Powerhouse Perennials

Powerhouse Perennials

The more you get into gardening, the more you will notice that perennials Image licensed through ©iStockphoto.com start forming the backbones of your flowerbeds and borders. First of all, there is the matter of economics. Unless you own a greenhouse, growing nothing but annuals year in and year out can get very pricey. Yes, many annuals can be started from seed. But, if you want to have the fullest range of annuals available for growing in our Southern Great Lakes climate, you must face the fact that most of the available annuals have to be started well before the season. I don't know about your situation, but I just don't have enough space, windows, or lights to make this feasible on a large scale. The down side of annuals is that they must be replaced every year. I'm not knocking annuals, I love them! It's just that my budget won't allow for a large scale planting of them. That's where perennials come into the picture. Perennials can be depended upon to return anywhere from a few seasons to a lifetime of seasons. They can usually be divided for more plants, and they are generally not fussy in character.

There are many good perennials to choose from, but there are some particularly good varieties that anyone from the beginning to the advanced gardener can incorporate into the landscape. Some of these can be counted on to give their all, year after year.

For starters, the peony is a wonderful plant for anyone to consider. Its late Spring blooms come right at the end of the flowering bulb season, and fills the gap between Spring and Summer. There are many good varieties to choose from, and the care is minimal and easy.

Peonies come in two types, the herbaceous or perennial type, and the tree peony, a plant that grows into a tall bush form. Tree peonies do not die back as regular or herbaceous peonies do at the end of the gardening season. For this article, I am going to talk about the herbaceous form of peony.

When choosing peonies, give these plants lots of room. They will get bigger, and need to be able to have room to spread. They average about 2-1/2 to 3 feet in height. Place them in the sun, so they can bloom their best.

Peonies are normally planted in the fall. Dig in lots of organic material into the planting site, as they are heavy feeders. It is important to plant them "eyes up", and to cover them very shallowly, in 2 inches of soil. Trust me, they will not freeze to death! The first year, loosely mulch them after planting.

It might take two to three growing seasons for your peonies to put on their finest show. Don't give up, and be aware that the first flowers are not always what the final, established plant will look like when it blooms. These are plants that can easily outlive the both of us. They also can stay put, and don't need to be divided. Don't give up, and you will be richly rewarded.

When the plants start coming up in the spring, add plant support hoops as these are girls that are a bit top heavy. Any good rainstorm can knock 'em down. If you wait until the plant is ready to set buds, it will be too late to apply supports. As for ants, they are harmless. (It is an old wive's tale that ants are needed for the blooms to open). After bloom, fertilize with bone meal or a good organic fertilizer low in nitrogen. The remaining foliage makes a handsome backdrop for other plants, and can be removed in the fall after dieback.

Another workhorse perennial is the daylily, or hemerocallis. These are plants that have blooms similar in form to the true lilies, but unlike true lilies, they are produced by rhizomatic roots as opposed to bulbs. They range in size from dwarf to tall, and the season of bloom ranges from early to late, depending upon the variety. The peak for these Summer beauties is from July to August. The range of colors is from near white to near black, with yellows, golds, oranges, and reds through maroon-purple and pinks being well represented. The two main types are diploids and triploids. It matters little except if you are planning on crossing your daylilies. Because of the difference in chromosome count, neither type can cross with the other.

Flower form can vary, and spiders, doubles, as well as the typical lily for are available, as is ruffled edge. Individual blooms last but a day, hence the name, "daylilly".

