{"id":2103,"date":"2019-03-23T15:54:27","date_gmt":"2019-03-23T15:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardener.guide\/?p=2103"},"modified":"2020-01-22T08:43:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T08:43:10","slug":"15-secrets-for-growing-perennial-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardener.guide\/15-secrets-for-growing-perennial-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Secrets for Growing Perennial Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Perennial plants serve as the foundation for most worthwhile flower gardens. Whereas annual plants need to be replaced every spring, perennials meet their maker at the end of the season and then proceed to grow back next year using the very same roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people are drawn to perennial flowers because they are very easy to care for and often provide consistency in a world of chaotic gardening. They even come in a wide range of colors, textures, and forms. Before you get into the perennial world, it\u2019s important that you familiarize yourself with the basics of selection, and plant care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The form, culture, bloom time, and lifespan of perennial plants can vary from species to species. Some plants like delphinium and lupines are what you would call short-lived perennials as they have a lifespan that\u2019s limited to three or four years. On the other hand, some perennials can live for periods as long as fifteen years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Fertilizing <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll find that most perennial plants don\u2019t eat much and are happy with one meal of fertilizer every spring. For those plants who are already established, just set some fertilizer around them. Annual or biennial application of finished compost or aged manure will improve the soil texture, restore trace elements, and help with water retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting perennials as opposed to other types of plants is very cost-effective since you won\u2019t be spending a fortune just to keep them fed. You can even make your own compost out of rotten vegetables, dead leaves, and other organic matter that you might have lying around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might think that byproducts of cooking are all trash, but they really aren\u2019t. If you want to enrich your soil with nutrients you can mix in some ground up eggshells as they are rich in calcium. As a rule of thumb, minerals that are good for us are also good for plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Watering<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Perennial plants don\u2019t need the same amount of water in your vegetable garden. Your vegetable garden is likely draining every last drop of water from your home, and if that pisses you off, you\u2019ll love tending to a perennial garden. If you live in a good spot, pick appropriate plants, and mulch them properly, you may not even need to water your plants at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that sounds crazy, not watering your plants, but it\u2019s true, some perennials can survive without manual watering if they\u2019re living under the right conditions. On the flip side, if you live in dry areas with scorching summers, you will need to water your perennial plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can use drip irrigation systems to water your perennials without getting the foliage wet. Soaker hoses serve as another viable option when it comes to keeping your perennial garden nice and wet. Regardless of what you end up doing, take comfort in the fact that perennial gardens don\u2019t need much H2O.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Mulching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When in summer, perennial gardens that are densely packed will take care of most weeds. That said if you have a new garden or one that isn\u2019t really filled up yet, getting some mulch is a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mulch will help minimize the amount of weeds in your perennial garden to ensure that the soil retains its moisture \u2014 this is especially important if you don\u2019t manually water your plants. Mulch isn\u2019t just functional, it\u2019s also aesthetically pleasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about how awesome your garden will look when it has some peanut shells or shredded bark laying around. If you don\u2019t mulch, weeds could suck up all the moisture in your garden without you even knowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might think that the perennials are doing fine based on your location, but later see them dying due to dried out soil. Mulching is definitely a worthwhile investment if you want to protect your flora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Neat Edges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Getting a well-defined edge that separates your flower bed from your lawn will make your garden look so good that your neighbors will think it was assembled by a professional gardener. There are two ways to achieve this glorious feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first method is to get a sharp edging tool that you can use to recut the edge a few ties while your plants grow. If you\u2019re not a fan of constant work, you could go for the second method which entails installing a permanent edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defined edges don\u2019t just look good, they\u2019re also functional. When you have a defined edge, it\u2019ll keep weeds and grass out of your bed which will reduce the amount of maintenance you have to do in your garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you aren\u2019t confident in your ability to set the edging, don\u2019t be afraid to ask help from a professional. Edging work isn\u2019t very costly, so don\u2019t worry about getting hit with a major bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Pinching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some types of perennials such as salvias, phlox, chrysanthemums, and asters can benefit if they\u2019re pinched back. When you pinch your plants back, they get busier and as a result are able to produce more blooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pinching your plants back will also reduce the chances of them flopping over. Using your thumb and your forefinger, pinch back the growing tips of your plants a couple of times when you\u2019re in late spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear in mind that not all perennials should be pinched. If you aren\u2019t sure which ones can be pinched and which ones can\u2019t, pinch slightly and see what happens. Another remedy to the issue of not knowing which perennials are suited to pinching is calling on an expert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional gardeners have familiarized themselves with every species of plant, including perennials, so they\u2019ll be able to give you all the guidance you need when it comes to pinching some members of your perennial garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Deadheading<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are some plants who might drop their spent seed heads and flowers. That said, others are more sentimental and prefer to hang onto them for months on end, sometimes even all the way through winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting rid of any spent flowers will make your plants look fresher and can even increase the odds of reblooming. It will also ensure that your plants don\u2019t spend all their energy producing seeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You wouldn\u2019t want to waste all that energy that you worked hard to build up now would you? Water, sunlight, and fertilizer was used just to gather that energy up, so the last thing you want your plants to do is squander all of it on producing seeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the bloom, some of the plants are supposed to be shorn as opposed to deadhead. This holds true for lavender, pinks, daisies, hardy geraniums, nepeta, and creeping phlox. You might want to consider consulting with a professional before making the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Staking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For many plants with weak stems, getting additional support is necessary to help them sustain their size long enough to bloom. Sometimes supports are also used for plants that are simply too tall to sustain their own weight. Hybrid lilies and delphiniums are two common plants that need stakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some shorter varieties of plants might also need some additional support, and even those who don\u2019t need it could certainly benefit from it. When choosing support for your plants, you should get one that\u2019s as inconspicuous as possible. If you need an individual stem, you can use a bamboo cane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need to support entire plants, you should try out wire support rings. For airy and loose plants, you can use some thin branches. To achieve the best results, you should try adding your supports during the early days of spring so that your plants will grow with the supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Dividing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many perennials need to be divided once every couple of years. If you don\u2019t divide your perennials, they might end up outgrowing their living space. Their core might also die out, leaving them hollow in the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dividing is also an essential part of ensuring that your plants bloom properly. To divide your perennials, grab a shovel and take your entire plant out of the garden. Get the root ball on a tarp while you work on the rest of the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can split the plant into two halves using a crowbar or carefully cut bits apart using a knife or any other type of blade \u2014 the latter offering more precision than the former.