They bloom like annuals, but live on for years: Marathon perennials - flower gardening

Sunset, April, 2002 by Jim McCausland

Though most perennials sprint through the bloom cycle in three or four weeks, a few are serious marathon runners: They flower for months at a time, combining the staying power of annuals with the long-range reliability of perennials. To get these star performers growing in your garden, start now, when nurseries and garden centers have more perennials on hand than any other time of year. By late spring, painterly combinations of color will start to catch your eye every time you look out the window, and by summer you'll discover that the long-flowering perennials you've added to the garden attract a lively array of birds and insects.

* Which flowers will do the most for your landscape? There are a vast number of choices, so we've narrowed the list (page 115) to perennials that perform well throughout most of the West. Keep in mind, though, that hot weather can cut short the flowering season of many perennials, while mild summer temperatures common along the coast and in the high mountains can stretch out the bloom season.

RELATED ARTICLE: what is a perennial?

Perennials are flowering plants that live three years or more. Most are herbaceous (with soft or nonwoody tissue), dying to the ground in fall and reemerging in spring. But there are plenty of exceptions. Tender perennials, like the Million Bells (Calibrachoa) pictured on page 116, freeze out easily, so they're treated as annuals everywhere except in the mildest parts of the West. Other perennials, like Russian sage, are either evergreen or woody enough to never die back completely.

Planting tips

For best performance, plant perennials in well-amended soil; dig the soil at least 8 inches deep (below left) and amend it with 2 or 3 inches of compost or well-rotted manure. Knock the plant from the nursery pot and loosen any coiled roots (center). Position plant, firming soil around it. Fertilize lightly three times during the bloom season and water regularly (when stressed by lack of water or nutrients, plants tend to force a quick, weak bloom then stop flowering for the season).

THE PLANT LIST

western all-stars

The following perennials are grouped by peak bloom. Most grow throughout the West; some of the early-flowering perennials don't bloom until summer in cooler climates.

early flowers

AFRICAN DAISY

Osteospermum ecklonis 'Lavender Mist'. Midspring-fall. Foot-high mound of white daisies that fade to mauve. ZONES: 2B-24.

O. fruticosum. Intermittent year-round bloom. Trailing plants come with white, blue, pink, purple, or yellow blooms. ZONES: 8-9, 12-24, H1-H2.

AGASTACHE

A. 'Tutti Frutti'. Summer. Fink flowers favored by hummingbirds. ZONES: 2B-24.

A. mexicana. Spring-late fall. Hummingbirds are attracted to the pink flowers. ZONES: 3-24.

BEARD TONGUE

Penstemon Mexicali hybrids.

Summer. Rose and violet flowers. ZONES: 1-3, 10.

P. x gloxinioides 'Firebird'. Summer. Scarlet flowers attract hummingbirds. ZONES: 6-9, 14-24.

P. x g. Kissed series. Summer. White-throated flowers with bright, warm-colored lips. Needs good drainage. ZONES: 6-9, 14-24

P heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP'. Spring-early summer. Electric blue flowers favored in Southern California. ZONES: 7-24.

BLEEDING HEART

Dicentra 'Luxuriant'.

Spring-summer. Red flowers don't easily burn out in summer. ZONES: A1-A3, 1-9, 14-24.

D. formosa 'Zestful'. Everblcoming in mild weather; rose-colored flowers. ZONES: 1-9, 14-24.

CATMINT

Nepeta x faassenii. Late spring-early summer. If plant is sheared when blue flowers slow down, catmint repeats in fall. ZONES: 1-24.

COLUMBINE

Aquilegia longissima. Late spring-midsummer. Large yellow nodding blooms. A Texas native. ZONES: 1-11, 14-24.

GERANIUM

G. 'Frances Grate'. Early spring-fall. Mauve flowers. ZONES: 14-24

G. 'Johnson's Blue'. Spring-fall. Blue violet flowers in loose clusters. ZONES: 2-9, 14-24.

G. incanum. Spring-fall. Light magenta. ZONES: 14-24.

G. sanguineum. Spring into summer; will rebloom in fall if cut down in late summer. Red to purple flowers. ZONES: A2-A3, 1-9, 14-24.

GEUM

G. chiloense 'Mrs. Bradshaw'. Spring-summer. Double red orange flowers, ZONES: 2-24.

later flowers

ASTER

Aster x frikartii 'Monch'. Blooms summer-fall or nearly all year in mildest areas if you deadhead. Blue. ZONES: 2B-24.

BEGONIA

B. grandis. Summer. White or pink flowers; give it filtered shade. ZONES: 3-24.

BLACK-EYED SUSAN

Rudbeckia fulgida sullivantii 'Gold sturm'. Summer. Yellow flowers keep oncoming. ZONES: 1-24.

BLANKET FLOWER

Gaillardia x grandiflora. Blooms June until first frost. Yellow flowers banded with red, maroon, or brown. Interesting seed heads in winter. ZONES: 1-24, H1-H2.

G. x g. 'Goblin'. Blooms June until first frost. Dwarf form with yellow-bordered red flowers. ZONES: 1-24, H1-H2.

CAMPANULA

C. rotundifolia 'Olympica'. Summer. Bell-shaped blue flowers. ZONES: A1-A3, 1-10, 14-24.

COREOPSIS

C. verficillata 'Moonbeam'. Summer-fall. Pale yellow flowers; good tolerance for drought and neglect. Best in Northwest. ZONES: 1-24.