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There is hardly a single garden plot that is not adorned with a flower bed. After all, a summer cottage for townspeople is not only a source of environmentally friendly vegetables and berries, but also a place for a pleasant pastime. In short hours of rest, we want beauty to surround us, so that the look is pleasant.
There are always enough worries at the summer cottage. And in order to minimize physical and material costs, many gardeners choose perennials for flower bed decoration. Perennial plants are undemanding in care, do not need transplanting for many years, you only need to take care of the planting site once, prepare it correctly, enrich it with compost, humus and mineral fertilizers.
Perennials will become the basis of your flower bed, planting annuals to them, you can successfully conduct design experiments. Or by choosing the right perennial plants that bloom at different times, you can create continuous flowering flower bed... Perennials are good because many tolerate the Russian winter quite calmly, the plants do not need to be dug up and care about storage conditions.
Beautifully flowering perennials wintering outdoors
We will not reveal a secret: wintering perennials perfectly preserve themselves in the ground. After the end of the growing season, the aerial part dies off, the roots and bulbs go into hibernation in the winter to awaken in the spring. The photo shows popular flowering perennialswintering in the open field:
Pion
The peony is extremely good during the flowering period. You cannot do without it in the garden, beautiful flowers are suitable for cutting. In order to have an abundantly flowering beautiful plant every year, you must remember and follow the simple rules for preparing a perennial in winter.
If the flower is planted on a hill, then there is a threat that the winds will blow away the snow cover. The perennial will lose its natural protection. Peonies that are at risk should be covered with spruce branches or agrofibre for the winter.
At the beginning of October, cut off the aerial part of the perennial, leaving 5 cm high hemp.
The plant continues to prepare for winter by storing nutrients in the roots.
Otherwise, early pruning of the perennial will result in the plant not blooming or blooming poorly. In winter, mulch cut peonies with a thick layer of peat or compost (20 cm).
Watch the video on how to prepare a peony for winter:
Astilba
A perennial that naturally grows high in the mountains, so the flower easily tolerates winter. Before the end of the growing season, it is recommended to feed the plant with organic or mineral fertilizers. This is done so that in the spring you have a healthy, strong bush that blooms profusely in July, and then decorates the flower beds with carved foliage.
With the onset of the first cold weather, the upper part of the perennial is cut off almost at the level of the soil, then the cuts are covered with peat, humus or compost. In central Russia, a mulch thickness of 3 cm is sufficient, in the northern regions it can be increased to 10-20 cm. Astilbe does not need a covering material. In winter, old specimens of perennials should be sheltered, which have a limited supply of vitality.
rose flower
Rose is the queen of the garden. Requires a little more attention to itself than other perennials before winter.If you know some of the vegetative features of the plant, then you can easily prepare the rose for winter and save it.
Beginning in late August, stop feeding the rose with nitrogen fertilizers that cause shoots and leaves to grow. Feed the plant with fertilizers that are dominated by potassium and phosphorus.
Reduce watering. Do not prune the rose or cut the flowers. This procedure will suspend the growth of shoots in perennials, which still do not have time to stiffen and, therefore, die in winter. Shoots that have grown should be pinched.
With the arrival of the first frost, roses are freed from foliage and shoots that did not have time to ripen. In November, the plant should be pruned, leaving 40-50 cm. Bend it to the ground and cover with lutrasil, which is firmly fixed at the edges. There are varieties of roses that do not need shelter for the winter.
Perennial aster
perennial asters begin their flowering when most of the perennials have faded and are preparing for hibernation. Even slight frosts for perennial asters are not a reason to stop flowering.
After the perennial has faded, it should be cut off, and the stumps should be mulched with compost or peat. Young specimens need shelter with spruce branches, for which winter will be the first.
In general, perennial asters are very unpretentious plants. Looks good in curbs, in alpine slides, in plantings in groups or singly. To preserve the decorative properties, the faded perennial flowers should be removed.
Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia is a perennial plant that is undemanding to care for. It would seem that a very simple flower, however, due to its bright color, it can decorate any flower bed or unsightly part of the garden. Perennial is also undemanding to soils.
It will bloom in a violent color, if you still pay a little attention to the plant: plant it on fertile soil, which is illuminated by the bright sun, occasionally feed it with organic matter or mineral fertilizers, replant it every 5 years. For the winter, the perennial should be cut off and mulched with peat.
Iris
Delicate perennial flowers with a rich variety of colors. Most of the domestic varieties winter very well. And they do not need additional means of protection in winter.
You can insure yourself in case of a harsh winter with little snow, then perennials are covered with spruce branches. Young plants and very old plants should be sheltered for the winter, in which the root has grown too much and protrudes above the ground.
In order for perennials to survive the winter well, some preparation must be done in advance. With the onset of frost, the leaves of irises are cut in the form of a cone, 15 cm high.Around them, you can pour a mound of sawdust, peat, compost, fallen leaves 15-20 cm high.
Primrose
Primroses live best under trees, as they like diffused light. The plant blooms actively if the soil has enough nutrition. Primroses can be fed with complex mineral fertilizers, where nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are in a balanced form. With an excess of nitrogen, primroses will begin to grow green, and in the next season there may be no flowers.
After flowering, primrose builds up strength for the winter. The preparation of a perennial in winter is reduced to covering with spruce branches or straw. Snow cover is usually sufficient for safe wintering.
Aquilegia
Drought-resistant perennial... The plant is undemanding to soil. However, it will grow much better on fertile loose soils. Aquilegia can be propagated by dividing the root if you want to get several new plants of a rare variety.
Use other aquilegia breeding methods.In the spring, cut off the replacement bud along with a portion of the root and plant the scion in a greenhouse for rooting. After a month, young aquilegia can be planted in open ground in a permanent place.
For the winter, the soil around the plant is mulched with peat, humus, compost. So, you will protect the perennial from freezing, especially old specimens, in which some of the roots are on the surface.
Lily
Does not need shelter for the winter. The only requirement in preparing the plant for winter: do not cut the stem after flowering is complete, even if you really want to, even if the lily has lost all its aesthetic appeal.
The flower continues its vegetative season. The plant prepares nutrients in reserve to survive the winter.
Primroses
Most spring primroses hibernate well without any human intervention. Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, redwoods, muscari and many others - all these primroses can grow in one place for 3-5 years. In the photo of the plant - spring primroses:
Herbaceous perennials
Herbaceous perennials do not bloom for a long time, and flowers are most often very modest. Their foliage retains its decorative throughout the growing season, for which decorative perennials are valued. See photo examples of ornamental plants:
Badan, hosta, buzulnik, brunner, sedum, elimus are plants with an unusual shape and color of leaves. They overwinter very well in the middle zone and do not require any additional protection. Usually, after the first frost, gardeners remove the upper dead part and mulch the soil on top of the plants with peat or pergola before winter.
Conclusion
There are a huge number of perennials that easily endure Russian winters, they don't even need any shelter. A minimum of effort on your part, but a lot of beauty at the summer cottage. From early spring to the very frost, perennials will delight you with beautiful flowers.
