A small secret about perennials

by Doug
(Somewhere in his garden)

It's one of those secrets nurseries don't willingly share with customers but I"m here to deliver the bad news.

Plants die.

Ah yes, plants die all the time in my garden and I know/expect this to happen so it's an acceptable fact of life.

Beginner gardeners expect that a "perennial" means forever. Plant it and it lives forever and ever amen.

Nope.

There are "tender perennials" that live maybe for one winter or maybe not at all.

There are short-lived perennials that might make 2-3 years.

There are biennials that grow leaves in the first year, flower the second and then die. Often, but not always, setting copious amounts of seed. But often sold as "perennial".

There are plants that might take a few years to flower and then die once they've flowered. Or dying in the center leaving a crop of surrounding baby plants.

There are medium lived perennials that might go 5 years or so give or take a few years before fading away over a winter.

And then there are bone-hardy perennials that live for many years, slowly expanding and providing reliable shows of blooms year after year.


So where's this all coming from - why this note now?

All these plants are normally sold on the "perennial" benches with no tags indicating what kind of longevity is expected. I visited a nursery this summer with Liriope (zone 6) perennials in bloom in the perennials section (we live in a USDA 4 maybe stretching into 5 in warmer areas) So the poor gardener that pays 10 bucks for this "perennial" is likely SOL next spring.

No warning labels about tenderness. Nothing but the plant in bloom with a name tag (albeit with the zone in very small print on the back that even I had to squint to find knowing it might be there). Do beginner gardeners read and understand the consequences of this tiny label or do we have them with the concept "perennial" and blooming now?

Or do the nurseries even care? Or heaven forbid, know?

So my friends, that's the truth. All perennials are not created equally. And you have to figure it out because the nurseries aren't going to tell you.

And yes, as I rebuild each web page about individual perennials, it's in my template to give you that information. :)