Gardeners in areas with cold winters can’t wait until spring—that’s time for planting. 
But surprise! That’s not the only time you can plant.
You can continue planting perennials throughout the summer—and you should!
Perennials are plants that come back each year. They’re great for your garden because you don’t have
to buy them every year like you do for annuals.
So why not just buy some perennials in spring and be done?
Here are six reasons to keep shopping for perennials throughout the growing season:
- You won’t miss out on variety. If you shop only in spring, you may buy perennials that catch
your eye because they’re already flowering. When you plant them, you’ll have a lovely spring
garden, but what happens when your irises and roses are done blooming? If you shop every few
weeks, you’ll see what’s blooming then. Buy something each time you stop in and you can make
sure you have blooms in your garden throughout the entire growing season. - You can spread out the work. So many gardeners mistake the start of their growing season for a
deadline. They think they have to buy all of their plants at one time and install them all in one
exhausting weekend. Give yourself a break and do the work little by little. - You can correct mistakes. If some of your plants didn’t get as tall as you expected they would,
you can choose an even taller plant to add height to your garden. Or if a perennial isn’t doing
well in a shady spot, you can move it to a sunnier place and shop for a flower that likes shade. - Some things aren’t even available in early spring. You can’t buy bulbs for crocus, hyacinths,
daffodils, tulips and other spring flowers until the end of summer. - Late summer and early autumn are great times to plant perennials. You may find that you get
more rain in autumn than you did at the height of summer, so you don’t have to water as often.
Temperatures are cooler as well, so heat is one less thing to stress your plants. When you are
planting in fall, just make sure you get your perennials in the ground soon enough for them to
establish a strong root system before the ground freezes. Contact the extension service in your
area for more information on how late you can plant perennials in your garden. - Find end-of-season bargains. Garden centers don’t want to store and maintain lots of plants all
winter, so perennials are often marked down at end of the season. The plant may be twice the
size it was in spring, but half the price!
Whenever you plant your perennials, make sure you use compost in your soil. You don’t have to make
the compost yourself; you can get pure earthworm castings from Uncle Jim’s. It’s great for your soil and
100 percent natural. Shipping is free!
See the benefits of earthworm castings here.
