Once upon a time perennials were very prominent in Texas landscapes. Over the years the interest shifted to the big bang impact of colorful annuals that bloom non-stop through the season. Recently there has been a renewed interest in perennials with our seasons getting harsher and the price of annuals increasing. The idea of a low maintenance flowering plant that comes back each year is appealing. While it’s true that most perennials can tolerate poor growing conditions and dry spells and are a wonderful addition to the landscape, you must know what to expect. Many people think that they are a ‘plant it and forget it’ type of plant. While they do require less water and maintenance than annuals, there are some things you should know about them before deciding to switch your beds completely to perennial plantings.
Perennials need plenty of room to grow. Most of these multiply over the years and will start to crowd out anything planted too closely to them. They can be divided into smaller plants in the fall to help control that and this occasional thinning will also help them to maintain their vigor longer. You can also shear them one third to halfway back mid-season to help keep them more dense, not so leggy and encourage late season blooming.
Although they will come back each year, they do not live forever. The life span of a perennial plant is 3-15 years. Even when planting new plants, you can expect a loss of about 10% on perennials and uneven growth until well established. Keep in mind that the majority of these will go dormant in the wintertime with the above ground part of the plant dying back in the winter leaving bare spots in your beds in the cold months. You may also notice that you must add plants to fill in bare spots each year as sometimes they just do not come back at all.
Don’t expect immediate flower gratification. For the first one to two years (sometimes more) perennials focus their energy on establishing a strong root system and healthy foliage which means you probably won’t see many flowers until after the second or third year of planting. They also do not bloom as long as annuals do, most bloom for about 2-3 weeks. If you deadhead the spent blooms, you might get a bit more flowers out of them. If your goal is to have season long color, choose several perennials that bloom at different times so there will always be something in your garden blooming. It is hard to beat a bed full of different colorful perennials thriving! Many perennials have beautiful foliage and are attractive even when not in bloom.
Shelly Ryan is a degreed horticulturist who joined Smith Lawn and Tree as an Account Manager in early 2016, returning in mid-2021 after a two-year hiatus as an artist on the Gulf Coast. Her artistic eye for creativity, balance, and color enriches her landscape work, where she excels in seasonal color design and container arrangements. With extensive experience at golf courses and country clubs across the DFW area, Shelly has developed a strong attention to detail. She believes effective communication is essential to building lasting client relationships, which she has thoroughly enjoyed fostering over her years at Smith.
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