Perennials are a wonderful addition to most gardens. They allow you to get seasonal color without having to plant each season.

Perennial means they come back more than one year. Annuals germinate, grow, bloom and die in one year. By the official definition, perennials include things like maple trees, redwoods, roses as well as what we as gardeners think of as perennials.

As gardeners we consider perennials things that do not have a permanent woody structure.

Yarrow, cone flower, black eyed Susan, brachyscome, Tapien verbena and mission bells are some of the perennials I use at home and I see in my visits to our Garden Crew clients. The problem I see is that people hear perennial and think permanent. They keep them in even when it is obvious they are not performing for you.

Wrong!

Because perennials do not develop a woody structure they are more susceptible to various diseases after a few years. When they start struggling it’s time to make a change. You are not a bad person or even a bad gardener when perennials start to go bad. If you want your garden to look it’s best don’t be afraid to replace your perennials.

Usually I replace them with something different.  If I am replacing verbena I will replace with mission bells or bidens. If I am replacing cone flower I replace with a tall yarrow. I also look to see if conditions have changed and replace with something I think might do better with the new conditions.

In any case perennials are a great addition to the garden.

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