Plant and cut perennials

Gardeners bring color to the bed with perennials. If they cut the perennials and care for them properly, then they will enjoy the bloomers for many years.

The term “perennial” is understood by the professionals as species that remain loyal to the garden for a long time, in contrast to the annual flowers of the year. They form leaves, stems and flowers over the course of the season. The above-ground parts usually die over the winter. The roots sprout again in spring and the cycle begins again.

Perennials come in a wide variety of growth forms, colors, heights and structures. They are suitable for every type of garden, reward the gardener with a sea of ​​flowers and can be combined excellently with other plants: for example, mix roses, shrubs or short-lived summer flowers with the perennials. You will see that the full splendor of the perennials only shows up when a larger perennial bed is created.

You will have the greatest success and the least work if you design your perennial garden in such a way that it adapts well to the surroundings and contains plants that naturally fit well in the respective location. With the following combinations you can bring the blossom magic directly into your garden. The combinations complement each other in color, height and flowering time.

Hydrangeas enrich the garden in many colors.

Photo: aquaphoto / Fotolia.de

Classic perennial combinations for the bed

plants	Flower color	Height	Heyday	Flower shapes
Delphinium and summer marguerite	blue, white-white	120-16060-100	June-JulyJune-August	small single flowers large single flowers
Sun bride and sun hat	copper gold yellow	80-12060-80	July-SeptemberJuly-September	Cup-sized flower heads
Phlox and Spurge	light pink, white carmine red	10060-80	July-AugustJune-September	A lot of tiny flowers
Splendor chart and Bergaster	violet pink, lilac	60-8040-60	July-September August-September	small single flower-sized flower heads
Bearded Iris and Little Perennial	white, light blue gentian blue	80-10040	JuneJune-July	Flowers with thorn leaves
Fine jet aster and gypsophila	violet blue pink	60-8040	June-August July-September	medium-sized single tiny flowers
Sun hat and pillow aster	golden yellow blue	60-8030-40	July-September August-September	large flower heads small single flowers
Yarrow and sage	golden yellow blue	8050	June-SeptemberJune-September	Flower umbels
Sun Eye and Phox	golden yellow-white	100-12080	July-October July-August	Daisy flower balls

Plant perennials

Spring and autumn are the best times to plant perennials. In order for the plants to grow well in the soil, it is important that you prepare the soil for them. To do this, dig around the ground about 25 centimeters deep with a digging fork and remove all weeds from the roots. With a spade, you would chop the weeds and promote their multiplication. If you incorporate compost or manure in the loosening work, you create the perfect basis for neat perennials.

Water perennials

Most bed perennials thrive on well-worked soil and only need watering occasionally. Young plants need a lot of moisture. During long periods of drought, give the plants water once a week, but thoroughly. It is most effective if you water in the early evening or in the morning and direct the water directly to the roots. The plants immediately absorb the water at this time before it evaporates. By the way: magnificent perennials love rainwater from the barrel or the cistern.

In autumn, cover the bed with compost.

Photo: fotolia / Kokhanchikov

Fertilize perennials

Cover the bed with a two centimeter thick compost layer every autumn. In addition, work full fertilizer in the ground in spring. After the first frost, cut off the dead parts close to the ground. Caution: fertilizer must never come into contact with leaves, flowers and stems, otherwise there will be burns.

The right cultivation of the soil

Bedding plants need a loose soil for good growth. Rake it regularly, but only superficially with a shallow rake or a triple tooth, otherwise you will hurt the roots. Mulching is an alternative to chopping repeatedly. Organic layers of mulch suppress weeds, keep the soil moist and improve the soil structure as they gradually become part of the soil. Spread chopped pruning, compost, bark humus or grass clippings on the bed. Mulch foils made of paper or geotextiles let the water through and also suppress weeds. The ideal time to mulch is in spring or summer with damp soil.

Bedding plants need a loose soil for good growth. Rake it regularly.

Photo: iStock / lostinbids

Properly support perennials

Set up the perennial holders as early as possible - not only when the perennials may have already fallen apart. Use sticks that are about two-thirds as tall as the plant will later, and put them near the stem base. Use growing plastic rings that are stuck into the ground, or natural materials - bamboo sticks and brushwood. Many clump-forming perennials do not need supports - these include columbine, silver candle, daylilies, cranesbill, clove root and coneflower.

Cut perennials

If you remove the main shoots while they are fading, the plant will dodge by intensely forming side buds. Some early flowering perennials bloom a second time in late summer - cut back to just above the ground after the first bloom. For most perennials, it makes sense and is decorative to leave the dry leaves and seed heads in place, as the autumn leaves protect the roots.

Hibernate perennials

Perennials sensitive to moisture are covered with perforated film. Pack those at risk of frost in leaves or straw. Wintergreen need evaporation protection from spruce twigs. Perennials that bloom less are best replaced with young, vigorous ones after three to four years, while others can grow abundantly for up to 30 years. Most shrubs defy the frost by dying in the fall. The base and roots overwinter in the soil until the next spring comes.

Pack frost-sensitive perennials in leaves or straw in winter.

/ Photographee.eu

Perennial propagation

Sharing is the best way to keep plants healthy and multiply. Most growth-friendly perennials are shared every four to five years. The best time to do this is September or spring, when the weather is mild and humid enough to allow for good growth. Only the healthiest subplants are replanted.

Dividing and moving perennials

Loose root system: Use the digging fork to get the plant out of the ground - ideally in early spring before leafing or in autumn. Gently shake the soil off and pluck the root ball into pieces by hand.

Compact root system: Prick the rootstock with a spade in spring. Divide it first in the middle, then again into fist-sized pieces. Each of these must have at least one shoot bud and enough roots.

Use split perennials: Dig a hole for each perennial. Shorten too long or damaged roots with a knife. Then put the perennial in the plant hole and fill it up with soil. Press firmly with your hands, water the plant well.

Ornamental grasses

Ornamental grasses are also perennials: herbaceous plants that are winter-proof. In autumn they enchant with their graceful appearance, their gently swaying leaves and stalks and their structure. It is more noticeable than in summer, because in this season the view is no longer distracted so much by color-intensive flowers.

Grasses are suitable for contrasting and colorful compositions in the bed.

Photo: BGL

Winter decorations in the garden

Because the main flowering period of the grass is over in winter, other properties of the plants become more apparent and offer new sensual experiences and impressions. The Australian lamp cleaner or feather bristle grass, for example, has very ornamental, plush, soft-looking inflorescences that are indeed reminiscent of bottle cleaners. The garden sandpipe 'Overdam' develops over a meter long flower stalks and with its striking, fine leaves that have white stripes, is a special gem in the garden. Initially, these stripes are yellow on the leaf margins and then fade to white. The elegantly overhanging leaves of the approximately 1.7 meter high zebra grass have particularly striking yellow stripes because they run across.

Care of the ornamental grasses

In order to be able to enjoy the silent beauty of the grasses even in winter, when snow or hoarfrost turns them into fascinating sculptures, it is advisable not to cut them back until April. Pruning in spring also has the advantage that leaves and inflorescences still protect the plants from the winter cold. In addition, the local wildlife benefits from this because the grasses that have not been cut back provide protection and food for birds in winter, for example.