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Mastering Perennials: Tips for a Thriving, Returning Garden
If you're shopping for Saint Joseph homes for sale, you've no doubt noticed some homes because of the vibrant plantings out front. These eye-popping, colorful banks of flowers are likely created from a palette of annual or perennial plants. Do you know the difference, and do you know why it's a good idea to plant perennials once you acquire a home?
Let's explore the difference and some advice from our real estate agents on why perennials might be worth getting to know better.
What's the Difference?
Most homeowners go for a mixture of annuals and perennials. As the name suggests, annuals grow, bloom, and die in one growing season, so they must be replaced every year. In general, extensive planting of colorful Pansies, Begonias, Marigolds, Petunias, Cosmos, and Dianthus will flower spectacularly for a particular season (some annuals do their thing in the spring, while others mayflower a bit later or in the fall) and then fade. But while you have them, you can enjoy a big burst of color, and, unfortunately, plan to replant them next year.
Perennials, on the other hand, come back every year. You do the hard work when you plant them, but if all goes well, they should return next spring to bloom again. That is, if they're planted in the right location for soil and sunlight, appropriate for our climate; and if they're watered appropriately and fertilized as needed. Not only do you save money by not having to purchase more annuals for your garden palette, but you can watch your perennials come up while you concentrate on other garden tasks.
Additional Benefits of Perennials
Besides reducing the cost and expended effort of replacing plants every year, you will also be contributing to a healthier environment, particularly if you choose native perennials. Some of the best natives for our area include Bergamot, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Prairie Blazing Star, Coneflower, Milkweed, Prairie Dropseed, Wild Geranium, Great Blue Lobelia, Black-Eyed Susan, and many others favored by bees and butterflies.
Another benefit of perennials is that you can plan your plantings so that you have color most of the growing season. Plant spring-blooming perennials to begin the show as the temperatures warm, then follow up as the season progresses with later spring and summer-blooming flowers, then follow with fall bloomers. By following this regimen, you'll have a colorful show all during the growing season, with only minimal effort.
Further, many perennials have leaves or seedpods that offer additional interest in the post-blooming season.
Planting Perennials
- Determine what perennials are right for your climate by talking to nursery professionals or your Agricultural Extension office or by consulting sources online.
- Plant perennials in the spring or fall when the weather is cooler and there is more rain. This helps plants develop deeper roots.
- Prepare the soil by loosening it with a fork, and if it is heavy clay soil, add compost or manure.
- Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and as deep.
- Carefully remove the plant from the pot, then place it in the hole, with the top of the root ball level or a bit below the soil surface. Gently spread bound roots apart.
- Backfill the hole with the excavated dirt. Water and mulch.
Need pointers on buying or selling a home? Contact us today.
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