Growing Perennials gives me color and beauty all through the spring and summer months.
For a gardener, there is nothing quite like the feeling of wandering around your garden, in the spring, and seeing the first growth of perennials that you have planted years before.
These plants die back in the winter but send out new growth each spring.
This guide to perennials is a great source for helping you to identify which plants are the most hardy, which flower the most profusely, and also which do well in the sunshine or shade.
There are lots of ideas for dividing perennials (the main source of propagation) and also tips for growing these plants in containers on a patio if you don’t have a lot of garden space outside.
I will add to this guide several times each month, so be sure to check back often to see which plants and which tips have been added recently.
Plant perennials to give your garden color and interest year after year without replanting! Share on XA Guide To Growing Perennials.
This guide is broken down into the identification of various perennial types, as well has sun and light conditions. Many of the most commonly asked questions by my readers have been covered, as well.
Varieties of Perennials.
- Autumn Frost Hosta – One of my favorite shade perennials.
- Astilbe – The perfect flowering perennial for a shady garden.
- Astilbe Photo Gallery – See the colors that this amazing perennial can take on.
- Balloon Flowers – Platycodon grandiflorus has flower buds that look just like hot air balloons
- Baptisia Australis – This is a rugged and easy to grow perennial.
- Bleeding Heart – This romantic perennial is an early spring bloomer.
- Brugmansia – The shape of this perennial shows why it is called Angel’s Trumpet
- Chinese Lantern Plant – Get tips for growing a fall perennial that develops pumpkins-shaped pods in autumn.
- Chocolate Cosmos – Get a whiff of chocolate in your garden!
- Clematis – Great looking climbing perennial for a mail box.
- Columbine – Hummingbirds love this perennial that can take the heat.
- Copreopsis Star Cluster – This perennial is commonly known as Tickseed.
- Learn about the varieties of coneflower – There are many more colors of coneflower than just the traditional purple variety.
- Echinacea Purpurea – This robust perennial is known as coneflower and is a staple in cottage gardens!
- Eastern Red Columbine.- This perennial will grow wild from Canada to the deep south.
- Fiddle head Ferns – This Ostrich fern is a plant that you can eat.
- Forsythia – This perennial shrub is one of the first to bloom in the spring.
- Gaillardia – This hardy perennial is also known as Indian Blanket flower and it’s easy to see why.
- Gazania – This daisy like flower is a cinch to grow.
- Helleborus – Lenten Rose perennial that blooms in the winter.
- Heuchera – Coral Bells is the common name and it loves the shade.
- Hollyhocks – A traditional Cottage Garden Favorite.
- Hosta Minuteman – Striking foliage with deep white margins.
- Hydrangeas – Care of Hydrangeas, plus propagation tips and how to dry hydrangea flowers.
- Japanese Silver Grass – This variegated grass makes a wonderful border plant
- Lamb’s Ear – The kids will love this fuzzy leafed perennial.
- Liriope – Monkey grass makes the perfect border plant.
- Liriope Muscari Variegata – Variegated version of the lilyturf plant.
- Mexican Hat Coneflower – How to grow Sombrero flowers.
- Oxalis – Tips for growing this plant known as false shamrock or wood sorrel
- Shasta Daisy – Similar to Oxeye and English Daisy and a common cottage garden plant.
- Strawberry Begonia – This perennial is great as a potted plant or ground cover.
Tender Perennials
Sometimes, you will find plants where the plant tag is labeled “tender perennial.” These perennials are native to warm climates.
They are normally lush and tropical in look, but will only over winter in the warm climate zones (9 and above). In the colder zones, the frost will kill them so the plants are better used as indoor plants.
I enjoy growing these in pots outside during the spring through early fall and bring them indoors to enjoy during the winter.
Tender perennials are not annuals which last only one year, although they are often grown as (expensive) annuals in colder zones. In warm climates, tender perennials will live year after years. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Aechmea Fasciata – The flower on this tropical bromeliad lasts for 9 months for me!
