Plant Care Tips
Perennial Plants
A perennial is a plant that continues to grow year after year after remaining dormant through the winter. An evergreen perennial keeps its foliage over the winter (leaves do not die off). Not all plants will continue to grow in all climates. To find out which plants are perennials in your area check its label for the plants Hardiness Zone.
A plant's hardiness zone outlines different areas of our country according to a variety of climate factors but mostly pertaining to winter temperatures. Zone 0 being the coldest winters, and zone 12 the warmest. Zone 3 plants can survive up to -40'C, Zone 2 -45'C, and zone 1 -50'C. ALWAYS check a plant tag for its zone. Greenhouses will sell perennials not zoned for our area. Do buy and enjoy, just treat them as you would an annual plant (an expectation of one season).
Perennials are generally raised in greenhouses or come from climates warmer than ours. They are also often sold as seedlings/plugs. Here at Red Barn, all of our plants are locally grown in cold soil beds, meaning they have been born and raised outside, not in a greenhouse. We sell mature, zone 1-3, plants that have lived with ease through our local winters.
Light
All plants need light to grow but differ in the amount of intensity needed to bloom and prosper. Plant labels identify the amount of sun a plant requires:
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FULL SUN —areas that receive 8 hours (or more) or direct sunlight
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PART SUN/PART SHADE — areas that receive 4-6 hours of sunlight
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FULL SHADE — areas that receive less then 4 hours of sunlight
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DEEP SHADE —areas that receive no direct sunlight
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Putting a plant that requires full shade in the sun can burn it (the leaves will go brown and it will die). Putting a plant in the shade that needs sunlight can prevent it from blooming. Be sure to check labels and plant accordingly. Almost all of our plants are full sun to part shade (this means they do well in both). We carry full shade plants as well, and for flower beds under trees including those for in the acidic soil of evergreens.
It is worth mentioning that different hardiness zones may have different light needs. There are plants that cannot handle a full day of sun in southern Canada but can do quite well up north as our summers are not as hot.
Water
To have a hardy, drought tolerant perennial, it is important to establish the plant first. This is easily done by watering well the first year. Water new transplants every 2nd day for 2 weeks, then once a week until fall to establish perennials.
For established perennials always water well in the spring. Then water heavily once every 2-3 weeks through the summer. End the season with a good watering in the fall so plants have moisture stored in their roots for winter. You will be surprised what simple watering does for your plants.
It is better to WATER DEEPLY LESS OFTEN, as this promotes a deep root system. If you water in small amounts often, you promote shallow roots susceptible to freezing and drying out. In other words, plants that are NOT drought tolerant or winter hardy.
Deadheading
Deadheading is a gardening chore that should be done regularly throughout the growing season. Deadheading is nothing more than the removal of dead or wilted flowers from living plants. It should be done on annuals as well as your perennials. Deadheading encourages most perennials to set additional blooms. There are plants that will produce large seed pods after they are done blooming (like daylily's and Iris’s), which you actually want to avoid. Developing seedpods robs a plant of energy and can mean fewer blooms the following year. Deadheading also, quite simply, keeps your garden looking tidy and healthy.
Where to cut the stalk will depend on the flower. Some you may have to cut the whole flower stock to the ground, while others you just cut the flower head off (cut above the first leaf below the bloom for the best look after). How do you know which plant to cut where? Just cut off what is dead. If it is brown or wilted. Cut it. Simple. You will be very pleased with how great your plants look and grow by doing this little chore. It actually is most gardeners' favorite thing to do!
Dividing & Transplanting
All perennials eventually come to a point in their lives where they need to be divided to maintain vigor. When plants are no longer blooming as much as they used to, or the centers are dying out, it is a sign that they need dividing. The best time to divide perennials is in the very early spring when they are just breaking dormancy, or late summer after they have stopped flowering. Don't divide plants when they are forming flower buds or are in full bloom.
The same goes for transplanting/moving your plants to a different location. If you move in the spring, do so before the plant is more than a few inches in height. If you choose to transplant in the fall, just be sure to do so 6 weeks before the first frost, and give a good watering. Transplanting fully grown plants can cause them to wilt and look terrible for the rest of the season. If you absolutely need to move something, water heavily the night before then move with a huge clump of dirt. This allows the roots to go mostly undisturbed. If that fails and your plant still looks wilted after a few days, it is best to then cut the plant down to a few inches and let it grow up again.
