Planting Perennials

I had this question posed to me on Twitter and it is a great question.  I used to wonder myself if there was certain plants that would do better by planting them certain times of the year.  I have researched and experimented out in the field in real life and this is what I have come up with.

A true perennial plant can be planted any time of the year.  Reason being is that the plant comes from its own root system.  In a spring planting, you can get a good plant because the roots and the plant grow at the same time before the hot summer weather.  If planted in the summer, a little extra water is needed to keep the roots wet.  It is sometimes fun to plant in the fall/winter because if you planting after the frost, than you are only planting ‘dirt’ and roots.  I have always enjoyed installing designs for clients in the winter, cause half the plants aren’t there at planting, they only show up in the spring.

The upside to a fall planting is the plant has a chance to develop roots all winter long and you can have a strong plant in the spring.  The downside, is rarely, but sometimes the roots could drown or freeze before having a chance to get established.  I planted a whole perennial garden in November of 2008, and about 98% of the plants survived.  The homeowner told me that they thing their cats dug up some of the 2% that didn’t make it.  Who knows?

Now, the one category of plant that should not be planted late in the year is ornamental grasses.  Time and time again I plant those things in late summer and they either die or look terrible the following spring.  Come to find out, all the education on them say not to plant them in the fall…go figure.

One more category of perennial that is not real good to plant late in the year is a bi-perennial.  This is a plant that the existing plant dies during the winter, but always puts off enough seeds from the blooms to make multiple new plants the following year.  Such as Bachelor Buttons.  If planted after the seeds have fallen off, then the transplant will not survive.

Always use a root stimulator product when transplanting to cut down on shock!

Happy Planting