Long Blooming Perennials – Two Of My Favorites
Gerberas – Long Blooming Perennials Fit For A Poppet
The Poppet in question is my youngest daughter who has just turned 21 which officially makes me a wrinkly! She lives in New York where it is still freezing so I thought I’d brighten up her day and what better way than with a vase full of Gerberas (Barberton Daisies)? Besides being absolutely stunning, they last for ages in a vase, one of the best cut flowers I know, along with Alstroemerias and Lysianthus…
Native to South Africa, Gerberas have always been among my favorite of the long blooming perennials. Their flowers stand tall from their rosettes of leaves and beam up at me cheerfully as I pass by. I haven’t seen the original Barberton Daisies here but Burpee sells the seeds. They can be quite tricky to sprout but they’re worth it as they are more heat tolerant than the florist varieties.
The new florist varieties, however, have brought their blooms a long way and those are the ones I see on sale here. They are easy to find at all nurseries, including the hardware stores, and come in an infinite variety of colors. It seems that most people grow them as potted plants here but I pop mine into the garden mix. They disappeared when it got cold but I am happy to say that these long blooming perennials have made it through the winter and the new leaves are poking their heads out.
Gerberas are as tough as nails in their natural habitat and even enjoy a fire once in a while. Don’t pamper them too much and definitely don’t over water them. They won’t thank you for it.
Alstroemerias (Inca Lilies)
I first saw these long blooming perennials lining my friend’s long driveway and I just had to have some. I couldn’t find any anywhere else so Gina had to dig up a bunch for me which she did with great generosity. These should be out soon and they are definitely fantastic flowers to plant now for spring. And for summer too, as their flowers just last and last, in the flower bed and in the vase.
Then they started appearing in nurseries and I bought every single color I could get my hands on and end up with quite a collection. Inca Lilies are very easy to grow and can take sun or part shade. Just leave them alone and they’ll multiply happily. I bought a deep red one for my new garden last spring and it bloomed twice for long periods during the year. When the flowers are finished, I pull out the entire stem so that another can take its place and that certainly seems to work!
I am definitely on the look out for more of these long blooming perennials to add some glorious color to the summer.
In the meantime, I’d better get some more hand cream to stop these hands getting more wrinkled!
My local nursery, Mostly Natives, gave me a list of gopher resistant plants and this is the link to their list: http://www.groundcoversandgardening.com/gopher resistant plants.
If you want to buy plants that deer probably won’t eat, look here.
Happy gardening and don’t forget yoursunscreen. There’s so much skin cancer about, you must protect your skin.
I usually plant the Gerber daisies in pots for the summer months, but will try putting them into the garden this year.
Thanks for your blog – makes for interesting reading, and some of your links have been very useful.
Thanks Jo.