Perennials bring vibrancy and texture to any landscape, and you can find a wide variety of choices at your local plant nursery when you are working on a Sussex County, NJ, project. That may be where the tough part comes into play—choosing which ones are best for the home or commercial property you are working on beautifying. Read on for how to pick perennials in a plant nursery for your next project.
Know Your Area
It is important that a total assessment of the area you plan to place perennials is performed. This includes soil type, water intake, surrounding landscape, and sunlight and shade conditions. Additionally, you should be familiar with the USDA hardiness zone where you live. Here in Sussex County, the hardiness zones are 5b, 6a, and 6b. All of these conditions will play a large role in whether or not the perennials you choose will be successful once planted. Some perennials will require mostly shade, while others will want direct sunlight. Moreover, some perennials need a lot of water to survive, and others may be more drought resistant. It’s important that you pair the perennials with the proper placement in the space to better ensure they will thrive.
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Know The Perennial
Once you have better determined what types of perennials are best for the spaces you are trying to fill, make sure to get to know the types of perennials that may fall within your specific needs. For instance, if you know you want perennials that will be planted in shady conditions, you will need to select from a variety of shade-thriving perennials. This means you need to also take into consideration color, texture, height, width, growth span, blooming cycles and life cycles.
Inspect Your Options
After you have narrowed everything down and it is time to pick out the perfect perennials, be mindful of a few things. Look for signs that a plant may be showing signs of distress. Yellow leaves, for instance, could mean the plant has dehydration or root issues. This does not mean that all yellow leaves mean a plant is sick, however. If you notice it, check to see how many other leaves on the plant may be yellow before you decide to make your purchase.
Also look for signs that the plant may have bound roots. This can be found by removing the plant from the container or by checking to see if the plant’s roots and soil appear to be escaping and bulging through the container’s drainage holes.
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Check the soil content of the plants by feeling to see if the soil is loose and moist. If the soil is compact, dusty and dry that may be a sign that the plant has been water deprived.
Feel the root of the blooms and bulb areas where they connect to the stem to see if they are strong or if the bulb or flower just falls off. If the flower falls of easily, this could be sign that the perennial has not been properly cared for.
Finally, check the plant for disease or insect intrusion. This will require just a little time. Be sure to move the leaves, blooms, and soil around and check for insects or odd growths, fungus, patchy spots and rot.
