All About Growing Perennial Plants

My Garden Life
November 1, 2019
Table of Contents
What are perennial plants and why should you grow them in pots or your garden?
  • Less Work in the FuturePerennials come back every year, reducing how much you plant each spring. They also need minimal maintenance once they’re established.
  • Great InvestmentThey increase a home’s value and curb appeal.
  • Year-round BeautyThey re-sprout in spring, but each perennial plant has its own bloom time. Choose an assortment of different varieties to enjoy ever-changing beauty through the seasons.

Choosing Perennials

find the right plant for your landscape or pots

A perennial plant will return and grow year after year. Use these lists of perennials to find shade plants, flowers, groundcover or drought-tolerant plants that you can enjoy for many years.

Know Your Plants - Annual vs. Perennial, beautiful border with annual and perennial flowers Choosing Perennials for a Bloom Filled Summer, beautiful Platycodon flower, Balloon flower
Know Your Plants – Annual vs. Perennial
Learn the differences between annual and perennial plants and how to decide which type of plant is best for your gardening needs.
Choosing Perennials for a Bloom-filled Summer
Choose a mix of perennial plants that begin blooming at different times for a continuous vibrant display all season long.
10 Perennial Shade Plants with Fabulous Foliage Five Extra-long-blooming Perennials
10 Perennial Shade Plants with Fabulous Foliage
Leaf shapes, textures and colors can transform shady spaces just as much as flowers. Read on to learn about 10 perennial shade-loving plants with great-looking leaves.
Five Extra-Long-Blooming Perennials
Discover five perennial plants that bloom over an exceptionally long season. Better yet, they’ll return to provide a reliable source of color and beauty year after year.
Perennial Ice plant in pot_Delosperma Flowering Perennial Plants_Achillea and Veronica
Container Plants That Come Back Every Year
Decorate your deck, patio or doorstep! Use these low-maintenance perennial plants to create colorful, carefree planters.
5 Flowering Plants for Hot, Dry Climates
Learn about perennials that thrive in hot, dry conditions so you can create a low-maintenance garden.
Get to Know Peonies, photo of beautiful pink peonies Beautiful spring garden with iris, iberis, and other spring blooming perennial plants
Get to Know Peonies
Learn all about growing peony plants and how to feature them in your garden
Top 5 Flowering Spring Perennials
Looking for the perfect plant? Here are some options that consistently get high marks for beauty, adaptability and all-around ease of growing.
Top 5 Hardy Succulents, photo of creeping sedum Top 5 Well-behaved Perennial Groundcovers, photo of lamb's ear plant
Top 5 Hardy Succulents
These drought-resistant plants are stunningly beautiful and nearly indestructible.
Top 5 Well-behaved Perennial Groundcovers
If you have a lot of landscape to cover and are looking for a low-maintenance, inexpensive way to do it, then look for perennial groundcover plants.

Caring for Perennials

tips and uses

Here’s how to care for your perennial plants and keep them looking their best, as well as some design ideas.

Time Saving Tip: Mulch, photo of newly mulched flowers 5 Alternatives to a traditional lawn, photo of house with meadow instead of lawn
Time Saving Tip: Mulch
Mulch is more than an attractive finishing touch in a garden. Adding mulch to the garden is a time-saving, water-saving, weed-minimizing, and soil-improving step that is worth the effort.
5 Alternatives to a Traditional Lawn
For reasons of aesthetics, expense, or the desire to live in a more eco-friendly way, homeowners are ditching their traditional turf lawns and turning to alternatives. This article lays out five of the most popular.
When and How to Divide Iris Dividing Perennials, photo of hands
When and How to Divide Iris
Iris plants should be divided 6 weeks before the first hard frost every 3-5 years. Follow these steps.
Dividing Perennials
Energize your perennials and gain more of them by following these simple guidelines for dividing your plants.
How to Stop Soil Erosion, photo of hillside eroding away What to Do When You Can't Plant Right Away, photo of plants in nursery pots
How to Stop Soil Erosion
Topsoil being carried away by rainfall can be a serious problem. Here are ways to control erosion.
What to Do When You Can’t Plant Right Away
What happens when you get home and can’t put those plants in the ground right away? This article explores your options.