Daylilies are not fussy at all. They can be established almost any time of the spring and early summer and again in late summer after bloom. It is best to plant them by early summer, though, so they can have time to become established. The three main types are evergreen, semi-evergreen, and dormant. For our area, the dormant and sem-dormant varieties perform the best. There are a few daylilies that are classified as rebloomers, but given our climate, this is not always the case. There will be years when these daylilies rebloom, and years when they will not. The only readily available and reliable everbloomer is the 'Stella de Oro' daylily and her sisters, ''Mini Stella', and 'Black Eyed Stella', the most famous of the siblings. there are a few new everbloomers being developed in colors other than yellow. It will be interesting to see if they can give good ol' Stella and sisters a run for the money. Let's hope so. I, for one, am not knocking any of the 'Stella' family. But I am getting a bit bored of its overuse in home and business landscapes. The links section does list nurseries. Wayside Gardens is one that is offering a raspberry-colored everbloomer. (Be aware that even the everbloomers do have rest periods between heavy flushes of bloom).

Daylilies can be divided from early spring to early summer. Cut through the root mass and divide into clumps with multiple fans. Another trick is to blast the root mass with a hose, and the rhizomes should pull apart more easily. Set these divisions out in a sunny location with lots of compost worked into the soil, and they will do fine.

Chrysanthemums are still the champs of the fall garden. Believe it or not, those little potted plants that you put out this Spring will grow into large, flower-filled plants by fall. Be careful of variety, there are some varieties that are hardier than others. My neighbor planted a florist's mum, and did not understand why it did not survive the winter. Plant garden mums or cushion mums, which are a little shorter, and you will do well. Plant in a well-drained site, as boggy soil will kill these quicker than anything else, cold weather included. Mums are very susceptible to rotting out if in a wet spot during the winter.

Pinch your mums starting in the spring until about the 10th of July. This will promote bushiness and will help the plants fill out with the most blooms. Yes, you will need to debud these until the 10th of July. Keep them moist, but not soggy, and use good compost in the planting site and a well-rounded organic fertilizer as top dressing.

In winter, check your mums for heaving from the ground. The thing that will kill them, other than too much water, is having their roots dry out. Press them back into the ground, and apply mulch. Mulch can be removed around late March to early April in our region.

When you remove the mulch, it is time to divide your plants. If your mums start to develop a woody center with only a few green stalks and leaves on the outer edges, cut the plant apart and discard the woody centers. Reset the new mums into enriched soil, and follow the pinching and watering schedule, the same as if they were newly purchased plants.

Perennial Honorable Mentions:
There is so much more to add, so this will just be a capsule review of other great perennials for your garden, (and mine)!

Veronica, 'Sunny Border Blue', is one of the longest blooming perennials that you can put in your garden beds. It grows to about 24" tall, and has beautiful deep blue spikes of flowers that add much needed blue and contrast in flower form to the garden. This veronica starts blooming in July and goes until frost.

Gaillardia, or blanket flower, 'Burgundy', offers dark wine blooms with bright yellow eyes on 24" plants, with blooms from early summer into fall.

Coreopsis comes in thread-leaf as well as the tall, or Tripteris varieties. 'Moonbeam' is a threadleaf coreopsis that blooms from June until October. 'American Dream' is another threadleaf with rosy pink blooms. Both flower on short 8 to 12 inch tall plants.

Centranthus, or Jupiter's Beard, is and 18 inch plant with flower heads produced from June until frost, if kept deadheaded. 'Ruber has ros-red blooms, and 'Alba' has white blooms.

Phlox paniculata, or garden phlox, can be a bit unsightly when mildew hits. 'David' is a recent selection with white flower heads, fragrant, with good mildew resistance. It performs well in our region.

Sedum spectabile, 'Autumn Joy', is an oldie but a goodie. It develops broccoli-like heads above succulent foliage, which slowly age from rose to brick red. It provides great structural interest in the garden when allowed to stay on after frost and through the winter. 'Frosty Morn' is a beautiful variety with white varegated leaves and white to pink flower heads. In cooler areas or during cooler summers, it will develop more pink tones to its flowers.

These are all relatively carefree perennials for the gardener. No one plant is totally maintenance fee, but these truly approach the carefree status. Given a good start, with good soil and good culture, they will closely approach a maintenance-free status.