Fast Growing Perennials
May June 2009
By: Gardening How-To
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| In the May/June 2009 issue of Gardening How-To magazine, you learned about some fast-growing perennials that give the garden a burst of colorful blooms their very first year. Here’s a list of more, and some ideas to help fast-forward your newly planted garden and quickly give it a more established look. |
| Click on photos to enlarge. | Even more fast-growing perennials: Bee balm Monarda didyma Zones 4 to 9
Bugleweed Ajuga reptans Zones 3 to 9
Catmint Nepeta x faassenii Zones 4 to 8
Fleabane Erigeron spp. Zones 3 to 8
Garden phlox Phlox paniculata Zones 4 to 9
Lady’s mantle Alchemilla mollis Zones 4 to 7
Spotted deadnettle Lamium maculatum Zones 4 to 8
New England aster Symphotrichum novae-angliae Zones 3 to 9
Yarrow Achillea millefolium Zones 3 to 9
Yellow corydalis Corydalis lutea Zones 5 to 8
|  | Prepare the soil. Plants will settle in, adapt, and start growing faster in top-quality soil. Before you plant anything, spread 2 to 3 inches of compost on the soil and till in to a depth of about 8 inches. New roots will have a fluffy, loose-textured home to spread into, as well as lots of natural, slow-release nutrients to give them a good start. |  | | Fill gaps economically. When young perennials are properly spaced in the garden, there can be bare spots in between. Instead of filling that space with dozens of annual bedding plants, use a few large annuals. Tall, substantial cleome or nicotiana give the garden size and weight quickly with fewer plants. |  | | Use bulbs for fast bloom. Summer bulbs like dahlias, cannas, gladiolus, and caladiums are fast growers that provide lots of colorful foliage and flowers. Treat them as annuals and leave the bulbs in the ground when winter rolls around, or dig them up and store until next spring. If you live in a warmer climate where they’re hardy-year-round, leave the bulbs in the ground and look forward to years of enjoyment. |  |
Splurge on a few full-size plants. Grasses have immediate impact and look good even in winter. But they’re slow-growing compared to annuals and perennials. It’s worth it to plant more mature specimens, which will be even larger in the years to come. Dwarf flowering shrubs like potentilla, Japanese spirea, and deutzia bloom when they’re small and have interesting foliage and structure before the other plants even start their show. |  | | Design for maximum impact. Place the shortest plants in the front and the tallest in the back to give a sense of depth and fullness. As the plants mature and take on their final sizes and forms, you can always change things around. Move temporary plants as permanent ones grow together, and experiment with different combinations. |  |
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