How to Create a Shady Retreat Garden
Learn about different kinds of soils for the garden.
How to Create a Shady Retreat Garden
A shady space in your yard can be the perfect location for a cooling, calming getaway spot.
The Dirt on Garden Soil
The choice of many planting soils at your local garden center can be daunting. This article will help you figure out what sort of soil you need.

Plant Perennials in Spring or Fall

four easy steps to planting

Planting perennials pays off because you get years of enjoyment from them. Start a long-lasting garden by following four simple steps.
How to Plant a Perennial


List of 12 Popular Perennials Everyone Can Grow

easy-to-grow selections with long bloom seasons

These are some of the best perennial plants to grow because they offer lots of colors and don’t need much maintenance.

1. Asiatic Lilies
Lilium hybrids
Asiatic lilies are perfect for planting among other plants for a burst of color. Be sure to plant extra for bouquets.
Asiatic Lilies in multiple colors
2. Hellebore, Lenten Rose
Helleborus species
The elegant, late winter to mid-spring flowers of hellebore are beautiful in shady borders and woodland gardens.
Hellebore, Lenten Rose
3. Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
Black-eyed Susan is a hardy North American native plant capable of thriving in just about any sunny location.
Rudbeckia fulgida, Black-eyed Susan
4. Foamflower
Tiarella hybrid
Tiarella are native to the woodlands of North America and a perfect choice for shady spaces. They’re a great choice for waterside gardens.
Tiarella hybrid
5. Russian Sage
Perovskia atriplicifolia
This bushy perennial makes a striking companion to plants with gold hues or small ornamental grasses.
Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian Sage
6. Heuchera, Coral Bells
Heuchera hybrids
Heuchera plants are a great way to express creativity through leaf color and texture. Their airy flowers add a blush of color in summer.
Heuchera, Coral Bells
7. Hakone Grass, Japanese Forest Grass
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
Mix hakone grass with other shade-loving foliage plants to create interesting textural contrast in low-light areas.
Hakonechloa macra, Hakone Grass, Japanese Forest Grass
8. Sedum, Stonecrop
Sedum spectabile
Sedum’s scalloped edged-leaves look great throughout the season. In fall, they have tight clusters of starry flowers.
Sedum spectabile, Stonecrop
9. Threadleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis verticillata
This is the longest blooming Coreopsis available. Their yellow daisies and lacy leaves add a soft, delicate touch to the garden.
Coreopsis verticillata, Threadleaf Coreopsis
10. Hosta
Hosta hybrids
Hosta is a go-to plant for shade. With thousands of hostas available, you can find more than one with the plant size and leaf color you’d like.
Hosta garden
11. Daylily
Hemerocallis hybrids
There are over 50,000 registered daylily varieties. Choosing a mix of daylilies with different colors and bloom times will assure a colorful garden for months.
Hemerocallis hybrids, Daylily
12. Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Coneflowers are tough, self-reliant plants that attract butterflies. Plus, they last a long time as cut flowers in a vase.
Echinacea purpurea, Coneflower

Follow us on Pinterest to keep getting more great ideas and tips using perennial plants.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

All About Growing Succulents

All About Growing Succulents

We’ve gathered our most helpful care tips and inspiring project ideas for growing succulent plants, whether it’s as a potted houseplant or displayed outside. A list of 10 popular succulents is also included.
All About Growing Cactus

All About Growing Cactus

We’ve gathered our most helpful care tips and inspiring project ideas for growing cactus plants, whether it’s as a potted houseplant or displayed outside. A list of eight popular cacti is also included.
Know Your Plants – Annual vs. Perennial

Know Your Plants – Annual vs. Perennial

Learn the differences between annual and perennial plants and how to decide which type of plant is best for your gardening needs.

Related Posts

All About Growing Succulents

All About Growing Succulents

Know Your Plants – Annual vs. Perennial

Know Your Plants – Annual vs. Perennial

All About Growing Cactus

All About Growing Cactus

frost map with dates

Frost Map with Dates

USDA zone finder with zip code search and maps

USDA Zone Finder

plant library

Plant Library

Save plants to your personal library

Join My Garden Club to access more features

Already a member?
Log in now

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share this post with your friends!