There’s this connection you tend to develop with a flower that you’ve grown and cared for consistently from seed and bud stage until its flowering period.
If you are a garden lover like myself, you would agree that watching your flowers die at the end of one year simply because it doesn’t fall in the class of flowering perennials, usually takes a toll on our gardening psychology and makes us feel like we’ve lost something really valuable.
And yes, a flower is valuable. I value my flowers just the way pet lovers value their pets. I also care for my flowers just as much as sports professionals care for their sporting kits.
In my years of growing, caring, and losing flowers, I have taken time to study flowers, what makes them unique, and how best to have a flower feature in your life for a long time.
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As one who has experience in gardening, I’d advise that as you select flower buds to be cultivated in your garden, you should give precedence to flowers that fall under the class of flowering perennials.
Flowering perennials are not only easy and cheap to maintain in the long run, but they also give your home and garden a landscaping permanence, something that bestows uniqueness on your gardening skills.
Flowering perennials are flowering plants that can germinate, grow and survive for more than two years. Flowering perennials are adapted to grow and blossom through spring and summer.
At the start of autumn, their leaves begin to fall slowly. This is to preserve the water loss from the leaves.
This is not a sign of decline or death of the plant. By winter, all the leaves in the plant die off and the plant stops growing.
This is also not a sign of death, as the root of the plant is very much alive. The plant simply goes into dormancy to help it survive through the winter.
After winter the stems sprout back and the leaves grow into blossoming flowers. They are perennials that can survive for more than two years without decline or death.
Some of these flowering perennials do not follow this process. In the sense that some of them are evergreens that grow all through the year and can survive both temperate and cold regions.
Flowering perennials benefit the soil by holding the soil together and capturing excess nitrogen from the soil before they can spread to weaker plants or contaminate water bodies that are close by.
This is possible through their extensive root system that is well developed and fibrous enough to reach the far ends of the soil in search of nutrients.
Flowering perennials also guard against weed attacks in gardens and lawns.
The benefits of having flowering perennials grow in your garden and plant pot range from aesthetic appeal to landscaping.
This article lists seventeen temperate flowering perennials that will grow almost anywhere, their peculiarities, and how best to care for them.
This is your cue to venture into gardening of flowering perennials. Welcome aboard the flowering perennials league.
The 17 Temperate Flowering Perennials You Should Grow
These plants are easy to grow and are adapted to survive harsh weather conditions as well as attacks from pests and diseases.
The top seventeen flowering perennials that can grow almost anywhere are:
- Primrose (Primula Vulgaris)
- Yellow Iris (Iris Pseudacorus)
- Balloon Flower (Platycodon)
- Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Bugle Weed (Ajuga)
- Blazing Star (Liatris)
- Cone flower (Echinacea)
- Leather Flower(Clematis)
- Daylily (Hemerocallis)
- English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- New England Aster (symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
- Creeping Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum)
- Perennial Tickseed (coreopsis grandiflora)
- Siberian iris (Iris Sibirica)
- Giant Allium ( Allium giganteum)
- Cranesbill (Geranium)
- Montauk Daisy (Nipponanthemum)
These plants make it to our list of the top seventeen flowering plants you can grow anywhere, because of the following features they have, which will be explained in the preceding paragraphs.
The various features, growth patterns, and care of these plants will leave you eager to go get one for your garden and probably one for a loved one.
1. Primrose (Primula Vulgaris)
The Primula vulgaris belongs to the class of flowering perennials native to western and southern Europe. The taxonomy of this plant, that is, the naming technique, is symbolic of the plant’s growth behavior.
The Primula in the name is a Latin word that is transcribed in the English language to mean “prime”. This is denotative of the fact that this plant is usually the first to grow in spring.
The flowers are usually pale yellow, but there can be some white or pink variations depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the soil.
The primrose is usually found growing in open woody areas and shades. It loves nutrient-rich soil free of lime.
Primroses are beautiful flowering perennials that have over the years suffered the threat of extinction. Beauty, they say, is sometimes a curse.
This is true for primroses, in the sense that it is over harvested leading to decreasing plant population. This is why some countries have declared the plucking of primrose flowers illegal.
If you are still deciding on what flower to grace your garden as the planting season begins, search no further for the primula Vulgaris is the perfect flowering perennial you need.
2. Yellow Iris (Iris Pseudacorus)
This plant is popular for its yellow and green coloration that makes it look like a flag.
Native to Africa, the yellow Iris is one of the few flowering perennials that can grow up to a hundred and fifty centimeters tall.
This plant can grow in wet soils and temperate regions. In fact, it is adapted to survive in varying locations.
In aquatic regions, the yellow Iris is among the invasive flowering perennials.
With a developed tap root system, it outcompetes other plants in the ecosystem for food and nutrients.
It is best cultivated as ornamental flowering perennials and cannot be eaten as food because of the toxicity of its leaves.
3. Balloon Flower (Platycodon)
The balloon flower gets its name from its flowers that are shaped like balloons. They are native to China but have adaptations to grow anywhere in the world.
These flowering perennials are not just useful as ornamentals and for landscaping. Their roots are also uprooted, carefully washed to rid them of any soil pigment, and eaten as a vegetable.
It can be added to rice for flavoring, or added to liquor to make it stronger. It grows well in rocky areas such as mountains and has thick deep rooted tap roots.
Having these flowering perennials in your home brings a feel of culture to your home as well as keeps your garden growing with a medicinal plant.
As flowering perennials, you do not need to repurchase their bud for planting the next year, as their roots do not die after one year.
4. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
The black-Eyed Susan flower can be grown as an annual plant, a biennial, or a perennial. It has four species and can be cultivated from seed.
The black-Eyed Susan has a black and gold variation which makes it stand out in the garden among other flowering perennials.
It is the inspiration behind the Mississippi school colors.
Its well-developed roots are medicinal and are used by some natives as an antidote for snake venom.
5. BugleWeed (Ajuga)
The bugle Weed is a fast-growing flowering perennial. It is called a weed because of its fast growth that is pretty invasive and difficult to control.
It can grow in hot regions, temperate regions as well as moist regions with good well-draining soil capabilities.
The seeds are best sown in early spring. They have multiple colors ranging from blue to white and a shade of purple.
6. Blazing Star (Liatris)
These flowering perennials belong to the family of sunflowers, purple in color and grown for ornamental purposes.
It blooms in spring and goes into dormancy when winter comes.
These flowering herbicides are a hive for multiple sets of insects including butterfly larvae. It grows best in moist, well-draining soil.
Growth is made faster by applying organic compost manure.
7. Cone Flower (Echinacea)
Coneflowers are flowering perennials belonging to the tracheophytes genus. It has uses other than ornamentation and is believed to be an ingredient in drugs and dietary supplements.
Coneflowers have good root systems and can grow up to a hundred and forty centimeters tall. They are often threatened by extinction because they are usually harvested for herbal additions.
It does better in full sun and fertile soil.
8. Leather Flower(Clematis)
Leather Flowers are slow growers that bloom in late spring. They have vinyl stems and can survive some periods of drought.
Pruning can be done, but only when the plant has fully grown and developed some form of woody roots.
Leather Flowers are flowering perennials that stay evergreen all year round as long as the right water application is gotten to it.
9. Daylily (Hemerocallis)
Daylily blossoms with multiple blossoms on one plant. The blossoms have a pattern of opening one per day.
The flowers vary in color from blue to pink and purple and red. Daylilies grow all year round and have stems to stay evergreen through winter and spring.
10. English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Fragrance-filled flowering perennials are not found every day, but with the English lavender, you are sure of a garden filled with fragrance.
The English lavender grows in sandy soil that is somewhat acidic in nature.
Lavender grows really big if left without pruning, hence it is advised that you prune very often. At least once every two years.
11. New England Aster (symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Belonging to the aster family, the New England aster is native to North America. It grows to about a hundred and twenty centimeters tall.
These flowering perennials are useful for medical purposes and love to grow in marshy or wet shaded areas.
12. Creeping Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum)
This plant is an ornamentally grown perennial belonging to the mint family. Its strong scent keeps it favoured in gardens.
Its leaves are green and at bloom in spring, it produces lilac or pink colors. It goes into dormancy in winter and only continues growing in summer and spring.
You should prune leaves when it becomes too bushy. This is to prevent water loss from the leaves.
13. Perennial Tickseed (coreopsis grandiflora)
At complete bloom, the perennial tickseed produces flowers that vary from orange to yellow. Growing these flowers is stress-free to the gardener as they do not require much care.
Their adaptation helps them survive through harsh weather conditions.
14. Siberian Iris (Iris Sibirica)
This plant grows by the asexual formation of rhizomes. It can tolerate exposure to sunlight but prefers indirect exposure under a shade.
The flowers wither as a sign that the plant is no longer growing. It is often caused by winter or other bad weather conditions.
When this happens, you need to deadhead the Iris Sibirica. This way, new leaves can grow to blossom and produce new flowers.
15. Giant Allium ( Allium giganteum)
The leaves of these flowering perennials are shaped like an onion bulb, beautifying and creating an unforgettable landscape experience.
They are not hard to grow and require just enough sunlight and water addition. They can grow in soil beds and fully blossom in spring and summer.
16. Cranesbill (Geranium)
This plant turns brown and gold in autumn. Belonging to the family of flowering perennials, they are popular for their large leaves.
They have colors that vary from white, blue, and pink and can blossom from spring through autumn into winter.
They can grow under full sun and need adequate watering to stay alive.
17.Montauk Daisy (Nipponanthemum)
They are native Japanese flowering perennials that have grown so popular and are cultivated as ornamentals in every part of the world.
They grow well in moist environments and have thick roots that can penetrate rocky earth regions.
Montauk daisies are adapted to survive in a variegated habitat. Owning one is a great step in landscaping.
What Perennials are Low Growing
The following are low growing flowering perennials:
- Pulsatilla patens flower
- Bearberry flowers
- Pussytoes flowers
- Rose vervain flowers
- Stonecrop flowers
What is the Longest Blooming Perennial?
There are various long blooming flowering perennials but the longest blooming perennial is the geranium flowers.
They are adapted to bloom for three months and above, blooming from spring to summer and into autumn before the flowers fade off.
What Perennial Flower Blooms All Summer
The black-eyed Susan.
Black-eyed susans are flowering perennials that have thick roots that can survive through winter and bloom in summer.
Its bloom is sustained all through the summer and gets removed by the arrival of winter.
What Flowering Perennials Grow all Year
The following flowering perennials grow all year round:
- Rhododendrons
- African lily
- Chinese Fringe flower
- Lenten rose
- Viola queen Charlotte
There is a list of other flowering perennials that would leave you wanting to grow flowering perennials.
Conclusion
The seventeen temperate flowering perennials that will grow almost anywhere, can grow so big to become trees in your garden.
If you do not want flowering perennials as trees, I advise you to prune the flowers at the end of every year.
But if you are a tree flower person, you can let them grow as big as you deem fit.
We look forward to seeing any of the above-listed flowering perennials in your garden soon.
