Take a Good Look at Your Perennial Garden
Fall is great a time in the perennial garden. Many perennials have heightened interest in fall with darkening foliage such as sedum, interesting seed pods or continuous bloom until frost. While enjoying the spectacular display of these varieties, step back and take a good critical look at your perennial beds. You can fill in holes with mums, asters and other container grown perennials available at the garden center. You may find that some of your perennials are not in the right spot, maybe a tall variety is blocking the view of a shorter variety. Some varieties may have spread further than you intended, or become too crowded. Fall is a good time to move and divide spring and summer blooming perennials. Don't disturb plants that are still flowering. Fall blooming varieties should be moved or divided in spring.
Perennials, almost by definition, are very hardy. Dividing them should not be traumatic either for you or the plant. Trim back the tops to about 4 inches. Dig into the soil all around the plant to be moved or divided. Work beneath the roots with a digging fork, then gently lift the root ball. Pull the roots apart by hand or cut with a sharp knife or other tool. Replant as soon as possible in an area already prepared with organic matter. Water thoroughly. Continue watering your perennial beds until they go dormant, usually mid October. After the ground freezes you may want to add mulch around the plants. Cut back perennials that are floppy and drying like daylilies. Be sure to leave plants such as ornamental grasses, flax and moonbeam coreopsis intact to enjoy the interesting foliage in the winter. Cut these back in spring after new growth appears. Remember, even though gardeners love dirt, cleanliness in flower beds is important to healthy plants. Remove dead leaves and debris from all your garden areas. This will minimize diseases and over wintering insects, reducing the problems you will face next year.
DAYLILY
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are one of the most popular and easy to grow perennials
in our climate. They will grow in nearly any soil, need only moderate watering, will
tolerate heat and all day to only a few hours of sun. They are almost immune to insects
and disease, while offering fragrant and spectacular flowers. Daylilies can be found
in many colors from pale cream to dark bronzy red and a variety of sizes from about
1 foot to 4 feet in height. They should be planted on 2 foot centers as they become
large plants. They can be left in place indefinitely, but can be divided every 5
to 7 years to improve performance and provide new plants for other areas or to share.
Daylilies make excellent cut flowers. Select a stem with several ready to bloom buds.
In the house the buds will open one per day, lasting only a day-
Stella d' Oro is an ever blooming daylily. Each plant produces masses of large golden yellow ruffled flowers beginning early in the season on plants about a foot tall. It is a great addition to almost every garden.
PERENNIAL GROUNDCOVERS
A wide selection of perennial ground covers provide color, variety and texture for hard to grow or reach areas. Ground covers can be used to prevent erosion on steep slopes, as a substitute for lawns where grass does not grow well, to fill between stepping stones, or to transition from lawn to flower bed. Of course they can also be used to add beauty to a landscape. Some, such as creeping phlox, provide a gorgeous display of color. Several low growing varieties thrive in our hot dry climate. Popular varieties for sunny dry areas include snow in summer (Cerastium) with silvery foliage and white flowers, several varieties of sedum (including a variety of foliage and flower colors) and potentilla verna with yellow flowers. For a shady area, try moneywort with bright green foliage and yellow flowers or vinca minor (periwinkle) with blue flowers. Snow on the Mountain is another popular ground cover with variegated leaves that will grow in sun or shade.
Guide to starting a perennial bed
Annuals must be planted every year, whereas, perennials will usually return
year after year. However, selecting and planting perennials takes a little thought
and preparation. First, unlike annuals, most perennials will bloom brilliantly for
2-
Second, prepare your flower beds by incorporating generous amounts of organic matter, such as compost, top soil, peat moss, or blends of these. Fertilizing the beds is important in order to get maximum bloom. If the incorporated organic matter does not contain sufficient nutrients, supplemental fertilizer may be needed and benefical bacteria know as Mycorrhizae.
Third, perennials should be planted on 18" centers so as not to compete with their neighbor for space. This may leave some gaps in your planting for the first year, so plant a few annuals for color in the gaps.
After your perennials are finished blooming, remove the old flower head (deadheading). This may encourage reflowering later in the growing season as well as keeping the bed tidy. In the fall, mulch the flower bed after a few heavy frosts and be sure to water the bed during warm dry periods over the winter.
Below is a list of common starter perennials, their colors, height ranges, light requirements, bloom time, and favorite uses. Perennials can be purchased in several pot sizes, planted from seed, purchased bare root, or acquired from friends who are separating their established perennials.
Variety
Height
Color
Bloom Time
Planting Area
Uses
Ajuga
6-
blue
May/June
Versatile
Groundcover
Aster
15-
blue,white,red,pink
Aug/Sept
Sun to part sun
Astilbe
8-
white,pink,red
June/July
Shade
Blue Flax
18-
blue
May/June
Sun to part sun
Campanula
6-
white,blue
June/July
Sun to part sun
Centaurea
18-
blue
May/June
Part shade to part sun
Columbine
12-
blue,white,red,yellow
June/July
Shade to part sun
Coralbells
12-
red,pink
June-
Sun to part sun
Coreopsis
12-
yellow
June-
Sun to part sun
Daisy,Shasta
12-
white
June-
Sun to part sun,dry
Cutting
Daylily
12-
many,no blue
June-
Sun to part sun
Cutting
Dianthus
3-
white,red,pink
May-
Sun to part sun
Gaillardia
9-
red,yellow,orange
June-
Sun
Hosta
12-
white,blue
July/Aug
Shade to part shade
Iris
6-
most
May-
Sun to part shade
Cutting
Monarda
24"
red,pink,purple
July/Aug
Sun to part sun
Mums
12-
yellow,purple
Aug/Sept
Sun
Peony
24-
red,white,pink
May/June
Sun to part sun
Cutting
Purple Coneflower
24-
purple
July/Aug
Sun
Cutting
Sedums
4-
white,yellow,pink
June-
Sun
Groundcover
Yarrow
18-
red,white,yellow
June-
Sun to part sun
Cutting
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Call us at 303.979.6022
Email us at jaredsgc@jaredsgarden.com
Call us at 303.979.6022
Email us at jaredsgc@jaredsgarden.com
Email us at jaredsgc@jaredsgarden.com
Call us at 303.979.6022