Bellis Perennials
Bellis perennials (Bellis perennis) are one of spring's delightful perennial flowers for the garden. They pop up almost all over the perennial garden (buy them once and watch them self-sow) if you have decent garden soil. They do not grow well in clay soils so do save your money if you have mostly clay.
Flowering only 4 to 6 inches tall in full sun or light shade, this is the essential early spring blooming plant.
Note that it is a biennial. It grows in its first year and then flowers in its second. Once flowered, the mother plant sets copious amounts of seed and then dies. It is the seed that will continue developing in your garden so do not weed out the tiny seedlings.
Cheaply purchased at garden centers, the plants come in a wide range of colours on the red-white side of the colour wheel, ranging from reds and pinks through to whites with a few salmons thrown in for good measure.
The trick to keeping Bellis perennials blooming for a very long time (well into the summer) is to regularly remove the fading flowers. When the plant stops producing large amounts of new flowers, allow the remaining ones to set seed for next years plant production.
Newer Varieties
Galaxy Mix This is a very large flowering, semi-double form with either white, pink and red petals around a central yellowish eye.
Habernera White with Red Tips Very large flowers of white but the petal tips are flecked with red or deep pink. The petals are also slightly curled making them one of the most attractive forms.
Monstrosa As you might expect, the flowers on this variety are huge. Measuring an inch or more across, the flowers come in the white, pink and red range.
Tasso Pink is the opposite of Monstrosa. This variety has tons of tiny little pom-pom button flowers that cover the surface of the plant. Very attractive in pink!
Tasso Red, Tasso Strawberries and Cream, and Tasso White are identical in flower form and growth habit. The only difference is the flower colour and this should be evident from the names. Tasso Strawberries and Cream is a pink flower with a darker red centre.
Bellis perennials are wonderful cheerful plants for spring bedding, particularly in milder garden regions. In the very cold of zone 4 and down, they do not particularly survive well. In those regions, you can treat them as an annual flower and keep well deadheaded.
Note that Bellis perennials do grow well in containers as well as the general garden.
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