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PERENNIALS are the backbone of a good garden. Unlike annual plants, which grow from seed and last for just a single growing season, perennials flourish for years. They flower in summer, then die back in autumn to a dormant crown from which new shoots emerge the following spring.
Classic perennials include traditional favourites such as tall lupins, delphiniums and phlox, and will really perk up your borders.
PLANTING PERENNIALS
The best time to plant is at the start of the growing season in mid-spring. When buying, look out for strong, healthy new shoots.
Check the back of the pictorial label for details of the ultimate size and spread and ideal planting site. To add a new plant to an existing border, sweep aside any mulch from the chosen planting place. Then work some well-rotted compost into the ground and use a trowel or border spade to dig a planting hole. Mix more compost into the base of the hole, plus a little general-purpose fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone.
Water the plant well, then remove it from its pot without breaking up the root ball and sit it in the centre of the hole.
Check the depth – the top of the root ball should be level with the surface of the surrounding border.
Use more of the soil/compost mixture to fill the gap round the root ball, then water it thoroughly and replace the mulch, tucking it around the neck of the plant. If you like to keep your plants properly named, write out an aluminium plant label with a soft pencil and push it into the soil at the base of the plant. Pictorial labels provided with new plants are brittle and short-lived.
ADD SUPPORT
Most short, bushy perennials and many taller species with strong, wiry stems and small flowers need no supporting. Weakstemmed, bushy-shaped perennials need slight internal support, so push twiggy sticks or tree prunings in round the edge of clumps in spring.
Larger, showier species often need more serious supports.
Each spring, when new growth is a few inches high, stand a short, wide, perennial support frame (the type that looks like a grid of plastic-covered wire on legs) over crowns of oriental poppies, peonies and species with bushy shapes and big flowers easily weighed down by rain. The stems will grow through, giving firm support, and the grid is soon hidden by foliage.
Very tall, upright perennials with top-heavy flowers – particularly delphiniums – need the support of several long, slim, upright stakes or very strong bamboo canes pushed into the ground when the stems are two feet tall.
Position these just behind the plant so they aren’t too noticeable and, as they grow, tie the stems to the supports every nine inches or so with raffia or some soft garden twine.
AFTERCARE
Water new perennials in dry spells for their first summer, to help them establish. From then on, if plants are heavily mulched to conserve moisture, watering is usually only needed during prolonged droughts in a dry summer. Feed perennials each year, shortly after they start growing, in late April or early May.
Sprinkle general-purpose fertiliser evenly all over the surface of a perennial or mixed border, working it carefully between plants. Don’t leave fertiliser lodged on leaves or in the crowns of perennials, as it may scorch.
Brush it off with your hand or wash if off with water.
Deadhead regularly as their flowers fade. At the end of the growing season, cut the old stems down to tidy the garden, except for those species that have attractive winter seed heads or which offer food for birds.
Leave basal leaves and some short stems for beneficial insects to over-winter in.
In March, you can clear up your borders. Start by cutting down the remaining old stems and dead foliage, remove weeds, divide any old perennials that need it, and apply fresh mulching material.