Gardeners all over the world have a keen interest in cultivating Perennials. The trends in landscaping are moving toward planting a foundation of shrubs and trees then filling in or decorating with perennial flowering plants, grasses, ferns, even herbs. Garden enthusiasts will always be on the prowl for new or different varieties of perennial. Many exchange plant divisions, seeds or cuttings of their favorite plants with friends to grow in their ever-changing flower beds and borders.
Gardening with perennials compared to the traditional annual garden is likecomparing the difference between a string quartet and a symphony. Both can be very pleasing but, if you want something more rich, full, and resounding, attend the symphony or plant perennials. Since most perennial plants don’t bloom from Spring to Fall, annuals (which do) provide consistent color and are excellent additions to perennial beds and borders.
There is a misconception about planting perennials that many people have is that if you plant perennials, much of the maintenance in the yard is gone because you don’t have to plant flowers every year. Perennials require some care and maintenance to perform optimally. Deadheading is a must for the conscientious perennial gardener. Deadheading is simply removing faded and dead flowers from the plant. This is beneficial because, not only does it clean up the plant, it prevents the plant from using up a lot of energy producing seed. If the plant is prevented from producing seed by deadheading, it may bloom again to complete its life cycle. If many perennials are allowed to go to seed, they will die back afterwards because their work is complete. Even if the plant doesn’t bloom again, it will look more vigorous and last longer if it has been deadheaded.
There are other maintenance issues that cant be avoided by planting perennials. A rather annoying and unavoidable maintenance problem is weeding. However, since you won’t be tearing out the bed and working the soil every spring, weeds can be a problem in and amongst your perennials. However, weeds can be prevented in your perennial beds by applying a covering of mulch, which deters seed germination, and pre-emergent herbicides which kill seeds as they germinate. Whatever you do to prevent or eliminate weeds will help the garden look better and your desirable plants won’t have to compete with the weeds for water or nutrients.
Two more maintenance issues are clean up after the plants die back in winter and plant division. The purpose in cleaning out the dead plant should be fairly obvious but, aside from the obvious, decaying debris in and among your plants can be a good breeding ground for diseases that can infect your living plants as well. Perennial plants are herbaceous which means that the plant above soil dies back when it goes dormant but the root lives on. As the root expands and grows, it is able to support more growth above ground. The result is a larger plant and, or additional stems or divisions. Even though perennials survive more than one season, they don’t live forever. Some live longer than others but, dividing the plants as they become crowded, overgrown, or begin to die out in the center will extend their viability and improve their vigor. The best time to divide plants is either in the fall as the plants begin dormancy or in the spring before, or as, they break dormancy.
When irrigating perennials, soak them deeply but infrequently to induce deep rooting. Don’t allow much wilting between watering but you’re better off watering only when the plants need it. Once every seven to ten days should be enough and not more than twice a week during the hottest part of the summer. Water in the morning so that plants dry out fairly quickly. This will prevent the conditions that promote diseases.
A garden full of perennials takes careful planning; first, to have each variety in the conditions it favors (sun, shade, wet, dry, etc.); second, to ensure that the various blooming periods are orchestrated to have color from spring to fall; and third, to place plants where they will compliment the others around them, taking into account flower colors, textures, and sizes. I believe that the greatest satisfaction that comes with growing perennials is being able to watch the garden’s evolution from season to season. As plants mature, fill in, and start to reveal all their best characteristics you’ll marvel at how fulfilling growing a garden can be. You’ll want to spend more time in the garden. But, if you are concerned about that, think about how much time and effort mowing and caring for your lawn takes. You wouldn’t have to spend as much maintenance time in the yard if you took the lawn out and replaced it with perennials!