When dividing/transplanting leave as much soil around the roots as possible. Insert the spade under the root ball to separate the plant from the soil. Once you've lifted it out of the ground, cut back its foliage and replant, watering right away. If dividing, use a sharp knife or spade to cut the root ball into desired sections. Keep in mind the smaller the division the longer it will take or the plant to reach its full-grown size.
Soil Building
The key to a great garden starts with the soil. Soil can be very different depending on where you live, and may even differ around your own yard. Ideally, soil should be loose and friable so that water can percolate easily to the root of the plants. Regardless of the type of soil you have, you can always improve it. Adding several inches of organic material, such as rotted manure (best), compost, grass clippings or shredded leaves can improve even the poorest soil. Organic matter helps retain moisture in the soil as well as adding valuable nutrients and beneficial microorganisms. Spring and fall are the best times to amend your soil.
The Dirt Squeeze Test: You can find out very quickly what kind of soil you have simply by squeezing a handful. If the soil has formed a ball you have CLAY soil. If the soil falls apart, you have SANDY soil. If the soil is still crumbly and soft in texture (friable), you have LOAMY soil. To lighten tightly packed clay soil, add organic matter as previously stated as well as a little sand or peat moss to help create more air pockets and increase the soils drainage. Sandy soil has good drainage, it just needs organic matter like manure or finished compost to give it more nutrients. Loamy soil is the best as it has equal amounts of sand and silt and a little less clay. It's generally nutrient rich, and its loose soil provides room for air to mix into the soil and allows water to flow through slowly enough for the plants to access it but fast enough to avoid waterlogged soggy soil. One should still add organic matter to the soil once a year. It is the organic matter that attracts the beneficial organisms that will help keep the soil healthy and alive.
NEVER USE SYNTHETIC FERTILIZERS.
Why? The soil microbes get a sudden flush of fertilizer. They need the energy in the soil's organic matter to utilize those soluble nutrients and they take it - in huge quantities. Thus the organic matter actually gets destroyed. As this continues over time the soil becomes progressively more lifeless. And the less organic matter a soil has, the more fertilizer will be required to do the same job. Nutrients then get more quickly leached away. This causes waste in terms of product, time and money. What's worse is it creates potential run off problems (water doesn't absorb into the soil but runs off the surface). I have been to more then a few gardens where the owner is confused as to why nothing grows well. They water heavily, see the puddles, and think there is no problem. They are shocked when I put a shovel in their puddle and they can see that the water hasn't even penetrated one inch of the soil. They are even more surprised when a bag of manure mixed in to the soil fixes this problem immediately. Natural amendments release slowly and gently over a longer period of time, they keep the soil "alive" with much needed micro-organisms and nutrients. They improve absorption, water retention and soil drainage.
Potting Perennials & using Raised Beds
Perennials can live quite happily in pots throughout the spring, summer and fall. Be sure to use potting soil, and not soil from your garden (it is too hard and will not provide the proper drainage). In milder winter regions most perennials will survive in pots with little or no extra winter protection. It is recommended that you use perennials that are a zone or two colder than the zone you live in. For example: A plant for zone 2 would survive a zone 4 winter. Since we are in the coldest zones (1-3) it just doesn't work up here. Roots will freeze or dry out and plants will die. If you want the plant to live through winter, place it in the ground before first frost, and water well. In the spring you can dig it up again to put back in your pot. I do this every year with great success. The added benefit to potting with perennials is you can do so very early in the season as they are immune to cool nights and late frosts.
RAISED FLOWER BEDS will NOT winter perennials in our Northen Alberta zone!
Lower raised beds (1-2 feet off the ground) can be successful as the plants roots still live below ground level and will be protected in the winter months. Placing any higher off the ground offers no such protection. Insulated roots and proper moisture are key to surviving in the winter.They may survive a mild winter but will not stand a chance in -40 weather. If you insist on trying, place plants away from the edge allowing for more insulation. Water heavily in the fall and again in early spring. give the plants extra insulation of leaves, grass clippings or straw, as well as wrapping the whole bed in some form of insulation such as burlap or foam sheeting. My recommendation for higher raised beds is to remove your perennials to a safe ground location over winter then place back for the summer months (such as you would do for potted perennials). Or simply save your raised beds for vegetables and annuals.