Fall In Love With Perennials
Why We Love Perennials
Perennial plants are such a versatile group! Unlike annuals, perennials can return year after year, bringing color, texture, and interest to your landscape and containers. Choose varieties suited to your growing conditions, and you can enjoy them for many seasons to come.
What Exactly Is a Perennial?
Perennials are plants that live for more than two years, but they don’t all behave the same way. Some remain evergreen or semi-evergreen, while others die back during winter and return from their roots when conditions warm again.
That’s part of what makes this group of plants so useful in the landscape!
• Some perennials grow large and shrub-like, providing plenty of color and texture during the growing season.
• Some remain evergreen or semi-evergreen, depending on the variety and how cold our winter becomes.
• Many flowering perennials provide nectar and other resources for butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators.
• Lower-growing varieties can be used as groundcovers, edging plants, or fillers between larger shrubs.
• Many sun-loving perennials become relatively drought tolerant once established, although their water needs vary by species.
• There are also plenty of beautiful perennials for part shade and shady areas.
Create Color Throughout the Seasons
One of the best things about adding perennials to your landscape is the opportunity to create different looks as the seasons change.
Instead of choosing plants that all bloom at the same time, combine varieties with different bloom seasons. Spring-flowering perennials can begin the show, followed by heat-loving summer bloomers and varieties that continue providing color into fall.
Don’t forget about foliage, either! Plants such as Heuchera, ornamental grasses, ferns, and other foliage-focused perennials can provide color and texture even when flowers aren’t in bloom.
Divide & Share
As some perennials mature, they can eventually be divided into multiple plants—which means more plants for your landscape or some to share with friends. Who doesn’t love FREE plants?
However, not every perennial should be divided, and fall isn’t automatically the best time for every variety. The ideal timing depends on the particular plant and its growth cycle. Some are best divided in fall, while others respond better to spring division.
Use Perennials Throughout Your Landscape
Perennials can be planted in groups for a larger impact or layered with shrubs and other plants to create depth in your flower beds. Try placing shorter varieties toward the front of a bed and taller plants farther back, while always considering each plant’s mature size.
When planning your combinations, match plants with similar needs for sunlight, soil drainage, and moisture. This makes the planting easier to maintain and gives each plant a better chance to thrive.
Don’t Forget Containers!
Perennials aren’t limited to landscape beds. They can also be combined with annual flowers and foliage plants to create beautiful container arrangements.
They can even be planted alone in containers and grouped together on decks and patios. Just remember that plants growing in containers may need more frequent watering and can be more vulnerable to winter cold than the same plants growing in the ground.
Great for Pollinator Gardens
Many flowering perennials are wonderful additions to a pollinator-friendly landscape, providing nectar, pollen, seeds, or shelter for beneficial wildlife at different times of the year.
You’ll also find many plants described as deer resistant, which can certainly be helpful in our area. Just remember that deer resistant doesn’t mean deer-proof—especially when food is scarce or deer pressure is high.
With so many sizes, colors, textures, and uses, perennials deserve a spot on your “must-have” list. If you have questions about which varieties will work best in your landscape, we’d be happy to help you find the right plants for your space!