Planting and Caring for Perennials
Planting a perennial garden—or two or three around the yard—requires a bit of forethought because you’ve got a few important decisions to make before you even start digging the holes! First, right off the bat, why do you even want perennials? What do you hope your garden will to do for you…and for you yard’s ecosystem? Second, where are you going to put your perennials? What are your choices for where you’ll plant your perennials? What’s the sunlight like in those areas? How much wind to these areas get? Third, what perennials will best serve your purpose given the nature of the areas in your yard that would best support their health and happiness? Once you figure these questions out, you’re ready to come in to Brady’s West, pick our your plants, and head home and get them in the ground. Planting perennials is a pretty simple straightforward process. No rocket science involved—just good common gardening sense. However, we do have one important bit of advice to offer you in planting any sort of perennial garden: Think about keeping your garden in bloom through the whole growing season. Just don’t buy perennials that happen to be in bloom when you come to the nursery! This means maximizing or extending the growing season by planting bulbs which will bloom in early early spring and by planting different varieties of perennials that will bloom at different times: some bloom in the spring, others during the summer, and still others that bloom in the fall.
Purpose
What do you want your perennial garden to accomplish—what’s it’s purpose? Looking to add some color from spring through fall? Hoping to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to the yard? Want to create a rock garden or xeriscape your property? The great thing about our inventory of perennials is that you can do any or all of these things! Photo: Blue Flax
Do Your Homework!
There is a lot to learn about perennials, especially if you want to create a beautiful and long lasting perennial garden. When planning your garden, it is important to know about the characteristics of specific perennials: How big will they get? Are they happier in the sun, in part shade, or full shade? How much water do they need once they are established? Do they attract hummingbirds or butterflies or both? Are they deer-resistant? Where’s the best place on your property to feature perennials? Which perennials are best for rock gardens? Answers to these questions will help you determine which perennials are best for your yard—so do your homework! Photo: Iberis
When to Plant?
It is safe to plant annuals and perennials after the last frost of the season—usually by Mid-April. Annuals and perennials can be planted any time after that throughout the growing season. Seeds for these flowering plants can be sown anytime after the last frost, too, and throughout the growing season. Photo: Lupine
Max the Short Season
Don’t forget about bulbs! Adding bulbous plants to jump start your perennial garden in the early spring will allow you to add a few to several weeks of greenery and color to your landscape. You’ll want to plant your bulbs in August or September up to the first hard freeze. Bulbs are often planted in clumps, which give rise to awesome patches of color in the spring.
Finding the Perfect Spot
While they are still in their pots, stage your plants in your garden, taking into consideration their mature height and width and sun/shade preferences. Be sure to place taller plants in back of shorter plants both for your viewing pleasure as well as for exposing all your plants to just the right amount of sunshine. Left: Placement of shorter plants in front of taller plants in rock garden.
Planting
Dig your holes about twice the size of the container and just as deep. Amend your excavated soil with a 70/30 blend of Cotton Burr Compost or Peat and Sheep. Gently remove the plant from the container and break up the root ball. Liberally sprinkle MYKE into the bottom of the hole, set the plant into the hole, and back fill with the amended soil. Gently compress the back filled soil to eliminate air pockets around the root ball.
Why MYKE?
MYKE (mycorrihizae) is a beneficial fungus that promotes vigorous root growth, which is beneficial to helping your plants to extract nutrients from the soil. We strongly recommend that our customers use MYKE with everything they plant.
Mulching
Once your plant is in the ground, place mulch around it, making sure that the mulch does not contact the stem or the crown of the plant. We recommend Western Red Cedar Mulch for excellent moisture retention and wind resistance. After placing mulch around the plant, thoroughly soak the mulch with water to firmly set the mulch in place.
First Watering
Mix Fertilome Root Stimulator with water and apply to your newly place annuals and perennials. Follow the directions on the bottle. Root stimulator reduces transplant shock (yellowing, wilting, and dropping of leaves). Left: Adding Fertilome Root Stimulator to water for the first watering following planting.
Long Term Care
Water your annuals and perennials once daily with about a half gallon each time. If the weather is especially hot, dry, and windy, water twice daily with the same amount of water. Feed your plants with Fertilome All-Purpose Plant Food once every 2 weeks throughout the growing season. For the most efficient watering, set up a drip line for your annuals and perennials using .5 gallon emitters.