Maintaining Your Perennial Garden
The beauty of a perennial garden is that once it’s planted, you’ll enjoy flowers that come back every year. Your work goes from planting to maintaining, deadheading, fertilizing, and making sure the garden is ready for the next year.
Assuming that you’ve planted a garden filled with primarily native plants or those that are intentionally chosen to thrive in the conditions in your yard, your everyday maintenance should be minimal. You can fertilize your plants seasonally and add a layer of compost annually. Deadheading is a matter of preference. It can encourage your flowers to continue bloom, but it’s not necessary.
At the end of the season, you can dive perennials that have spread or cut them back when cold weather sets in and they begin to die.
Perennial Garden Tips
When planting a perennial garden, there are a few dos and don’ts that can make your life easier and help your garden thrive.
Do: Plant Perennials According to Their Growing Requirements
Your work will be easier if you plant perennials that will thrive in your yard conditions. If you plant shade-loving plants in the sun, you’ll have to water them constantly. However, if you plant sun-loving plants in sun, they’ll do just fine.
Don’t: Ignore Your Zone
If you plant a perennial that is not hardy for your zone, you may fine that it turns into an annual, meaning it won’t come back the next year.
Do: Deadhead for More Blooms
If you want to encourage more blooms, deadhead your perennials. This focuses their energy on producing more blooms rather than pushing out seeds on spent blooms.
Don’t: Letting Tall Perennials Flop Over
Tall perennials often have to be staked to keep them from flopping over. For perennials like foxglove, aster, or delphinium, add a tomato cage or stake.
FAQ
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Which month is best for planting perennials in your garden?
The ideal times to plant perennials are during the spring and fall. These seasons allow the ground to be workable so that plants can establish themselves before facing the extreme temperatures of summer or winter.
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How do you stagger a flower bed?
Use staggered planting, also known as succession planting, to keep color in your garden. Intentionally plant perennials so that as one group finishes blooming, another starts. This ensures vibrant colors throughout the growing season.
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What’s the best way to lay out perennials in a garden?
Typically, place tall plants at the back of the garden bed or in the center of an island bed, medium-height plants in the middle, and shorter plants at the front. This arrangement gives every plant access to sunlight. Also, consider how the colors work together.
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What is the recommended depth for flower beds?
Ideally, flower beds should be at least 12 inches deep, though 6 inches can work for many plants. Remember to factor in extra depth if you’re adding layers of compost or mulch.
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Which flowering perennials bloom all summer long?
Coneflowers, Shasta daisies, and black-eyed Susans are popular among pollinators and provide blooms throughout the summer.