Hints on Growing Perennials Successfully
- Use liquid fertilizers rather than slow release or granular. Remember, perennials don't like a lot of fertilizer to begin with.
- Do not over water.
- Have a well-drained soil area.
- Divide every three years or when needed.
- Cut for fuller growth.
- Plant in proper conditions required by the plant (in sun for sun-loving, etc).
- Plant only perennials for your zone.
- Remember that some perennials only bloom in the spring and summer or in the fall, yet some bloom in all three seasons.
- The same perennial in the south will not be as vivid as in the north.
- Plant in the fall for a great spring performance.
- If it blooms in the spring, divide in the fall. If it blooms in the fall, divide in the spring.
- Prepare your initial bed with as much organic material as possible - plants do not like to be disturbed while growing. A little surface weed cultivation is OK.
- Dead-head as you would annuals.
- Prepare for winter months with good layer of mulch. No more than three inches. In the northern zones, the snow is a good insulation barrier. For the southern zones, if more severe weather is predicted use more mulch and perhaps even a covering of pine straw.