Long Blooming Perennials

Perennials are appealing for most gardeners because they return every year, meaning that you don’t have to spend hours hunched over your garden beds digging, fertilizing, and watering new plants. However, the one downside to perennials is that some have shorter blooming times than even annuals do. Choosing long blooming perennials for your garden ensures that your home is surrounded by color each growing season.

There are more long blooming perennials than you probably think. In fact, there are plenty of blooms lasting longer than six weeks.

Taking the time to make sure your perennials become established pays off in the long run. One season of labor is worth the work because, after that, they require little effort and provide you with lush greenery for years and years.

Getting the Most Out of Your Garden

Every successful garden provides visual interest throughout each season, starting in the early spring with new colors emerging through the late fall and sometimes even into the winter.

While you can and should plant some long flowering annuals, long blooming perennials are low-maintenance plants with all the requirements for designing flower beds with constant scenery. With a little planning, it’s possible to extend your plants’ bloom time even longer.

When choosing plants to grow in your flower beds, long blooming perennials should be your go-to. While flowers with shorter bloom times and annuals are fine, picking plants that last for years makes gardening simpler.

Deadheading your flowers the moment they begin to die off also prolongs the bloom time. Simply pinch or cut the stem below the flower head and above the first set of healthy leaves.

Giving your long blooming perennials fertilizer provides them with proper nutrition throughout the year to help them live a long, healthy life.

Finally, visit your local garden center multiple times throughout the year. You’d be surprised how different plants look during different seasons.

Cheery Long Blooming Perennials: Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolate)

You may have heard coreopsis called the moonbeam flower. This is one of the longest blooming perennial plants that blooms long after most other perennials have faded in your garden. Their blooms look similar to daisies.

The most common coreopsis plants have all yellow flowers, but they also have varieties of white, pink, and red with maroon and dark brown centers. They are Florida’s state wildflower and hardy in USDA zones four through nine.

Coreopsis is happiest when planted in the correct perennial zone in early spring and a location with full sun. Make sure to deadhead the spent blooms during the growing season and cut them back by one third in the late summer or early fall.

Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Phlox are long-blooming perennials and a favorite of many gardeners. They have a bloom time from early spring to late summer. Phlox has star-shaped flowers, is low-maintenance, and emits a lovely scent.

Phlox require planting in a location with fertile, moist, and well-draining soil. Each type of this plant has a different sunlight requirement, so be sure to check what amount of sunlight is right for your variety.

These attractive summer flowers should receive at least one inch of rain or water every week. Add a one to two-inch layer of mulch around the base of the plant and add compost once a year.

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Black-eyed Susans are a hardy perennial plant that’s native to North America. These long-time bloomers leave viewers in amazement because they tend to blanket fields and look stunning in mass plantings.

They have a dark brown center with daisy-like petals. The plants grow up to three feet tall and attract butterflies, bees, and other vital pollinators.

Black-eyed Susans have a bloom time from June to October, and they prefer full sun and fertile soil. Make sure these heat tolerant perennials don’t dry out and divide the plant every three years to make the plants healthier and prevent them from overspreading.

Asian Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) – Unique Perennials that Last All Season

Asian bleeding hearts are fern-like flowering plants that are native to the Appalachian Mountains. They have oddly shaped purple flowers that hang from the stems.

Although these plants grow slowly, they reach up to 18 inches tall and provide unique shapes and textures. Bleeding hearts are hardy in USDA zones three through nine. They prefer colder summers, which help them bloom profusely.

It thrives in part shade; however, it tolerates small periods of direct sunlight as well. They prefer to have moist, well-draining soil. Because these plants are so low maintenance, you don’t need to spend any time deadheading or trimming them.

Veronica (Veronica spicata)

Veronica is a care-free plant with long spikes containing purple, pink, white, and blue flowers. These unique plants grow from one to three feet tall and have a long bloom time from late spring to autumn.

These plants look great along borders and make excellent cut flowers for bouquets. Grow veronica flowers in fertile soil and a location with full sun. Plant them in the spring after the last frost and water thoroughly.

Make sure they receive at least one inch of water per week. Spread a thin layer of compost around the plant and top it with a thicker layer of organic mulch to help retain moisture in the roots. After the first fall frost, cut the plants back to two inches above the ground.

Rozanne Geranium (Geranium x Rozanne)

Rozanne geranium is a variety that is extra hardy and has violet-blue flowers and green foliage. These flowers are known for their soil versatility. Average, well-draining soil makes this plant more than happy.

Rozanne geraniums look great in containers or hanging baskets as well. When given the right conditions, this flower blooms from May to October.

Rozanne geranium is hardy in USDA zones five through eight. They prefer full to part sun. Space each plant at least eight to 16 inches apart. These geraniums require little care and only ask you to cut their stems after they flower.

