Old Fashioned Perennials

Alcea Rosea

• Alcea rosea "hollyhocks" have grown in cultivation for hundreds of years. They brought bright colorful blooms to many flower beds in the 1800s. These are short-lived perennials or biennials, although they freely reseed themselves to such an extent they seem like regular perennials.

  Most hollyhocks grow 5 to 6 feet. Some cultivars stay shorter and some can grow as tall as 8 or 9 feet. They produce multiple 2- to 4-inch diameter funnel-shaped flowers along their tall spikes from June to September. The blooms can be single, semi-double or double in red, pink, purple, white or yellow. They are generally hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 9.

Dahlias

• Dahlias were extremely popular in the mid-1800s in America and Europe. These are not an easy-to-grow old garden favorite but, for gardeners willing to put in a little extra effort, they are very rewarding. While there are approximately 30 wild species, nearly all dahlias sold in commerce are hybrids. The Aztecs began growing and breeding these plants in cultivation well before the Spanish Conquest. Growers in Europe and America cultivated thousands of new hybrids throughout the 1800s.

  Dahlias are tuberous perennial flowers available in heights from 1 to 5 feet. They bloom all summer in nearly any color or color combination except blue and are available in ten different flower forms. The tubers must be lifted each fall and re-planted in the spring.

Dicentra Spectabilis

• Dicentra spectabilis "Bleeding Heart" is an old shady or woodland garden favorite. It grows to a mature height of 2 to 3 feet with deeply-cut medium green foliage. The 1-inch pink and white heart-shaped flowers hang in a row from long arching stems in April and May. The foliage remains until the heat of the summer causes it to go dormant. It is best planted in gardens with other plants that will take the place of the bleeding heart as it fades.

  The Dicentra "Luxuriant" hybrid cultivar looks similar to the original but grows to a height of only 1 to 1 1/2 feet. Blooming begins in May and continues throughout the summer where the temperatures stay cooler. In hot summer locations it stops blooming in the heat but usually blooms again in the fall when temperatures cool down.

Mirabilis Jalapa

• Mirabilis jalapa "Four O'Clock" is an old southern favorite, traditionally planted just outside the front door. In the Victorian era it was often a soft hedge. It is hardy in zones 7 to 11. In zones 6 and below the tubers need digging up each fall and re-planting in the spring after the last frost. They commonly attain a mature height and width of 2 to 3 feet but can reach 4 feet in hot southern climates. The 2-inch long tube shaped buds open in the evening and fade the next morning, which is the basis for the plant's name. It blooms from late spring or early summer until first frost. The flowers can be solid red, pink, magenta, white, yellow or bi-colored. There can also be flowers in two different colors on one plant. M. jalapa x M. longiflora "Jingles" hybrid cultivars are smaller plants, generally staying under 2 feet tall, and produce multicolored blooms.