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Hernando Today

Plant Perennials For Investment Landscaping

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By STEVE JONES

Hernando Today columnist

Published: January 4, 2009

Gardening and landscaping can be considered investments. Much as you would put money into a savings or retirement account for future use, plantings are there for future enjoyment.

When it comes to plants, I think there are three levels of investment to consider.

The first level is the one which can give the quickest return on investment. Annuals fall into this category. Many will be blooming when you pick them up and will continue to bloom for the season. However, their return is short lived since fall brings an end to the plants.

Second level plants will require a little more investment in time, but the payoff is much longer in duration. Perennials will last for years and bring a steady return with each new growing season.

The third level consists of plants that may take years to reach maturity. Most trees fall into this category, with some taking a lifetime to deliver the payoff of shade, fruit and flowers.

Perennials make a great investment, and to make the most of your investment, good initial planning will produce the most returns with the minimum maintenance. Selecting plants based on the location is the first step. Some plants prefer full sun, while others prefer partial sun and shade. Some will grow in most any soil while others need specific content to perform their best. It might sound obvious, but you need to plant sun-loving plants in sunny areas, shade-thriving plants in shaded areas and so on. Putting any plant into conditions it doesn't like almost always results in disappointment.
Plant perennials for glorious color and texture to the garden and landscape all season long.

When you start gardening with perennials, it's easy to think that all you have to do is get your plants into the ground, and with the exception of weeding, watering and cutting back, your garden will be done.

But here's what really happens:

In the first year, the clumps appear small and the flowers are sparse, particularly if you use small, very young plants. (You can get a head start by selecting slightly more mature plants, often in quart pots.)

But in the second and third season, watch out! Your plants look like they're on steroids, and you look like an accomplished gardener! After that, many plants get bigger each season, while the odd one confounds you by doing a disappearing act.

Responding to the inevitable change is your challenge as a flower gardener. Perennials are plants that no garden, large or small, should be without. They are hassle-free plants that once planted will grow back year after year giving a wonderful show in your garden.

Perennial plants are the backbone of the flower garden because they're the plants with staying power. Their leaves die back as winter approaches, but with luck, the following spring, they come back. Some plants are short-lived, but old favorites like daylilies, and hostas can thrive for decades.

The charm of a flower garden is the fact that it changes month by month, giving you new blooms to appreciate as spring moves into fall. The trick is to arrange your plants so that you will have continuous color all season long. Simply select some plants that bloom early in the spring, some that come along a little later and others that are at their best in mid summer or have gorgeous fall colors.

With winter's shortest day already behind us, our thoughts are turning to spring planting. It won't be long before we're dusting off the garden tools, firing up the mower and getting back outside again.

The ideal time to start planning for spring planting is now. Do a little homework. Go online and find information on plants that might work well in your garden ... and eliminate from your list those that won't respond well to your soil and sunlight conditions.

As always, you are welcome to drop me an e-mail with a few details about your landscape and the desired effect, and I'll get back to you with some suggestions.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve's free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org.

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