, producing multiple spikes of tubular blooms that will, simply, take your breath away. The striking flame-coloured tubular flowers are lightly speckled and shimmer faintly when illuminated by the sun giving real impact to any garden. Height 100cm. Spread 50cm. Plant in sun/part shade. Attracts bees and butterflies.
Compact variety which forms a low rosette of glossy green leaves in the first year, bursting into flower during the second summer. The flowers are very large, strawberry-rose in colour with darker markings on the inside. Height 75cm. Spread 50cm. Loved by bees, butterflies and moths. Plant part sun/part shade.
Foxglove. A short-lived perennial with softly hairy, dark green leaves. Dense spikes of cream flowers each with a purple-brown lip. Height 60cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from April to June. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A beautiful, long flowering perennial hybrid fox glove. Tubular, bell-shaped soft pink flowers with a cream speckled throat. Height 60cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers June to August. Full sun/partial shade. Hardy. Attracts bees.
Common Foxglove. Height 60-90cm. First year flowering pronounced spotting in the throats of these peach coloured flowers on tall stalks.
Spikes of peach tubular flowers with dark-spotted throats rise above compact clumps of basal foliage in late-spring and early-summer.
Spikes of rose, tubular flowers with dark-spotted throats rise above compact clumps of basal foliage in late-spring and early-summer.
Spikes of pure-white, tubular flowers with dark-spotted throats rise above compact clumps of basal foliage in late-spring and early-summer.
Common Foxglove. Short-lived perennial with hairy dark green leaves. One sided spikes in pastel shaded purple, pink, white or yellow flowers, some spotted maroon or purple inside. Height 1-2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from April to June. Herbaceous. Hardy. CAUTION toxic if eaten.
Creamy white bell shaped flowers, with deep burgundy spotted throat. Height 1.2m
A dwarf biennial with delightful primrose yellow tubular flowers that have chocolate coloured spots on their throats.
Bright pink flowers with creamy inner petals, spotted with delicate dark pink markings and shades of orange. A delight in the cottage garden, foxgloves are great for attracting butterflies and bees. They are sure to create an impact in a bed or border. Height 60cm. All varieties of foxglove are highly toxic and should not be ingested.
Compact, branching, rosette-forming, hairy, semi-evergreen perennial with broadly lance-shaped, toothed, dark green leaves and purple-pink-tipped petals with orange-yellow centres, from early summer into autumn, tall, upright spikes of reddish-pink flowers with broad, apricot to pale orange throats. CAUTION; toxic if eaten
Leopard's Bane. A slowly spreading compact perennial with heart-shaped green leaves. Golden yellow daisy-like flowerheads. Suitable for tubs. Height 30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from March to April. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Dragon's Head. A clump-forming, low perennial with small hairy leaves. Pretty bluish purple tubular flowers on leafy stems. Height 20-30cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Very drought tolerant once established.
Dragon's Head. A clump-forming, low perennial with small hairy leaves. Pretty white tubular flowers on leafy stems. Height 20-30cm. Spread 30cm.Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy. Very drought tolerant once established.
Hardy perennial produces intense blue flowers. Forms bushy plants. Prefers full sun or half shade. 30cm.
Strong upright habit with well branched stems, each having one to six flowers. Prefers full sun, with free-draining soil or compost. Ideal for pots on the patio, in border fringes or raised beds.
This bright lemon-yellow Echinacea has double flowers that shine out in a sunny garden. The high crown count means vigor and flowering over a 5 month period.
Golden yellow flowers that with light up the garden. A great upright compact habit, with loads of flowers on top of sturdy stems.
Compact size, and charming, red shuttlecock-shaped flowers with dark cones. Attracts butterflies in summer and seed hunting birds in the autumn. Prefers full sun, with free-draining soil or compost. Ideal for pots on the patio, in border fringes or raised beds.
An attractive, upright, perennial coneflower variety growing to 70cm tall and producing magenta-pink blooms from July to October. Flowers have a prominent central orange cone surrounded by narrow, bright pink ray petals. Excellent as a cut flower.
Compact, bushy plant with large, slightly drooping flowers. The tangerine-coloured petals lighten to a golden orange as they age. Prefers full sun, with free-draining soil or compost. Ideal for pots on the patio, in border fringes or raised beds.
Snow-white petals surround tall gold-tinted cones that rise from green buttons. Daisy-like flowers glow against the dark green foliage. The compact, upright habit with large, long-lasting flowers heightens its appeal.
Compact, free flowering. Sturdy stems bear white flowers with golden centre. Height 30-60cm. Spread 30-60cm. Birds love seeds from spent flowers.
Large, round yellow flowers with golden brown centres on neat, compact plants, great for patio pots.
A curious Purple Coneflower that will certainly attract attention! Large ‘cones’ are surrounded by a skirt of slender reflexed petals. From the second year onwards this hardy perennial produces a dainty ‘crown’ of extra petals on top of each bloom that give it a most intriguing appearance. A magnet for butterflies and pollinating insects making it ideal for wildlife gardens.
Coneflower. Bright yellow double flowers, compact plants bear loads of golden yellow, pom-pom type blooms. Sturdy plants, quite floriferous and bloom from mid-summer through autumn.
Coneflower. Bicolour petals are a mmix of vibrant purples with bright lime green tips and a dark centre. Ideal for border or patio containers and excellent cut flowers for the vase. Height 60cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Coneflower. An upright perennial with toothed, dark green leaves, dark stems and double headed hot orange pompon-like heads of petals blooming in summer and early autumn. Height 1.5m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Coneflower. Bright yellow double flowers, compact plants bear loads of golden yellow, pom-pom type blooms. Sturdy plants are quite floriferous and bloom from mid-summer through autumn.
Coneflower. An erect perennial with stout stems of large daisy-like flowerheads. Height 1.5m. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
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