You Will Love These Perennials

Gardeners seem to love perennials for their ability to come back after a cold winter, or other disagreeable weather. However, these plants do need a little special care before they are ready to make it through those days of cold and freezing temperatures. This care involves a covering of leaves around the ground level to protect the roots.

The best are usually determined by the area in which you live. Here in Northern Indiana, some that do well are as follows:

Hostas: Hostas are popular and hardy perennials, wanted especially for their beautiful foliage. They are easy to grow, and are shade-tolerant plants. The leaves come in a wide range of shapes, colors, sizes and textures. They may be solid in color or varigated in combinations of blue, green, white and gold. Hostas require little maintenance, and are available in nurseries and garden centers. Catalogs offer large selections of hosta plants, with more than 2,500 different cultivars on the market. All hostas bloom in summer with spikes of lavender to white, lily-like flowers, which may be quite showy. All fragrant hosta flowers are hybridized from Hosta plantaginea, which has six-inch long, white fragrant flowers.

The blue-leafed hostas require shade. The gold, yellow and white-leafed hostas can tolerate more sun. Fragrant hostas grow best with 5-6 hours of daily sun. A few examples of sun-tolerant hostas are Hosta plantaginea, 'August Moon, Fragrant Bouquet',Guacamole' and Fried Green.

Lilacs:
Lilacs are considered as beautiful and aromatic as roses. Lilacs' scent carries quite a distance. The one down side for the lilacs is they only bloom for a couple of weeks. Lilacs in the United States date back to the 1750's. Rochester, N.Y. is the Lilac Capital of the World. I recall when I grew up on the farm here in Indiana, we had lilacs reaching from the house to the barn, and some on another side of the house. To walk outside in early
morning,one was meant by a beautiful essence They are easy to grow and can last for years. On August 18, 2006, New York State Governor George Pataki proclaimed the Lilac as the State bush. We tried to start a lilac here in our new home last year, but it didn't make it. We will try again.

Dayliles:
There is a wide variety of daylilies to choose from. Five of the best modern daylilies are as follows:
The Funny Valentine Daylily is a brilliant lighter fushia. The Cherry Candy Daylily is a beautiful pink with a darker red center. Blackthorne Daylily has a pale kind of purple wide petals, with a dark maroon center. Alabama Jubilee Daylilly is all a bright kind of wild pink - just gorgious. There is one with rather small blooms in bright yellow.

Daylilies are one of the easiest of perennials to grow and care for. They can last a lifetime if transplanted every five to eight years with good general garden care. These daylilies do best in full sun. They will tolerate part-shade but must have a minimum of six hours of direct sun per day. Light blooms, yellow, pink and delicate pastels need full sun to bring out their lovely colorings. The red, purple and darker blooms will do well in partial shade.
When your daylilies arrive, or even when picked up, if they look very small and dried out, place the roots in a weak solution of fertilizer water using something like Rapid Grow, Peters, Watch Us Grow, or Upstart. Leave them in the water between 2 and 4 hours, and then plant as soon as possible. Do not plant daylilies closer than 18 to 24 inches apart, as they multiply rapidly and need the room.

After you have prepared the soil, dig a hole that is larger than the plant's root mass. Make a mound of soil in the center of the hole and place the plant roots over the mound. Next, fill the hole (where the foliage and roots meet) until it is even with the soil surface (Do not plant too deep). Firm the soil around the plant and water thoroughly. Water again when the surface of the soil is drying. One to two inches of some type of mulch, pine needles, shredded bark or compost, this will help hold moisture and help control weeds until daylilies are established.
Daylilies are great for landscaping, and are also used as wedding flowers, in boupuets, or as part of a flower arrangement inside the home. If you follow the daylilies planting and care instructions, within a month, you will have a flower garden full of beautiful blooms in bright colors.

Peony:
I do not believe that any perennials give greater satisfaction than peonies in full bloom. Peonies grow best in cool climates, as they will bloom well only if they experience a definite period of winter chilling. Peonies should be planted in the early fall (early September until mid-October are ideal), so they will have time to get established in the soil before winter. The mature peonies will reach a diameter of three feet or more, so it is important to give them enough room to grow and develop. The hole for planting should be at least 18 inches deep and about 18 inches in diameter. As with most perennials, add a four-inch layer of organic matter such as compost, pine bark or well-aged manure.. Fill the hole half way with a mix of garden soil and compost, and set the root division in place with the eyes facing upward. Peonies should be fed in early spring and again half way through the growing season. You can cultivate a half cup of a low nitrogen fertilizer (5-10-10) into the soil when the stems become about two to three inches high. Be careful not to damaage the roots, keep the fertilizer from touching them.

Peonies should not be divided or transplanted unless absolutely necessary. A productive, well established plant may not need dividing for ten to fifteen years. The flowers of Peonies are so large and so beautiful. I have always had them in my gardens. They come in dark red, pink, and even white, which is so lovely and pristine.