- Bay Laurel Tender perennial herb for warmer zones only
- Cryptanthus Bivittatus – Red Star Bromeliad is a tender perennial for warm zones and can also be grown as a houseplant.
- Dinner Plate Dahlias – These tender perennials like it warmer so they should be dug up for winter in colder zones.
- Echeveria Neon Breakers – The flower stem on this pretty succulent can grow to 2 feet long.
- Fan Flower – Scaevola aemula can really take the heat. This beauty flowers from spring through fall.
- Frosty Fern – Find out how to grow this relative new-comer to the Christmas plants scene.
- Gloriosa Lily – Cover and entire wall in just one summer with this climbing tender perennial.
- Poinsettia plant – The most popular holiday plant can also be grown outdoors in zones 9-11.
- Sweet William – This easy to grow perennial is often classified as a tender perennial. It makes a lovely border plant. I can get some varieties to overwinter here in Nrth Carolina zone 7b.
- Cuphea micropetala – This fun plant with orange and yellow flowers is also known as candy corn plant. It is a perennial in zones 8-11 and can be grown as an annual in cooler locales.
Perennial Herbs
It is not just flowers and shrubs that can be perennial plants. Garden herbs also can fit into this category. Not all herbs are perennials. (see if your herb is a perennial, biennial or annual here.) Here are some herbs that are classed as perennials and will grow back year after year. (There are many others, as well, and I will update this page as I add them to the list of posts with information.
- Chives This herb gives a light onion flavor to dishes and is better fresh than dried.
- Oregano From the planter to Italian dishes!
- Rosemary Very hardy perennial herbs. Mine grows even in the winter months in North Carolina
- Thyme This tasty herb will come back each year in most zones.
Perennial Bulbs
Bulbs are the most dramatic perennial plants. Find out how to grow them. I ♥ pretty flowers! Share on XBulbs are some of my favorite perennials. Once planted they reward you with early spring color and sometimes even re-bloom later in the summer.
- 5 easy bulbs to grow for spring – Beginners start here!
- Asiatic and Oriental Lilies – What are the Differences between the two?
- Black Plants for a Goth Garden – Many of these are bulbs and rhizomes.
- Bulbs to plant in fall – Get these in before winter for a blast of color in early spring.
- Daylilies – How to get the most out of yours.
- Daylily Earth Wind and Fire – Find out how to grow this garden stunner.
- Daylily Photo Gallery – Many named varieties from A – Z.
- Daylilies at Wildwood Farms – Garden Tour of many daylilies in this huge property.
- Easter lilies – Find out how to grow them outdoors after flowering indoors for Easter.
- Garden Tour – My Favorite Daylilies on Display.
- Gladiola – This perennial bulb is perfect for cut flowers.
- Gloriosa Lily – A real show stopper.
- Identification guide to Daylilies – Find out what yours is called!
- Iris – Learn how to grow this early spring perennial plant that grows from rhizomes and bulbs.
- Lilies in my Garden – Amaryllis, Daylilies, Asiatic, and Oriental Lilies and their differences.
- Liatris – How to grow this tall and dramatic plant.
- When do irises bloom? – Learn more about the different types of irises and find out when to expect them to flower in your garden.
- Pink Flowers – Over 15 Perennials, Biennials, and Annuals for a pink show in your garden.
- Red Hot Poker – Also known as torch lily. This plant has amazing flowers all summer long.
- Red Emperor Tulip – Eye Candy in the flower world.
- Red Vols Daylily – Winner of the daylily of the year for 2000
Roses
Roses come back year after year too! All of my roses have been growing for many years. I prune them in the spring and enjoy color all summer long.
- Amazing Rose Photos – Flower Art!
- A Visit to the Raleigh Rose Gardens – Variegated roses on display.
- Osiria Rose – It took the Internet by storm
- Osiria Tea Rose Gallery – Photos from my readers.
- Rose colors – What do they mean?
Growing Tips for Perennials.
- 20 Early Spring Bloomers – Get some early spring color in your garden with these plants, shrubs and trees.
