Perennials

Perennials

Our enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable perennials team is here to answer your questions and help you choose the best perennials for your situation. There’s always something in bloom for sun, shade, butterflies, birds or deer resistance  as well as a variety of bulbs for your space.

Stroll through our time-tested favorites and introduce yourself to the newest varieties. We garden with perennials too; we love them and it shows!

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'

White blooms. Compact. Clumping green foliage. USDA 5-9

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln' Fountain Grass

Height: 28 inches

Spread: 24 inches

Sunlight: full sun

Hardiness Zone: 4b

Description:
A fine textured dwarf fountain grass suitable for smaller areas; bright green foliage changes to a golden tan in fall; blooms are large bottle brush like plumes of white that persist until winter; beautiful as an accent or massed in borders or rock garden

Ornamental Features:
Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass has masses of beautiful plumes of white flowers rising above the foliage in mid summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. Its grassy leaves are green in color. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous coppery-bronze in the fall.

Landscape Attributes:
Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass is an herbaceous perennial grass with a shapely form and gracefully arching stems. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass is recommended for the following landscape applications:

- Accent
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting

Planting & Growing:
Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'

White blooms. Compact. Clumping green foliage. USDA 5-9

Chelone Glabra

Height: 3 feet

Spread: 30 inches

Sunlight: full sun partial shade

Hardiness Zone: 3a

Other Names: Shellflower

Description:
The white hooded flowers on this perennial make it a great addition to the garden; thrives in wet or moist areas; attracts butterflies

Ornamental Features:

Turtlehead has masses of beautiful white hooded flowers with shell pink overtones at the ends of the stems from late summer to mid fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated pointy leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes:

Turtlehead is a dense herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration: Spreading

Turtlehead is recommended for the following landscape applications:

- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
- Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing:

Turtlehead will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 30 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 12 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This species is native to parts of North America. It can be propagated by division.