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Knowing what zone you garden in will allow you to determine what plants will survive in your area. For example, tender perennials, like begonias (pictured), may survive mild winter climates, while areas with cold temperatures can kill the plants entirely.
Besides the plants already mentioned, click on for a few more examples of perennials to choose from.
Observe the sunlight and shade patterns of the area you are planning to plant your perennials. This way you'll correctly select plants that require sun or shade.
Though perennials require different maintenance methods than annual plants, that doesn't mean they're carefree.
Some perennials repeat bloom if you deadhead the spent flowers. Even deadheading the flower stems of non-repeat bloomers, like hosta (pictured), helps the plant direct its energy to its roots and leaves rather than to setting seed.
For flowering perennials with longer bloom times than the average perennial, go for coneflowers (pictured), ice plants, or Shasta daisies.
There are also different types of perennial groundcovers. Sweet woodruff (pictured) and creeping thyme are the flowering kind, and the Japanese pachysandra is a non-flowering perennial groundcover.
Most require at least some pruning and feeding to survive years into the future.
Not all perennials are hardy in all areas. Some can be killed by freezing temperatures or excessively dry conditions. Others can also experience growing problems.
Most ornamental grasses are perennials, such as fountain grass or pink muhly grass (pictured).
While you don't need to replant perennials, eventually most of them do need to be dug up and divided to maintain vigor.
Other perennials, like peonies (pictured), have been known to last for more than 100 years. However, it can take several seasons before they establish.
It's not always easy to tell a perennial from an annual, which are plants that complete their life cycle within one growing season. But beside the life span of perennials, there are a few other distinguishing factors.
Perennial plants bloom for shorter periods of time than annuals.
A few perennials are considered to be short-lived, lasting only two to three years. For example, rose campions (pictured) are short-lived perennials.
Make sure to regularly monitor your perennials throughout the growing season for pests and diseases.
Perennial plants may produce fewer blooms in their early years versus the showier blooms of annuals.
Perennials grow slower than annual plants, so you have to have patience!
Prune and remove the old foliage from herbaceous perennials that die. This is to tidy the plant up before the new growth begins.
Azaleas (pictured) and peonies are flowering perennial shrubs. Wintercreeper and false cypress are non-flowering perennial shrubs.
Sources: (The Spruce) (Good Housekeeping)
See also: Tips to turn your garden into a wildlife sanctuary
Perennials are typically cold-hardy plants that will return each year in the spring. These types of plants grow during the winter, or at least remain healthy and dormant.
Some plants need dividing every couple of years and some, like peonies, virtually never, unless you want more plants.
Perennials can be woody or non-woody, including some trees, many fruits, vegetables, and flowering plants. Non-woody plants don't develop wood, while woody plants do.
Then there are herbaceous perennials, which are plants with soft, green stems that die back to the ground (when the roots remain alive) over winter.
The term perennial is often used for flowery plants, but plants such as ornamental grasses, tropicals such as canna, and vegetables including rhubarb and artichokes (pictured) may also be perennial.
Evergreen perennials usually keep their leaves year-round and don't die in the winter like a herbaceous perennial.
Trees and shrubs are woody or non-herbaceous (such as agave, cactus, and ferns) perennials. They may lose their leaves in winter, but their roots, stems, branches, and buds remain alive.
Perennials are plants that continue growing for more than two years, and they often grow flowers.
Think about your wildlife population, too, because you may prefer growing deer-resistant perennials, such as lavender (pictured).
Did you know that many of the plants in your garden are considered perennials? Made up of a number of different plants, perennials come in many shapes and sizes. So, what's so special about them? Well, even in their dormant phases, their root systems are very much alive and the plants will continue growing when conditions are right. Known to produce seeds over many years, perennials come with specialized features that allow them to survive in extreme conditions, and even adapt to hot or cold temperatures.
To mark this blooming season, browse through the following gallery for everything you need to know about perennials.
What are perennials, and how should you choose and care for them?
Perennials come back beautifully every year
LIFESTYLE Gardening
Did you know that many of the plants in your garden are considered perennials? Made up of a number of different plants, perennials come in many shapes and sizes. So, what's so special about them? Well, even in their dormant phases, their root systems are very much alive and the plants will continue growing when conditions are right. Known to produce seeds over many years, perennials come with specialized features that allow them to survive in extreme conditions, and even adapt to hot or cold temperatures.
To mark this blooming season, browse through the following gallery for everything you need to know about perennials.