- 25 Top Sun Loving Perennials – Plus a few tender perennials and annuals. These plants can take the heat.
- 14 Best Hardy Perennials – These plants grow well in most gardens.
- 14 Pruning Tips for Great Looking Plants – All Perennials can benefit from some pruning efforts.
- 15 companion plants for astilbe – These plants give season long interest and color in a shade garden.
- 15 Mosquito repelling plants – Keep bugs away naturally by growing these perennials and annuals.
- 20 Perennial plants for a Shade Garden – These plants don’t like the sun.
- Biltmore Garden Tour – This amazing historical house in North Carolina has the most incredible perennial gardens and greenhouses.
- Composting Tips – Use these ideas for creating natural humus for your perennials.
- Controlling Monkey Grass – Tips for keeping on top of invasive liriope.
- Deadheading Daylilies – Normally, this task that most gardeners don’t like, but with daylilies, the job is easy!
- Early Spring Garden Projects – Get your plants in shape for summer with these gardening tips.
- Fall Blooming Perennials and Annuals. What to plant in autumn for color.
- Fall Gardening Checklist – Find out what to do to put your garden to bed for the winter.
- Fresh Herbs – Are yours annuals, biennials or perennials?
- Forsythia Bushes – Tips for planting, moving, pruning and forcing forsythia.
- Forsythia Hedges – Learn how to space, plant and trim a forsythia hedge.
- Horticultural Vinegar Weed Killer – Keep perennials weed free with this effective home made weed killer.
- Hydrangea Color Change – How to turn the blooms from pink to blue. What really works?
- Moving Forsythia – How to transplant Forsythia bushes that have overgrown their spots in the garden.
- Perennials and Vegetables in one Garden Bed – We don’t always have to keep them separate!
- Orange Perennials – The best ones for easy care.
- Planting Forsythia – When to plant, and tips for rooting and transplanting this pretty shrub.
- Pruning Rosemary – Tips to keep this perennial herb under control
- Pruning Forsythia – How and when to trim forsythia bushes
- Renovation Pruning vs Hard Pruning – When normal pruning won’t do the job.
- The White Gardens of Raleigh – Plant one color for maximum impact.
- Tips for Pruning Hellebores – Maintaining Lenten rose plants
- Tulips – Tips for growing these spring flowering bulbs.
- Visiting the Raleigh Botanical Gardens – Perennials and bulbs galore in this garden tour.
- Winter Flowering Plants – Grow these for a pop of color in the winter months.
- Yellow Perennials – Plant these for a blast of color every year.
- When to prune hydrangeas – Old wood, or new wood? It matters!
- White Bugs on Plants – Find out how to identify and treat mealybugs.
Tips for the Propagation of Perennials.
- 10 Frugal Seed Starting Containers – Household items can be used to start the seeds of perennial plants.
- 20 Seed Starting Tips – Many perennials can be started with seeds.
- Forcing Forsythia Indoors – Bring the cheery yellow color inside while there is still snow on the ground.
- How to transplant monkey grass to get more plants for your garden.
- Plant Propagation Tips – Division, Cuttings, Offsets and other techniques give you plants for free.
- Propagating Hydrangeas – Tutorial showing cuttings, tip rooting, air layering and division techniques for hydrangea plants.
- Succulent Propagation Tips – Be sure to dry the cuttings before trying to root them.
- Starting Seeds indoors with Peat Pellets – Get a head start on Spring.
Growing Perennials in Containers.
- Bicycles in the Garden – Try using a bicycle as a creative garden planter.
- Cement Blocks Raised Garden Beds – Recycle some old materials and create a great looking perennial planter.
- Creative Planter Ideas – Perennials can grow in pots, too!
- Unique Garden Planters – Using household items can work as containers for your perennials.
- Wheelbarrow planters – Wheelbarrows have lots of room for the roots of perennial plants and work great as planters.
If you are looking for more information on growing perennials, be sure to visit my Perennials Pinterest Board.
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