Perennials & Biennials

- A perennial plant is one that lives for 3 or more years.

- A biennial plant is one that lives for 12 months but requires a winter period to induce flowering; flowering is typically in the spring when it is still too cold to plant out tender annuals.

- An annual plant flowers and seeds within the same year. Tender annuals cannot be planted out until risk of frost is over.

A mixture of all these plant types gives a garden both change and continuity.

Perennials give a garden its character. Trees and shrubs form a framework to build around. Annuals and biennials provide seasonal colour, but must be renewed each year. Perennials provide colour and a variety of form that will last for several years, and are less labour intensive than beds of annual plantings.

Perennial plants originate from many different regions of the world, and as a result they vary enormously in their cold tolerance.

Advantage of perennials: they do not need to be planted every year. Once you do the work of getting them established they will continue for years.

Disadvantage of perennials: many perennials only flower for a few weeks each year. Your goal should be to plant a range of perennials that will bloom at different periods throughout the entire growing season. This will allow you to have a colourful garden all the time.

Sowing: perennials generally should be sown in the summer to establish plants before autumn. After the vernalisation period of winter, they will flower in the following spring and summer. The precise time of flowering is dependent upon the species.

We offer the following perennial / biennial seeds:-

Perennials A-C

Perennials D-O

Perennials P

Perennials Q-Z