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to remember that you should never divide a plant that is in bloom or full growth as this could bring a myriad of adverse effects. The best time to divide your plants is during the early days of spring or the last days of fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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9. Height<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You should always put the shorters plants in the front of the raised bed and have the tallest plants situated at the back. Having uniform height in your perennial garden is the key to getting an aesthetic that will make even the most experienced gardener jealous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labels and books will often tell you the mature height for any specific plant, so you can use those as a reference when planting your seeds in the garden. Bear in mind that some plants will bloom their flowers much higher than the foliage, meaning the plant will appear shorter when out of bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important thing to note is that the listed heights are an average, not a guarantee. If you grow your perennial in dry soil that is poor in nutrients, it may only grow to half the listed height. If the height of your plant doesn\u2019t turn out as expected, you can always move them around until you achieve a uniform height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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10. Width<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The width of the plant, also sometimes referred to as the spread, is every bit as important as the height of the plant. The width that you see in labels or books is an average, much like the measurements on height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final width of your plant is dependent on the soil that you use, the age of the plant itself, and also the location where you place your seeds. You should avoid putting rapid spreaders near slow-growers as the faster varieties of perennials might take up all the space before the more sluggish species ever have a chance to expand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some amateur gardeners ignore this warning and mix in plants with drastically varying spread rates. The end result is often one species prevailing with the other being phased out completely by the end of the season. If you\u2019re concerned that your fast growers will take up all the space, you can insert some sort of border to keep them separated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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11. Spacing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patience is an integral part of gardening, but when most beginners start work on their perennial garden, they want to see the fruits of their labor as soon as possible. It\u2019s certainly a challenge to balance all your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You want to pack your garden densely so it looks good, but at the same time, you need to leave enough space to ensure that all your plants grow healthily. Another factor to consider is your bank account and whether or not it can handle the number of plans that you need to fill up all the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re planting multiple seeds of the same species, it\u2019s fine to set them relatively close to one another so that they can accumulate faster and look good even in their growing phase. Seeds of different species should be well-separated though, especially if they hail from different species, as we already covered above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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12. Drifts versus specimens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gardens that have seeds planted in groups of the same species will show patterns in the color scheme. Remember, when it comes to the aesthetics of your perennial garden, the plants are merely elements to your final design, like a vase in the living room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to make sure that every element meshes well to create a final effect that you\u2019re happy with. Gardens embody the old adage that something can be greater than the sum of its parts. Many homeowners like drift gardens because of the uniformed look that it provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, there are some who prefer to get collector gardens. Collector gardens are filled with various plants, often not more than a couple of each species. People who have collector gardens aren\u2019t trying to create uniform look that complements their property, but rather, to have as many species on their lawn as humanly possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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13. Color<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to working with color, you should try to achieve a combination of contrast and integration. If you get too much of one color, your garden might come off monotonous. On the flipside, mashing every color of the rainbow together might end up far too chaotic to look good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should try organizing your garden-based either on a single color or a color scheme. Common color schemes for perennial gardens include hot colors, cool colors, and pastels. You can play around with various color schemes based on their location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, you could have pastel colors by the front door with hot colors in the backyard. Bear in mind that perennials will only be in bloom for one or two weeks every year, and most of the time they\u2019ll just be green, so be sure to think of how your garden will look like for the other 350 days of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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14. Bloom time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The bloom time of perennials will vary greatly from species to species. Some will be in bloom for no longer than two weeks each year while others can last a hefty three months. If you want to have colors covering your property year-round, you should get various plants in your garden, each from different bloom seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, however, you only want a spring garden, you should get species that are in bloom in the months of April and May. The thing is after May passes, your garden may look comparatively humdrum for the remainder of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get the best payoff for your hard work, try getting no less than three different types of plants that all have the same bloom season. There\u2019s no sight more rewarding than the view of different species of flowers blooming together. If you aren\u2019t sure when a certain plant species is in bloom, you can search Wikipedia or ask the local plant store about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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15. Vigor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vigor is normally a good thing for your plants, but it can also bring some problems with it. If you have plants that get too vigorous, they might end up invading neighboring plants. Given some time, these plants may end up taking over your whole garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to gauge how invasive a certain species of plant is can be a difficult task since, depending on the conditions, some very invasive plants can appear tame at first glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, even non-invasive species can start spreading like wildfire if they are planted in extremely fertile soil. Be sure to do your homework and read the labeling of your seed packets carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you see any that describe themselves as vigorous, you might want to steer clear as it could be an indicator that they plan on invading your garden. Some invasive perennials include plume poppies, bamboo, bee balm, and tansy. You can still plant some invasive species, just isolate them from the rest of your garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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