Planting and Caring for Perennial Plants

Before heading out to the garden center or perennial nursery, go to a bookstore and buy a good quality, gardening book. Make sure the book shows the climate areas or perennial garden zones. Zones are divided into areas ranging from zone one, the coldest, to zone eleven, the warmest. When buying plants, bulbs or seeds be sure to check the zone in which they are hardy. Perennials that survive in Florida may perish during the cold winters in Ontario, Canada. The book should also include charts showing which plants prefer sun, shade or partial shade. Designs for shade, perennial beds or sunny, perennial beds can be a great help in planning perennial borders and beds.

Perennial Garden Design

To achieve a splash of color from spring to frost, plant alternately, blooming plants, so when one set of flowers fade another takes its place. Also take into consideration the height the plant will reach when mature. Plant taller perennial plants in the rear with lower border plants in front. In a free standing bed, place tall plants in the center with shorter plants, in descending order, toward the edge.

Garden perennials come in many different sizes. For those wanting to fill a large area quickly with established, mature plants, buying plants in large containers in a good option. However, plants in small, one or two-inch pots are cheaper and since many perennial plants grow quickly, often doubling in size in one or two seasons, starter plants are a good choice. Seed catalogues like Veseys are also an excellent source of information about perennials.

Also, check with friends and neighbors who may be cutting back or dividing their perennial plants. The separated plant should have leaves, a portion of stem and a large mass of healthy roots. When transplanting the perennial set the root ball into a hole up to its original depth.

Transplanting Plants Started from Seed

Starting perennial plants from seed indoors is another economical and fun alternative. Sow perennial seeds in peat pots and place under lights in a portable, indoor greenhouse in your kitchen, basement or sunroom. Start the seeds at least four months before the outdoor, planting season. Be sure to follow the instructions given on the packets for fertilizing and watering the tender shoots. In the spring, allow the small plants to acclimatize by putting them outside for a few hours each day for about week. Afterward, plant directly into fertilized, well-cultivated, perennial beds.

Perennial bulbs like daylilies, irises, daffodils, hyacinths or tulips can be planted directly into perennial beds. Fall planting is the best time for tulips, daffodils and hyacinths bulbs. Daylilies are a hardy perennial that can be set into the ground in spring or late fall.

Care and Feeding of Garden Perennials

Perennials are adaptable plants and will survive in varying soil conditions. Some like oriental poppies will survive in hot, dry locations while others like astilble thrive in moist, boggy soil. But all types of perennials do best in well-fertilized, cultivated soil.

Except for weeding, watering and an occasional application of fertilizer, perennial plants in flower beds and borders are an easy and attractive addition to any garden design.