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Flower Gardening Techniques for Perennials


Flower gardening techniques for perennial gardens need not be fancy nor difficult to learn. For me, it has always been a balancing act between having lots of flowers in the garden to enjoy yet still provide enough flowers for cutting for bouguets.

I confess I usually fell down on the side of having the flowers in the garden while my girls always managed to help me find the other side of the equation. And, who can resist a daughter’s request for a few delphinium spikes or just a few of those wonderful geranium blossoms? Not me, that’s for sure although I did manage to maintain my gruff head gardener image for a few moments before giving in. They knew I was a soft touch and so did I.

I can hardly imagine flower gardening without perennial flowers as the mainstay of the gardening mix. Spikes of delphiniums, daisies galore, lavender for fragrance, daylilies for their ephemeral nature, kniphofia for esoterica, and lots and lots of nepeta and monarda. There’s simply too many good perennials to ignore in the flower garden. There’s two important tips I’ll pass along right now that will make your job a lot easier:

Practical Tips for Cut Flowers


Sharp tools work bes to cut back your perennials for spring or fall work. For example, these sharp scissors or hand pruners are extremely important when preparing the flowers for long vase life. Second, after the flowers have been cut and taken to the kitchen to be prepared for the vase – recut them *under running water* and immediately insert them into the full vase of water.

Do not allow the end of the stem to dry out – even for a microsecond – and your flowers will last much longer. Drying out – even for a very short time – allows the cells at the end of the stem to dry out. Keeping them moist means they’ll continue to draw water up the stem and keep the flower alive.


Handling Perennial Plants



How to transplant perennials,
 
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How and when to divide perennials you're in the right place for simple answers.

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How to plant perennials you can find it on this page.
 
Moving perennials can be done at any time of year if you follow these directions.

Wildflower seeding tips that may prove helpful as a flower gardening technique.


Fall gardening tips make your garden look better in the spring, reduce disease but are not fashionable right now. Here's the story.

Can I transplant container grown perennials at any time of year?


Questions and Answers


Folks, I do my best to answer as many questions as I can every week (I get hundreds) but there's unfortunately no way I can get to them all. I do my best but I can't make promises. I apologize if I simply can't get to yours.


Got A Perennial Gardening Techniques Question?

If you have a question about perennial gardening techniques, then feel free to ask it using this form.

Please note that the advice is by nature a general one - I can't help you with every problem (although I do try) but I may be able to point you to resources that will help you.


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