Perennials Tips
Perennials may persist for several years in your garden making gardening easier and by providing reliable blooms.
Here are some quick tips for perennial success:
- Knowing your USDA Hardiness Zone helps you find which perennials work in your area. We are located in Reedsburg, Wisconsin which is in the 5a hardiness zone. The USDA Hardiness Zones track your average coldest temperatures and rate perennials’ cold hardiness using the same system.
- Plan for prolonged blooming in your garden by choosing perennials that bloom at different times. Keep notes on when to expect blooms—this helps a lot when you are deciding where to transplant seedlings. Tip: Removing spent flowers (deadheading) tells flowers to produce new blooms.
- Starting perennials early and indoors can lead to first-year blooms. Slower to bloom, an early start can make a big difference for perennials! Most need to be started indoors 6 to 12 weeks before your average last frost date.
- Planting in odd numbers is a common design technique. Unless you are planting en masse or creating a wildflower-area feel, a technique often preferred by professional landscape designers is to place odd numbers of the same plant in clusters or throughout the landscape.
