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There is hardly at least one garden plot that is not decorated with a flower bed. After all, a suburban area for citizens is not only a source of environmentally friendly vegetables and berries, but also a place for a pleasant pastime. In short hours of rest, we want beauty to surround us, so that the look is pleasant.
There are always enough worries in the summer cottage. And in order to minimize physical and material costs, many gardeners choose perennials for decorating flower beds. Perennial plants are undemanding to care for, do not need to be transplanted for many years, you just need to take care of the seat once, properly prepare it, enrich it with compost, humus and mineral fertilizers.
Perennials will become the basis of your flower bed, planting annuals to them, you can successfully carry out design experiments. Or by choosing the right perennials that bloom at different times, you can create a flower bed of continuous flowering. Perennials are good because many tolerate the winter quite calmly, the plants do not need to be dug up and take care of the storage conditions.
Beautiful flowering perennials wintering outdoors
Let’s not reveal a secret: wintering perennials keep themselves perfectly in the ground. After the end of the growing season, the aerial part dies off, the roots and bulbs go into hibernation in winter to wake up in the spring. The photo shows popular flowering perennials wintering in the open field:
Peony
Peony during the flowering period is extremely good. You can’t do without it in the garden, beautiful flowers are suitable for cutting. In order to have a beautiful plant that blooms profusely every year, you need to remember and follow the simple rules for preparing a perennial for winter.
If the flower is planted on a hill, then there is a threat that the winds will blow away the snow cover. Perennial will lose its natural protection. Peonies that are at risk should be covered for the winter with spruce branches or agrofibre.
In early October, cut off the aerial part of the perennial, leaving 5 cm high stumps.
The plant continues to prepare for winter, accumulating nutrients in the roots.
Otherwise, early pruning of the perennial will result in the plant not blooming or blooming poorly. Mulch cut peonies in winter with a thick layer of peat or compost (20 cm).
Watch the video on how to prepare a peony for winter:
Astilba
Perennial, which in nature grows high in the mountains, so the flower easily tolerates winter. Before the end of the growing season, it is recommended to feed the plant with organic or mineral fertilizers. This is done so that in the spring you have a healthy strong bush that will bloom profusely in July, and then will decorate the flower beds with carved foliage.
With the onset of the first cold weather, the upper part of the perennial is cut off almost at the level of the soil, then the cuts are covered with peat, humus or compost. In central Our Country, a mulch thickness of 3 cm is sufficient, in the northern regions it can be increased to 10-20 cm. Astilba does not need covering material. Shelter in the winter should be old perennial specimens, in which the supply of vitality is limited.
rose flower
Rose is the queen of the garden. Requires a little more attention than other perennials before winter. If you know some of the vegetative features of the plant, then you can easily prepare a rose for winter and save it.
Starting at the end of August, stop feeding the rose with nitrogen fertilizers, which cause growth of shoots and leaves. Feed the plant with fertilizers, which are dominated by potassium and phosphorus.
Reduce watering. Don’t prune the rose and don’t cut the flowers. This procedure will stop the growth of shoots in perennials, which still do not have time to stiffen and, therefore, die in winter. Shoots that have grown should be pinched.
With the advent of the first frosts, roses are freed from foliage and shoots that did not have time to ripen. In November, the plant should be cut, leaving 40-50 cm. Bend to the ground and cover with lutrasil, which is firmly fixed at the edges. There are varieties of roses that do not need shelter for the winter.
Perennial aster
perennial asters begin their flowering when most perennials have faded and are preparing for hibernation. Even slight frosts for perennial asters are not a reason to stop flowering.
After the perennial has faded, it should be cut off, and the stumps should be mulched with compost or peat. Young specimens need cover with spruce branches, for which winter will be the first.
In general, perennial asters are very unpretentious plants. They look good in borders, in alpine slides, in plantings in groups or singly. To preserve the decorative properties, faded perennial flowers should be removed.
Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia is a perennial plant, undemanding to care for. It would seem that a very simple flower, however, due to its bright color can decorate any flower bed or an unsightly part of the garden. The perennial is also undemanding to soils.
It will bloom in a lush color, if you still pay a little attention to the plant: plant it on fertile soil that is lit by the bright sun, occasionally feed it with organic matter or mineral fertilizers, replant it every 5 years. For the winter, the perennial should be cut and mulched with peat.
Iris
Delicate perennial flowers with a rich variety of colors. Most domestic varieties overwinter very well. And they do not need additional means of protection in winter.
You can make sure in case of a harsh winter with little snow, then perennials cover with spruce branches. Shelter for the winter should be young plants and very old ones, in which the root has grown too much and sticks out above the ground.
In order for perennials to endure the winter well, some preparation must be done in advance. With the onset of frost, the leaves of irises are cut in the form of a cone, 15 cm high. Around them, you can pour a mound of sawdust, peat, compost, fallen leaves of 15-20 cm.
Primrose
Primroses do best under trees, as they love diffused light. The plant blooms actively if there is enough nutrition in the soil. Primroses can be fed with complex mineral fertilizers, where nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are in a balanced form. With an excess of nitrogen, primroses will grow green, and there may be no flowers next season.
After flowering, the primrose accumulates strength for the winter. Preparing a perennial for winter comes down to sheltering with spruce branches or straw. Usually shelter with snow is enough for a safe wintering.
Aquilegia
Drought tolerant perennial. The plant is undemanding to soils. However, it will grow much better on fertile loose soils. Aquilegia can be propagated by dividing the root, if you want to get several new plants of a rare variety.
Use other ways to propagate aquilegia. In the spring, cut off the replacement bud along with part of the root and plant the shoot in a greenhouse for rooting. A month later, young aquilegia can be planted in open ground in a permanent place.
For the winter, the soil around the plant is mulched with peat, humus, compost. So, you will protect the perennial from freezing, especially old specimens, in which part of the roots is on the surface.
Lily
Does not need shelter for the winter. The only requirement in preparing the plant for winter: do not cut the stem after flowering, even if you really want to, even if the lily has lost all aesthetic appeal.
The flower continues its vegetative season. The plant prepares in reserve nutrients to survive the winter.
Primroses
Most spring primroses winter well without any human intervention. Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, blueberries, muscari and many others – all these primroses can grow in one place for 3-5 years. In the photo of the plant – spring primroses:
Herbaceous perennials
Herbaceous perennials do not bloom for a long time, and the flowers are most often very modest. Their foliage retains its decorative throughout the growing season, for which decorative perennials are valued. See photo examples of ornamental plants:
Badan, hosta, buzulnik, brunner, stonecrop, elimus are plants that have an unusual shape and color of leaves. They overwinter in the middle zone very well, do not require any additional protection. Usually, after the first frosts, gardeners remove the upper dead part and mulch the soil over the plants with peat or perhum before winter.
Conclusion
There are a huge number of perennials that easily endure winters, they do not even need any shelter. A minimum of effort on your part, but a lot of beauty in the summer cottage. From early spring to the very frosts, perennials will delight you with beautiful flowers.