Popular Perennials – Daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva)

Spotting a daylily in a flower bed isn’t uncommon. Daylilies have been a long-time favorite of homeowners for their extended bloom time and unique looking flowers. Depending on the type, they grow as low as eight inches up to five feet tall.

Early spring or fall is the best time to plant daylilies. Make sure they receive at least six hours of sun every day.

The morning sun is best because the hot afternoon heat scorches the leaves. Keep them watered well for several weeks until they establish themselves in their new home.

Salvia (Salvia officinalis)

Salvia is one of our favorite long blooming perennials. There are nearly 1,000 species of salvia around the world, and these flowers are closely related to mint, rosemary, lavender, and sage.

Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies also love to snack on this hardy perennial. They are drought-resistant and one of the easiest to care for. Most salvia is hardy in USDA zones five through nine, and some range from one to six feet, both tall and wide.

Salvia prefers to have at least six hours of sunlight per day, however, some tolerate partial shade. Salvia flowers are spring blooming perennials that last until early fall and have blue, purple, red, pink, and white flowers.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Yarrow is a herbaceous plant that is virtually care-free. It has a flat-topped and dome-shaped flower clusters on the top of long stems. They bloom from April to October and reach about three feet tall.

The feathery leaves give them a subtle, fern-like look. Space your yarrow plants up to two feet apart from one another. They thrive in full sun and a large diversity of soils.

Be careful when planting this flower in your garden beds because it becomes invasive if it gets out of control. Be on the lookout for powdery mildew or other molds as well.

Sedum (Hylotelephium spectabile): The Hardiest Long-Blooming Perennials

Sedum is a long blooming perennial that most gardeners love. They have leaves similar to succulents with large, pinkish-white clusters of star-shaped flowers. They are exceptionally hardy and loved by essential pollinators.

Purchase sedum from your local garden center and transplant them to your garden in the early spring through the early summer.

Space each sedum plant six inches to two feet apart, depending on how large your plant type grows. Water them regularly and keep a healthy balance between too dry and too wet. Once established, these plants require little care.

Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)

Russian sage is one of a kind with its silvery-gray foliage and lavender flowers. These long blooming perennials make a statement in a homeowner’s garden.

Sage flowers bloom from late spring until autumn and are ideal for areas that require groundcover plants. Russian sage is hardy in zones five through ten.

They thrive in locations with well-draining soil and full sun. Space each plant three feet apart and water them occasionally until established. Be careful not to overwater these plants since they prefer slightly drier conditions.

Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Coneflowers are essential for perennial gardens. They look similar to black-eyes Susans but come in a wider array of colors. These stunning flowers are native to North America and attract birds and bees.

Coneflowers prefer to live in soil that is well-draining and in areas that receive full sunlight. They reach two to four feet high and are tolerant of some of more impoverished soil conditions.

Once established, these beauties are drought-tolerant and easy to maintain. Do not cut back coneflowers because they self-seed and only divide or transplant them in the spring or fall.

A Flower for You and Your Cat: Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

Catnip is an herb that thrives throughout most of North America. Growing three to four feet tall, catnip has featherlike, light green leaves and clusters of flowers that look similar to lavender.

It is used in many food and herbal remedies, and the oils from them are said to repel mosquitoes. This plant gives some cats the feeling of being drunk when they’re around it.

Don’t worry too much about your furry friends roaming around; it is perfectly safe for them, and they love it! Catnip spreads exceptionally quickly.

After the first bloom, cut the plant down to the ground to prevent them from overspreading and stimulating more blooms. This pretty plant does best in full sun or partial shade and likes poor, well-drained soil.

As an additional measure to keep this vigorous grower under control, splitting perennials at the end of the growing season also works.

Ornamental Onion (Allium karataviense)

Ornamental onions are low-growing, long blooming perennials that are the most unique looking of all the plants on this list. They hold large globes of star-shaped pink flowers and silver-green foliage.

As a bonus, they are one of the perennials that repel insects. They make excellent cut flowers and are ideal as a border plant or in a gravel garden. Ornamental onions prefer fertile, well-draining soil and locations with full sun.

Adding a small amount of organic mulch and compost around the base of the plant helps protect the roots, especially in colder regions.

One of the critical benefits of landscaping and gardening is that it gives your home an extra special, welcoming feel when you pull in your driveway.

Long blooming perennials can extend that feeling for as long as you live there. When you come home, you want the immediate impression of happiness and coziness.

Tailoring your flower beds around your favorite plants, colors, and shapes is the best way to transform a space into your own personal sanctuary away from the stressors of everyday life.

If you think this list of long blooming perennials will help turn your house into a home, share these long-lasting flowers on Facebook and Pinterest.