Tell me if this story sounds familiar. You love perennials, so you court them assiduously. In return, they reward your efforts with an abundance of beautiful flowers.
As long as you believe your relationship is going in the right direction, those perennials will always be there. Until one year, when your flowers just don’t seem to come back with the same passion and vigor. Where has the love gone?.
My gardening friend, you didn’t do anything wrong. But you may have spent too much on “short-lived perennials,” which are a type of perennial plant. ”.
If you’ve ever felt bad about killing another plant that said it was perennial, I hope this article helps you feel better. It wasn’t your awful green thumb that did it (that’s just an excuse), it was nature’s way.
Perennials are plants that live for more than two years. They grow and bloom year after year, providing structure, color and interest in the garden. However not all perennials are created equal when it comes to lifespan. Some perennials happily grow in the same spot for a decade or longer. Others, known as short-lived perennials, tend to decline after just a few years in the ground.
What Qualifies as a Short Lived Perennial?
There is no definitive threshold for classifying a perennial as short-lived Generally, short-lived perennials are considered those that live 3 to 5 years before they decline Long-lived perennials can be expected to live 10 years or longer.
Some key characteristics of short-lived perennials
- Reach peak performance within 1-3 years of planting
- Gradually produce fewer, smaller flowers each year
- Growth becomes woody or congested over time
- Die out completely within 5 years or less
While their lifespan is limited, short-lived perennials offer their own benefits. They tend to grow quickly and flower profusely in their first few seasons. This makes them useful for filling gaps, providing quick color, and adding new varieties to the garden.
Examples of Popular Short Lived Perennials
Many favorite garden plants fall into the short-lived perennial category. Here are some of the most popular:
- Lupine
- Delphinium
- Coral bells
- Columbine
- Lavender
- Garden phlox
- Bee balm
- Garden lilies
- Peonies
- Daylilies
- Iris
- Chrysanthemum
- Fuchsia
The exact lifespan varies by climate, care, and growing conditions. For example, peonies often thrive for decades in ideal conditions but may only last a few years in hot southern climates.
Why are Some Perennials Short Lived?
There are several reasons why certain perennials decline over just a few seasons:
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Genetics – Some plants are simply genetically short-lived, especially those bred for showy flowers. Hybridization sacrifices longevity.
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Environment – Hot, humid climates can shorten the lifespan of cool weather plants. Perennials prone to fungal issues also decline faster in damp conditions.
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Congestion – As the plants age, the crowns and roots become woody and congested. This restricts nutrients, water, and energy.
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Blooming – Repeated flowering and seed production saps energy from the plant over time.
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Diseases & pests – Susceptible plants succumb to problems like powdery mildew, aphids, and nematodes.
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Damage – Physical damage from weather, animals, insects, or poor care stresses the plant.
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Poor conditions – Inadequate sunlight, nutrients, or drainage prevents the plant from thriving over time.
Tips for Managing Short Lived Perennials
While individual plants will inevitably decline, you can take steps to enjoy short-lived perennials as long as possible:
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Site them properly in terms of sun, soil, drainage, and climate. Avoid environmental stresses.
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Stake tall species prone to flopping, like delphiniums.
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Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce weeds.
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Prune spent flowers and dead leaves to direct energy to the plant.
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Divide congested plants every 2-4 years to rejuvenate.
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Propagate new plants from seed, cuttings, or division as old ones fade.
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Remove diseased foliage immediately to prevent spreading.
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Rotate sections of the garden to improve soil health over time.
By taking a proactive approach, you can mitigate factors that shorten the lifespan of perennials.
Should You Avoid Short Lived Perennials?
Not necessarily! Short-lived perennials still provide beauty, pollinator habitat, and other benefits in the garden. The key is understanding their growth habit and planning for replacement.
Here are some tips for successfully utilizing short-lived perennials:
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Use them as filler plants or design accents that you don’t mind replacing.
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Interplant them with bulbs and self-sowing annuals to naturally fill gaps as plants die.
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Propagate your own from seed or cuttings for a continual supply of new plants.
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Shop for new cultivars to refresh your garden palette over time.
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Group them in a dedicated bed or border that can be entirely renovated every 4-5 years.
By embracing their ephemeral nature, you can find creative ways to incorporate short-lived perennials in your landscape. A mix of short-lived and long-lived plants creates a dynamic, evolving garden.
Final Thoughts
Don’t dismay when your hard-earned perennials inevitably decline after just a few seasons of growth. This is simply the natural lifespan of short-lived perennials. With proper care and succession planning, you can continue to enjoy a steady supply of these beautiful yet ephemeral plants in your garden.
Is a short-lived perennial plant the same as a biennial plant?
No, these two categories are not the same thing. A short-lived perennial will flower more than one year in a row, while a biennial (which we talked about in this article) only flowers once before it dies.
Some short-lived perennials, on the other hand, can be grown on purpose as biennials. This is especially true for plants whose flowers get worse from the first to the second year. This is often the case with Arctic poppies (Papaver nudicaule), for example (the last item on our list).
Another reason why you grow short-lived perennials as biennial is if you grow them in pots. Coral bells (Heuchera) are a good example of this practice.
Coral bells (Heuchera) is a short-lived perennial that will grow well in a pot.
Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana sylvestris)
Don’t put this in your pipe and smoke it. The plant Nicotiana sylvestris is not the same as Nicotiana tabacum, which is the tobacco plant. However, they are very closely related and both come from the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
Due to its Latin American roots, flowering tobacco is one of the perennials that doesn’t last long because it is very tender. You can only grow it in USDA Zone 10, but you can bring it further north if you grow it somewhere protected or cover it with a cold frame before the first frost.
Some gardeners just cut the flowering tobacco plant down to the ground in the fall and cover it with mulch to keep it alive through the winter.
The sweet scent of flowering tobacco attracts moths.
However, the flowering tobacco is such a fast grower (up to five feet – 1. 5 meters – in one season) that gardeners in the North usually don’t bother to protect it from frost and just use it every year. If your flowering tobacco doesn’t survive the winter, simply start it again from seed in spring.
Flowering tobacco, which is also called sweet tobacco, has been popular to plant along paths and next to windows since the Victorian era. Its scent would carry and please people who passed by. The tall, trumpet-like cluster of long skinny flowers shoots out of a mound of large textured leaves. The flowers emit a fragrance that gets especially strong later in the day.
Be careful. The tiny hairs that cover the foliage may cause skin irritation to people already prone to contact dermatitis.
Woodies, Perennials & Short Lived Perennials
FAQ
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