How to Care for Perennial Flower Beds

A flower garden will reward a careful gardener with a summer full of sweet, bright and fragrant blooms and may continue doing so for years if it includes perennials. Perennial flowers -- lilies, irises, daffodils, tulips, peonies, hydrangeas, roses and the like -- return year after year with dormancy during winter and blooming during summer. Plants that last all year require care all year through continued watering, feeding and pruning. If you're growing perennial bulbs in cold zones, this may also include digging and storing the bulbs for safety. Care for a varied perennial garden with some simple guidelines and specialize as necessary.

Quick-draining soil
Organic compost
Organic mulch
Fertilizer
Pruning shears
Box
Spade/shovel

Instructions

- 1
  Plant the perennial flower garden in the right spot and foundation for good long-term success. Find a site that satisfies the light requirements for your flowers and gets good, efficient drainage. Make sure that any site has enough room for all of your flowers, or break the planting up into several different perennial flower beds. Amend the top 6 to 10 inches of soil with 1 to 2 inches of quick-draining soil and 2 to 3 inches of organic compost to provide long-term drainage, nutrition and moisture retention for your perennials.
- 2
  Fertilize perennial plants in early spring, before growth starts, to encourage spring and summer growth and blooming. Many perennials will also require midsummer feedings for continued blooming. Don't feed the plants after July, as new growth will die off when frost arrives.
- 3
  Water a perennial flower bed with at least 1 to 2 inches of water every week to maintain soil moisture. Plants require adequate water to grow and maintain their blooms and may wilt and die back if they're not getting enough moisture.
- 4
  Deadhead the perennial garden through its bloom to encourage new blooming. Pluck or snip any spent blooms off the stalks to signal to the plant that it needs to produce new flowers. Cut away any dead foliage or leaves, and remove leaves, weeds or dead flowers from the ground to keep the bed neat and clean.
- 5
  Prepare a perennial flower bed for winter. Prune back any dead or diseased foliage at this time, remove spent blooms and cut healthy foliage back to 2 to 3 inches. This pruning allows the plants to conserve their energy and warmth through the winter. Mulch the entire garden with 3 to 4 inches of organic mulch to maintain soil warmth through the winter.
- 6
  Dig up and store perennial flower bulbs like daffodils, lilies, tulips and irises if you live in a region where winter temperatures reach below freezing. After the foliage dies off, dig the bulbs up and store them in a box full of topsoil. Keep the bulbs in a spot that gets moderate temperatures, good air circulation and moderate light. Replant bulbs in spring.
- 7
  Continue to water the outdoor perennial garden with 2 inches of water every week to maintain the plants through winter.

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