Perennial plants offer many benefits to your landscape garden, but it can be a confusing task choosing which ones to plant, when to plant them, and how to care for them. The truth is that there are as many different species of perennial flowers as there are types of plants. The most common plants, like roses and sunflowers, bloom for one season only, then die and need to be replanted each year. Other, more exotic species may live up to forty years or longer.
One way to simplify the process is to divide the flower garden into separate categories. For example, you can group annuals, perennials and semi-annuals. After you’ve divided your garden into these categories, look at each class’s bloom times. What’s the earliest time the plant can be seen? Is it during one of its blooms, or at its dormant stage, when most annuals are gone?
Also consider how hardy your perennial garden is. Some flowers require more heat and sun than others, depending on what part of the country you live in. Check your state listings to see which plants are most likely to thrive in your climate. Choose plants that are easy to grow, don’t need much attention during their growing season, and you should be able to keep them alive until the spring. If your climate can’t support a lot of flowering plants, some perennials will do fine, and some will not produce flowers at all.
Many garden centers carry a very limited selection of plants. Some may carry one or two varieties, while other garden centers may only have a few options. Look at the plant list and determine which plants you’re interested in for your area. Then go to a nursery that specializes in container-grown perennials and talk to an expert. Let them know what type of flowers you’re looking for, where you want to grow them, and what time of year you’d like to start them. With your planting date and climate in mind, the experts will help you plan the best planting schedule to bring the right kinds of flowers to your garden.
Once you know which perennials you want to use, talk to gardeners who have recently bloomed and get their advice. Perennial gardeners are a great source of advice, particularly if you’re just getting started with perennials. Many experienced gardeners will be glad to share what they did, and what they did wrong, so that you can avoid making the same mistakes. Gardeners know their stuff! You can also visit online discussion forums, which are a great source of ideas and helpful information about when is the best time to plant perennials.
A lot depends on the soil and weather conditions where you live. Different plants require different amounts of water, nutrients, and sun to thrive. Soil that’s either too wet or too dry can prevent plants from growing to their full potential, so it’s important to plant perennials in the proper conditions. This article includes some more information on how to determine the proper conditions for your plants, as well as a few useful tips on planting perennials in general.
So what is the best time of year to plant perennials? Good soil, weather, and a consistent moisture level are certainly three elements that contribute to when and where you can plant perennials. You’ll want to choose plants that will work together in harmony, like those with similar needs such as drainage, water needs, and light. Container-grown perennials make a great family theme because they can be moved from one place in your garden to another as needed.
When you’re choosing container-grown plants, the best time of year to plant them is late winter through early spring. The reason you want to do this is because perennials will need a cold, even temperature to survive. If you plant them in the spring, you risk the possibility of leaf spot, which is when the plants start to appear with small gray or white heads. This happens because the roots are getting closer to the soil surface, so they need to take in some additional warmth before they can grow to their fullest. You should also remember that many perennial flowers are perennial because you just need to remember to replant them every few years or so; this is true of grass, too.