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Gardening

It's time to look at perennial plantings

For most of us, mid January is late enough in the year to have forsaken our New Year's resolutions, and that is why I don't make them.

By MARY COLLISTER
Published January 13, 2006

Instead, I take a trip out of town and then return with a renewed interest in tackling my garden.

Thoughts turn to color. This is a great time to plant a few annuals and perennials in your garden. The annuals are short-lived; most will wilt in our summer heat and humidity. If chosen correctly, the perennials will give you years of blooms.

Since perennials have a longer-lasting influence in your garden, I'll suggest a few with their characteristics that may interest you.

African Iris is an easy-to-grow and long-lived plant. It readily propagates itself through rhizomes and is a prolific springtime bloomer, pushing white flowers up past its strap-like foliage. It takes very little care and is drought tolerant once established. Plant in partial shade to full sun.

Blackberry Lily, which is actually an iris, derives its name from the clusters of shiny black seeds exposed when seed capsules split open. Fan-shaped leaves will reach 2 to 3 feet. Its orange flowers are present late in the summer and are about 2 inches across. The plant needs partial shade to full sun and spreads by rhizomes.

Blue daze is a very popular plant and looks best in an informal setting. This is an evergreen shrub that grows in a low, spreading mound, up to 2 to 3 feet in diameter. The stems become woody as they age. Leaves and stems are densely downy, covered with light gray fuzz. The funnel shaped, light blue or white flowers are about an inch across. Blue daze grows well in full sun and is happy in poor soil. This is another drought tolerant plant.

Tiny flowers atop spikes sometimes reaching 15 feet tall characterize butterfly bush. The fragrant flowers may be purple, pink, blue, white or red. The leaves are long and coarse. The butterfly bush will grow in almost any soil. Plant in full sun or light shade. The blossoms appear in late summer.

The butterfly weed may sound unattractive but will make a great addition to your garden. Just as the name implies, butterflies love this plant, which grows 18 to 30 inches tall. It is a type of noninvasive milkweed. Butterfly weed prefers full sun and will propagate through the seeds it drops each fall. The plant produces very showy orange quarter-inch flowers in late spring through summer. Flowers are in flat clusters (umbels) of 20 or more individual flowers and can range in color from pale yellow to bright red. This is an extremely low-maintenance perennial.

Pincushion flowers may not be as common as others on this list, but they definitely have a spot in your Tampa garden. This clump-forming perennial prefers the full sun. It needs supplemental water during the growing season but must have well-drained soil. The lower leaves are generally simple and lance-shaped on this plant that reaches 21/2 feet tall. The higher leaves are divided. The characteristic pincushion flowers, which are deep blue, lavender or white, are born from early summer to fall. Cut the spent flowers to push the plant to produce more. The flowers are also good as cut flowers.

Firespike is an attractive, compact shrub, reaching 4 feet in the garden. It has shiny, bright green, oblong leaves that grow to about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. Even when not in bloom it adds a tropical feel to the garden. Its size makes it a perfect plant for the back of your border. Firespike is one of those low-maintenance perennials that gardeners always search out. If we have cold weather, the foliage gets killed each winter, but the roots are hardy. Firespike seems to prefer a site with moderate shade, but it can be grown in full sun as long as it gets adequate moisture. It prefers rich, moist, well-drained soil, but like many of our plants, it can do with less if it has to. Moderately fertile, sandy soil is adequate. It spreads slowly, but eventually it forms a clump 2 or 3 feet wide.

Gaillardia, also called Indian blanket, is a short-lived perennial noted for its brilliant, daisy-like flowers. The large centers of the flowers are rose-purple and the dense, frilly petals are yellow, orange, crimson or copper scarlet. Flowers appear in summer and are 2 to 3 inches across and are held upon 18- to 36-inch light green stems. Indian blanket grows in 14- to 24-inch high mounds with a spread of about 12 inches. This plant likes hot, sunny locations, and deadheading (removing the spent flowers) will prolong blooming. It needs good drainage and is drought tolerant. This perennial is best divided in August or September and may need to be replanted every two or three seasons.

The cigar plant, or firecracker plant, has brilliant orange flowers that inspire this tropical perennial's common names. The cigar plant is a shrub growing to about 3 feet in height with a similar spread. The dark green leaves are lance shaped or narrowly elliptical. The branching stems impart a dense, compact form that can become leggy late in the season but that barely diminishes its beauty during its long summer blooming period. The cigar plant is a fast grower and requires little attention. But it will command your attention as all manner of butterflies and hummingbirds find it attractive.

Speedwell Veronica is an easy-to-grow perennial that will add beauty to your garden. It is disease resistant and produces dark blue candle flowers from June until September. Its mature height is 15 inches with a spread of 12 to 18 inches. This mounded plant is a fast grower and likes partial sun and moist soil. If we get a cold winter, the foliage will turn yellow. It can be used as a ground cover as well as along a border.

I have given you a few ideas if you are planning on adding perennials to your garden. Old standbys include Shasta daisy, salvia and sage, yarrow, verbena, mums, coneflower, coreopsis, daylily, penta, Mexican heather, pinks, rubella and plumbago. Plant a few of your favorites while expanding your gardening knowledge with a couple of new additions also.

[Last modified January 12, 2006, 08:38:10]