Caring for Herbaceous Perennials

By Anna Smith

Now is the time to start tidying up the garden beds and preparing for the garden for a beautiful display of color.

Herbaceous perennials are the non-woody work horses of the garden, giving us color and beauty year after year (their life cycle is at least three years) with just a bit of maintenance. To determine when they should be pruned you simply need to check on them in early spring and see if there is any new growth visible at the base of the plant. Once you can detect about two inches of green, leafy growth it is time to prune the plant. It is very simple. Just cut all the dead growth off above the new growth and you are done! Some plants such as Lavender and Germander do not have an easily identifiable difference between the old and new growth. In the case of both of these plants, they need to be pruned thirty percent in early spring, which gives them time to push out new growth and flower by late spring or summer.

After pruning remember to fertilize the perennials with a product that is high in phosphorus for strong roots and lots of blooms. If you are in doubt about how to treat a specific plant you may call or come by the nursery and our staff will be happy to help you. Another option is to get out your Sunset Western Garden Guide and look up the plant in question, or look it up on the Web.

Now is a great time to plan and prepare for the landscape of your dreams. If you would like help planning that low maintenance, drought tolerant, deer resistant garden of your dreams give us a call and we will steer you in the right direction!