Roses: Roses are one of the easiest flowering plants to grow. When I lived in New Mexico, I had a rose garden in one corner of my yard. We had red, pink, yellow, lavender and one white rose bush. I watered the roses almost every day, as that is what they love and need. Roses also love food and light. Of course, the climate is quite dry there in the desert. My husband helped care for the rose garden also, so we had a beautiful yard, also with a Desert Willow tree in the center. This tree bloomed with a kind of trumpet flower in light pink to a darker pink inside the trumpet. Now we have one rose bush that doesn't bloom, but we are planning more roses for our home here.

Creeping Phlox: This is a great cover for a shady wooded area. Creeping Phlox gives dark green oblong leaves with fragrant flowers in several colors including white, pink, purple, blue and rose. The foliage of the moss phlox is fine cut, needlelike foliage that stays close to the ground
.
The creeping phlox tends to grow in a dense mat that looks spectacular as a natural edging for beds and borders. Following a year or two of growing, the creeping phlox can begin to appear in need of some special care. To perk up the plants, old, dead stems should be removed, and an inch can be trimmed off the top of the entire plant. Also, cut back the longest outside stems by about half. If this trimming is done after the blooms have faded, the creeping phlox will have bushier growth through the summer and more flowering the next year.
Creeping phlox is often named by color only; it can be "Scarlet Flame," "Sapphire Blue," or true blue, "Emerald Blue." or a lavender blue, "Cany Stripe," - pale pink flowers with bright pink stripes throuh the center, and "White Delight,' white blooming moss phlox plant.

We have had some creeping phlox on a slight bank intertwined with small rocks. It made a beautiful landscape mark.

Coral Bells (Heuchera micrantha 'Palace purple'):
Coral Bells are mound-shaped plants that reach to about 12-18 inches. The blooms are a cluster of bell-like flowers, that repeat blooming during summer if the old spent flowers are removed and plants are well watered. Coral bells like rich, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade, depending on vaariety. Coral bells are moderate feeders and thrive with light applications of an all purpose fertilizer.

The coral bells work well for borders; their beautiful foliage is striking. You can also group a few together for more impact. Coral bells change foliage color during the different seasons. The most vivid colors happen in spring and late fall.

This is one perennial I have never experienced, but must look into them this year. It is said that butterflies and hummingbirds love them. I have what is called a Butterfly Bush, and I'm wondering if it is related to the coral bells.

Chasmanthium (Wild Oats):This plant is native to eastern North America, and will thrive in sun or in shade. If it is grown in slightly dampish shade, the grass will turn a dark green. Chasmanthium is a beautiful plant through all four seasons. The drooping flower stalks that appear in summer are what makes this plant so lovely and popular. The tall grass-like stalks are also beautiful.

Macleaya Condata (Plume Poppy) This plant is originally from China and Japan. It is extremely large, and grows to eight feet. Many growers are amazed when they first try one of these. The small petite plants soon grow to be huge, and shoot out the long tubers and runners and can spread tremendously. They can be controled by not letting them seed so that they cannot multiply. Some people like them, and some do not. The foliage is beautiful and unique. Some comments frrom those who have them in gardens:

Plume poppy grows well in our area next to a shaded gate, next to a giant black walnut tree.
The foliage is simply adorable, the leaf shapes render material for many craft projects.
It appears to enjoy frequent watering, but in our gardens tolerates drought well. It is adored in our gardens and I cannot wait until it begins to multiply. Some call it 'the curse of the Plume Poppy.'

Four O'clocks, Moon Flowers, etc.: Then, of course, there are the night bloomers, like the four-o'clocks and Moon Flowers. There are others, but I will talk about the four o'clocks, since I used to have many, especially just outside my bedroom window. The four o'clocks exude a definitely lovely essence, and when the breeze is right, you can enjoy that through an open window. They are also easy to care for, and grow well if watered and fed appropriately, or as suggested by your source for them. Moon flowers will flourish with the same care.

Perennials are so easy to keep your yard aglow most of the year. Many do not need a lot of care and are easy to maintain. The work comes when you plant them, divide them, or prepare them for winter. When they are established in your garden, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Sources:

http://www.gardeners.com/growing-perennials/5073.default.pg.html http:/www.thegardenhelper.com/peony.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/daylilies-planting.html
http://www.springvalleyroses.com/learn/growingroses.html
http://www.gardenersnet.com/lilac.htm
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1ooo/1239.html
http://www.djroger.com/coral_bells.htm
http://nga-gardenshop.stores.yahoo.net/coralbell.html
http://perennial-plants101.com/article.cfm/how_to_grow_creeping_phlox_plant_profile
http://home.howstuffworks.com/plume-poppy.htm
http:www.growit.com/bin/knowart.exe?myknow=276