| I echo Bob, in that you will have much more if you grow annuals also, but I don't recommend growing perennials as annuals. Many big growers grow perennials as annuals for several reasons: the plants don't get enough light and winter chill to perform year to year because they are grown in a greenhouse; the growers wants to maximize expensive greenhouse space, therefore want to get another crop from the same spot; or if they grow outside, they are in too warm a climate and the perennials don't get enough winter chill. The perennials I grow for cutting successfully, outdoors, in zone 5, that get bigger and have more flowers every year: Delphinium, particularly Belladonna and Magic Fountains. They are short-lived, 4-5 years, so I grow a few from seed each year to replace the old ones that don't come up in the spring.
Campanula persicifolia and glomerata
Feverfew (maybe not a true perennial but reseeds reliably)
Columbines
Shasta daisies
Pyrethrum, Painted Daisy (aka Tanacetum)
Bearded Iris
Caryopteris 'First Choice' and 'Dark Knight'
Peonies - LOTS of peonies
Phlox
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Echinacea, but it's not that great as a cut
Centaurea macrocephala
Malva and Gaillardia thrive here, even out-competing the weeds, but they wilt for 24 hours after cutting before perking back up, so they don't fit into my cutting schedule.
Peegee hydrangea
Curly-twig willow
Lupines
Veronica
Rudbeckia: the hirta-based varieties (Prairie Sun, Indian Summer, Cherokee Sunset, Chim Chiminee, Double Gold, Rustic Colors, plain old hirta) are sold as annuals but are really biennials to short-lived perennials here, and in fact they don't produce much the first year. They do very well treated like biennials, and if they keep coming back after that (some do, some don't) the rest is gravy. I have a few 4-year-olds Rudbeckia plants.
Lilacs, but I don't like them as a cut very much. I can't get more than 5 days of vase life out of them no matter what I do. They certainly thrive here.
Perennial asters are fall bloomers but they don't like the September freezes and cold winds in my field and end up looking too ragged to use. My boss' sheltered zone 6 garden, 60 miles away from here, produces gorgeous perennial asters. Digitalis and biennial dianthus are very worthwhile for me. I don't know if you're willing to try biennials. Fall flowers from perennials are hard to come by here. Asters, caryopteris, willow, maybe delphinium, are about it. Annuals (sunflowers, annual asters, maybe zinnias, maybe mums, maybe snapdragons) really would help you there. Oriental lilies might bloom into the fall for you, the first year, if planted late. If you leave them in the ground where they are happiest, they'll get bigger every year but will most likely bloom in late summer in succeeding years. Are you willing to do dahlias? They bloom into the fall and can handle a touch of frost, but you have to lift the tubers before serious frost comes. The good part is that they grow more tubers quickly, so if you purchase and plant one tuber, you will have 5 or more tubers you can plant separately next year (or sell, or give away). Good luck!
Jeanne |
