Hey gardener!
The greenhouse is starting to bloom! This weekend, we opened our treelot, perennials, and annuals departments. While we don’t recommend planting until after the last frost in Calgary (end of May), you can still come by for inspiration, advice, and even a plant that you keep watered indoors.
Today, we’re talking perennials. They’re really neat plants and by far Colin’s fav plant group! Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to have seen some incredible perennial gardens while chatting with our customers. You can do incredible things with perennials.
So what is a perennial plant? Is that the one that comes back every year? When can I plant them outside? How do I choose the right plants? What supplies to ensure I’m successful? Perennials are plants that live for two or more years and are cold-hardy. Calgary dances around the hardiness zone of 3. Some areas will see variations based on surrounding environmental factors. While trees and shrubs are also perennials, their woody stems place them in a different category of perennial from our typical “perennial plants”. See our PowerPoint presentation (linked below) for a perennial lifecycle diagram.
Shopping for a Perennial
- Choosing a perennial, consider:
- Consider sun exposure:
- Sun-loving: Echinacea, Daylily, Black-Eyed Susan, Delphinium, Sedum, Columbine, Peony
- Shade-loving: Hosta, Astilbe, Ferns, Woodruff, Lily of the Valley, Solomons Seal, Goats Beard
- Consider mature plant height and spread. Plan ahead!
- Consider bloom times. Spread it out for beautiful blooms all growing season!
- Early Spring: Bleeding Heart, Iris, Woodruff, Lily of the Valley, Peony, Brunnera
- Late Spring/ Early Summer: Echinacea, Daylily, Hosta, Shasta Daisy, Clematis
- Late Summer/Autumn: Sedum, Heuchera, Golden Rod, Turtlehead
- Our new Plant Finder website is available to help you make decisions on finding compatible plants for your garden. It’s easy to use and mobile-friendly.
- Consider sun exposure:
Planting a Perennial
- Where:
- Beware of factors like pathways, gates, trees, bulbs, etc. Consider how big a mature perennial will get and plan ahead.
- *Not advisable to plant perennials in planters, containers, or raised planters.*
- Process:
- Loosen the soil and add amendments like compost, worm castings, etc to the first 2″ – 4″
- Dig hole slightly bigger than pot
- Gently remove perennial from growing pot and place in the hole at ground level.
- Backfill with soil
- Water heavily to saturate the soil.
Caring for a Perennial
- Deadheading
- Remove individual blooms or entire stems to send energy into new blooms.(Diagram in PowerPoint)
- Careful not to remove new buds – easy mistake!
- Watering
- New Plants:
- Water every day for two weeks before tapering off to water as needed.
- Any plant that’s been transplanted, even an established one, should be treated as a “New Plant”.
- Established Perennials:
- Water as needed. The plant will give you signs (drooping leaves).
- Water more during blooming cycles.
- Water even as the plant transitions into dormancy.
- New Plants:
- Fertilizing
- New Plants: Fertilizer helps new plants establish quicker.
- Established Plants: Fertilizer keeps established plants healthy, stronger blooms for longer, and able to withstand the winter
- *Follow manufacturer instructions*
The more detailed encore presentation hosted by Colin Hayles is now available to view on our YouTube channel.
If you’d like a copy of Colin’s PowerPoint, click here: Perennials I Webinar 2022
UPCOMING FREE WEBINARS:
Apr 23, 2022: Perennials Webinar – What they are including division and transplant techniques <<< Register Now
May 7, 2022: Trees Webinar – spring tree care and how to select trees that will suit your garden <<< Register Now
Registration for all of our free Saturday Spring Webinars