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preparation, and after care are all tasks that will
lead you to that "perfect" perennial landscape -
your yard!
While my landscape is more of a "Plant Zoo" than a
dream design, some basic landscaping techniques
should be kept in mind and sketched out on paper in
advance. First, clumps or large drifts of colorful
perennials make more of an impact than single plants
dotting the landscape. Keep in mind the mature
height, when it will flower, winter interest (does
it die back during a freeze?), and light
requirements. Consider the foliage texture in
combination with the flower - is the foliage
colorful all by itself? Another design issue may be
flower color. Are the flowers "hot" such as orange,
red and yellow or "cool" pastels? Greens, silvers,
whites and blues go with everything and may help
transition colors within the garden. If your design
needs changing, perennials will need division and
transplanting from time to time and can be adjusted
as reality and design rearrangements are warranted.
As perennials will remain in place for some time,
good planting bed preparation is justified. Bed
preparation is the time to add organic matter and
check soil attributes. Allow enough spacing to
accommodate plants for future growth. Use organic
mulch (two to three inches) to conserve moisture,
keep the soil cooler and suppress leaves.
Fertilizer needs will vary from plant to plant. A
good general purpose fertilizer such as 16-4-8 with
slow-release nitrogen used according to label
directions may be beneficial. Perennial bed
grooming may also involve dead heading old flower
heads and staking top-heavy blooms as needed.
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Blue Daze |
O.K., enough with all of the preparations and work!
What are some good herbaceous perennials for our
area? How about Blue Daze! It produces year-round
blue flowers that are great for mass planting in
full sun and will spread up to two feet in diameter.
Another short, rounded popular perennial is the
Mexican Heather which produces purple or white
flowers all year long. A slightly higher
perennial, Blue Sage, grows upright to about three
feet with deep blue winter flowers best grown in
partial shade. Another local favorite is the
African iris. Known |
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for on and off year-round flowers in white
and yellow, this sun to partial shade plant
is a great clumper and grows up to two feet
tall. Firespike is a tall perennial up
to six feet with summer and fall bright red
spikes of flowers often favored by
hummingbirds. Available in red, pink,
white and lilac, pentas are a great and
readily available perennial which offers up
to four foot tall plants and year-round
color. A great summer through fall
flower is the Blanket flower. Short
and sprawling, this yellow, orange and red
bloomer is very drought tolerant. |
I could on and on with a list of such perennials.
Check your local garden centers for other popular
and recommended perennials to fill that niche in
your landscape! For more information on perennials
and other types of plants, please contact our Master Gardeners on the Plant Lifeline at 764-4360 from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Our office is located at 25550 Harborview Road,
Suite 3 in Port Charlotte. Our Plant Clinics are
available across the county:
Demonstration Garden at 7000 Florida Street,
Punta Gorda from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m every Thursday.
Englewood/Charlotte Public Library 9 a.m. to noon
every Monday.
Murdock Public Library the first Thursday of the
month from 1 pm to 3 pm.
Punta Gorda Crossing Publix the third Friday of the
month from 9 am to Noon
Monthly Plant Clinics are Saturdays from 9 a.m. to
noon at the following
locations: Peachland Promenades Publix ‹ second
Saturday of the month; Burnt Store Publix ‹ third
Saturday of the month Home Depot fourth Saturday of
the month Ralph Mitchell is the county extension
director/horticulture agent for the Charlotte County
Cooperative Extension Service. You may contact him
by e-mail Ralph.Mitchell@charlottefl.com
You may also contact a volunteer Master Gardener
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday
at 764-4340 or by e-mail
Master.Gardener@charlottefl.com
Resource: Park Brown, S., Hodyss, L. & Marshall, D.
(1996) Flowering Perennials for Florida, The
University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS. 
Ralph E. Mitchell is a Horticulturist
and Charlotte County Extension Agent
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