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railparail

How do you care for perennials so they come back strong?

railparail
12 years ago

Hi,

I found this great forum and I'm thrilled to be the part of the community. I am in SS Zone 16/17, in SF Bay Area, on the peninsula.

I've been growing some hardy annuals in containers at my garden for the past couple of years. Some of these are borderline but some others are survivors over the coldest winters. Some that I've tried are Freesias, Tuberous Begonias (that need storage in winter and are true perennials), and some are verbanas, fuschias and evergreen begonia (forgot the variety) and Million Bells etc., which are apparently almost evergreens in my climate.

So my question is about the latter, that survive through the winter.

Trouble I've had is that they hold up but the following Spring, they take REALLY long time and effort to come back. I've seen that they never really revive even in Spring.

What am I doing wrong? My last year's survivors took the entire season to barely *begin* growing by which time it's fall already! I watered regularly, and provided them with partial sun+shade. Do they need a feeding schedule or do they need soil change or what else? What is your experience?

I would love to be able to see full containers the next year! I am not expecting them to keep growing through winters but I was really thinking that once weather gets better, they will continue the growth from where they stopped. Does not seem to happen....

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

Comments (15)

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    12 years ago

    Not quite clear as to which plant you are having trouble with--just the Calibrachoa ("million bells") or the others as well? Can you clarify?

    Here Fuchsias and Begonias are heavier-than-average feeders and need regular fertilizer to produce a lavish plant. Cutting back when a pause in bloom occurs and before new growth begins in spring stimulates a good growing season.

    Many Begonias like a certain amount of warmth before they get going--here it's late spring at the earliest, and I'm in 23, warmer than your zone. Depends on the begonia.

    The Calibrachoas were annuals here. They may survive to the next year, but looked wretched and were not worth the effort to save. Verbena--which ones? There are quite a few and slightly different treatment depending on the species.

  • hosenemesis
    12 years ago

    Welcome to Gardenweb!

    Same here: Million Bells are an annual for me. I replace them each year. Same with begonias and verbenas.

    Fuchsias can do well for many years. You have to watch out for fuchsia mites, though. Once I got them, I ended up just pulling out my fuchsias because it became too much of a hassle to keep them healthy.

    Happy gardening, Renee

    Freesias are a bulb. They should come back every year.

  • railparail
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    If the verbenas (apologies for spelling in the original post!) and the Million Bells are annuals in Socal, then I guess I should feel good that something green came back! However they're regularly sold under "perennials" in the nurseries around here.

    I guess, then, I should consider it to be a bonus that they came back,however weak.

    Thanks for sharing.

  • bahia
    12 years ago

    I find that the Callibrochoas are short lived perennials for me here in the East SF Bay Area, and most Verbenas besides V. bonariensis and rigors are annuals. If you want container plants to continue growing/blooming year round, including winter, you'll have to feed more regularly on a year round basis. I find a combo of time release supplemented with every 2/3 weeks liquid feeding to be ideal. You might also consider switching out some of the annuals with long blooming perennials such as Salvias chiapensis or mystic spires, Limonium perezii, Justifiable brandeegeana, Tulbaghia violaceae Silver Lace, etc. Colorful foliage succulents such as Echeveria sbrigida, A agavoides, Aeoniums such as Zwartkop or Sunburst, and Agave striata and Aloes such as x delaetii or Johnson's hybrid can be quite useful combined with annual color. For full sun, try adding Sweet Alyssum for all winter color and/or Iceland poppies or Calendulas.

  • railparail
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Regarding the previous post: what do you mean by short-lived perennial? Isn't it an oxymoron? :-) I thought a "perennial" really should be going on and on...

    Thanks for the list of winter hardy plants.

  • bahia
    12 years ago

    There are in fact quite a few plants that stride the boundary between annuals and perennials. Short lived perennial is not an oxymoron, how else to describe plants that last more than a year or one season, are not technically biennials which are programmed to die after they flower and set seed(which may take 1to 3 years), but typically may bloom themselves out after a year or two's growth. Short lived may be a relative description depending on one's local conditions. I've had varied plants such as petunias, callibrochoa, limonium perezii, Impatiens, Sweet Alyssum, lobelia erinus all act as short lived perennials in some settings, or one season annuals in other locations. Other more common plants I'd include in this category would be violas, Erysimum linifolium, Nemesis fruticosa, Mexican poppies, to name a few others. I'm sure others on this forum could add to this list of annuals and/or perennials that typically grow well for 1.5 to 3 years on average, and then are best removed and replanted with fresh specimens.

  • calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
    12 years ago

    I have to agree there is a long list of perennials that are much better replaced than hanging on to plants that are over age and woody and weak. If you have favorites, take cuttings and grow them up to size in containers, ready to replace your old plants. Al

  • socal23
    12 years ago

    There are actually a number of categories of herbaceous plants: ephemerals grow continuously for a specific period of time, then flower, set seed and die; biennials grow vegetatively for a period of time, go through a period of partial or complete dormancy, then in their next season of growth develop an inflorescence and flowers, set seed and die; monocarps (like giant himalayan lily or century plant) grow for several to many years, flower, set seed and die; tender perennials grow and flower continuously until they wear out or some environmental factor kills them off; hardy perennials grow and bloom then go partially or completely dormant for a period of time (dormancy triggered by an environmental factor such as daylength, cold or drought).

    The kicker is that these are all human devised categories, not rules that herbaceous plants live by.

  • hosenemesis
    12 years ago

    Darn plants. They should live by my rules and fit into my categories, I tell you!
    Renee

  • railparail
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I realize that I should have actually phrased this question differently, for my real intent is to keep my container gardens looking good for as long as I can, so growth takes over right from where it stopped when the Spring arrives.

    I'd say I'm looking at them more like babies -- where depending on what type of care they get, they might become superstar athletes of the plant family. Don't get me wrong -- I am not expecting them to run any races -- but I am just thinking that, may be, they will survive where other plants of their kind don't.

    So -- I am keeping them grouped, in containers, sometimes near my main house entrance, or outside of windows, that gives them a certain exposure to heated air whenever I open the door. I placed them under a canopy of other cold hardy plants which will hopefully shield them against the frost. And I am actually considering wrapping the little nursery pots with insulation to keep the soil from getting too cold.

    This, and the important aspect of keeping them well fed throughout the year.

    :-)

    Well -- just in case folks are wondering, I do all that because I really would love to see my containers pretty all year around.

    (I do have sedums and a few succulent gardens that I'm happy with but do not want to repeat throughout my garden).

    Also, I'd appreciate no sarcasm or judgement.

  • loreleie
    12 years ago

    Hi! This may not really answer your question but I thought I'd add to the conversation since I am in your zone (17) and have mostly containers in my brick patio. I have several large ceramic pots and I have a couple with dwarf trees and a couple with with shrubs in them. Those are like the backbone of my garden~ the woody stemmed plants that I consider "permanent". Then I have several other pots that I plant with combinations of annuals & perennials in a single pot~ herbaceous stemmed plants~ I'll change the annuals every few months with whatever I find at the nursery that has the same watering and sun/shade requirements as the perennial(s) i'm planting it with. The perennials will last a few seasons but when they stop blooming or look tired & ragged, Iknow it's time to pull them out and plant something new. (Perennial just means it lives for 3 years or more~ they do not last forever!)
    But some good evergreen trees & shrubs for containers that look good year round are Purple Dodonaea, dwarf citrus, Nandina, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana & other dwarf conifers, some Azalea/ rhododendron cultivars, boxwood, Dwarf Alberta Spruce.
    Also, I like to use organic fertilizers because they improve the soil over time and provide a lot of nutrients but I also use Eleanor's VF-11 diluted in a spray bottle w/ water and just spray it on all my plants once or twice a month.
    Every plant is different so even though they may all be perennials, some respond well to being pruned, others may not not bloom if you prune. Some plants don't like fertilizers (ie. ferns) while others are heavy feeders.

  • railparail
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Loreleie, actually you answered my question quite nicely.

    As you correctly guessed, I was looking for some tricks of keeping the containers looking good. You mentioned a lot of useful information on Thrillers.

    However, my problem is with Spillers -- it just looks to me that no spillers are year-around: at most they might survive winters by fluke; but one needs to be ready to change them the upcoming Spring.

    Thanks for sharing.

  • Min3 South S.F. Bay CA
    12 years ago

    gee- i was reading along, enjoying all the helpful and intelligent information in these posts, when i saw the words about sarcasm or judgement which shocked me because i hadn't noticed any of that.
    guess its all in the attitude of the reader.
    imo, giving the benefit of the doubt can be a good thing.

  • railparail
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I did not say there had been sarcasm. I wanted to say that I'd not need any, especially after writing the post related to how to extend season for tender plants. What I saw struck me more like playful banter.

    If you read through some of the older threads, you will notice that there are fair number of purists on these forums who would not hesitate to bash up those who post thoughts different than theirs.

    Anyway, thanks to those who responded. Your responses did help me gain a good deal of understanding about the available options.

  • jenn
    12 years ago

    The Verbena (purple) we grow is definitely the perennial one and blooms its head off year-round. We grow it in the ground. Some of the others are annual.

    I'm following this thread with great interest.