The Longest Blooming Perennials
Perennial flowers often are a gardener's favorite because of their ability to return each year. Unlike annuals that bloom once and must be replanted the following year, perennials endure a dormant period and come back in the next growing season. Annuals tend to bloom longer than perennials, but there are perennials that have longer-than-average blooming periods. This makes them more attractive to flower lovers and allows them to offer the best of what perennials and annuals have to offer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Goldstorm Coneflower
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The goldstorm coneflower, also known as the goldsturm, is a long-blooming perennial found abundantly in garden borders. These attractive flowers can grow in a variety of soil types ranging from the best loamy soil to sandy soil and even clay. They grow well in partial shade or full sun and feature a stunning daisylike flower with bright yellow to orange petals and a brown eye in the middle.
The goldstorm coneflower grows in thick bunches and blooms from midsummer until midautumn, especially if growers remove faded flowers from the population regularly. They make excellent lawn borders, cut flowers and are deer and rabbit resistant.
Coreopsis Moonbeam
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The Coreopsis verticillata, commonly called the moonbeam flower, is a perennial plant that grows to about 2 feet tall, is rounded and is covered with soft yellow flowers and feathery green leaves. The moonbeam has a rare ability for a perennial -- it offers almost five months of continual blooming. From June until October the moonbeam will produce its yellow flowers under optimum conditions. The plant prefers full sun and well-drained soil. The moonbeam will last for several years and spreads by underground rhizomes. Cutting the plant back after the peak of its first bloom will encourage more flowers throughout the fall of the year.
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Lenten-Roses
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For gardeners who seek color in their gardens early in the year, the lenten-rose is a popular perennial choice. Although it is not really a rose, this species in the hellebore plant family is almost as diverse when it comes to color. The buttercuplike flowers of the lenten-rose range in color from white to almost black or dark plum colored. They also come in pink, red and yellow with spots inside the flower. The interesting thing about the lenten-rose is its ability to grow early in the season in many areas, sometimes blooming as early as February. Blooms stay on the plant until May in the best conditions. The lenten-rose prefers partial shade, moist but well-drained soil and organic fertilizer such as compost.
Astilbe
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From June to September, the astilbe flower blooms repeatedly for two to six weeks at a time. This herbaceous perennial is typically just over a foot tall and produces fine-textured, pyramid shaped blooms in colors that include cream, white, pink, scarlet, lavender and purple. The astilbe prefers shade and must have regular irrigation to maintain healthy blooms throughout the summer and early fall. The flower often is used around entranceways, as a flower bed border and as mass plantings. During especially hot periods in the summer the astilbe needs plenty of water because it is not drought tolerant and will go into dormancy in midsummer otherwise.
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References
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