Ever-Blooming Perennials

Characteristics

• Perennials come in all shapes, sizes and colors and have different care preferences just like annuals or regular-bloom perennials. Some perennials, such as the poppy mallow, prefer dry climates, while others need careful and steady watering. Some need full sunlight such as blanketflowers, while others need shade. Look carefully at your garden's soil, sun capabilities and moisture characteristics before choosing long-blooming perennials to plant. Many species of long-blooming perennials are taller on average than most annuals. For example, black-eyed Susans can grow between 2 and 3 feet.

Advantages

• The advantages of using long-bloom perennials in your garden are numerous. Regular perennials' bloom time is only between one and six weeks. With long-bloom perennials, your garden will be in color for several months at a time. In addition, perennials will bloom again and again in the same spot for several years, which means less time spent replanting and reorganizing your garden. Planting different types of long-bloom perennials with different bloom seasons will allow you to plan changes in the color and look of your garden as spring and summer move on.

Bloom Time

• With care, some long-bloom perennial plants can last decades, though peak longevity is usually around three years. Long-bloom perennials typically do not bloom until their second year of life, after their root system has been well developed. While different types of perennials will need different specific care, all long-bloom perennials will benefit from regular deadheading. Deadheading, or removing the flower heads of wilting and spent flowers, will allow healthier flowers to keep blooming longer and more vibrantly.

Care

• Mulching the soil around these flowers will keep the soil protected from severe weather and improve drainage. Mulching will also help to prevent nutrient-sucking weeds from popping up around your flowers. Check for weeds every week or so in order to keep your perennials in optimal health. Perennials increase in mass over the years. Divide these masses if the flowers are becoming smaller or less robust. In the spring, carefully dig up the entire root system of perennial masses, remove any unhealthy or older looking root sections and replant the younger and healthier root sections back into the ground.