Growing Perennials in Cold Climates
Revised and Updated Edition
Comprehensive and fully illustrated, Growing Perennials in Cold Climates is an excellent resource for selecting, siting, planting, and maintaining perennials that flourish in northern climates. Written to make even the most sophisticated aspects of growing perennials easy to understand, this book will be indispensable to novice and advanced gardeners alike.
Truly encyclopedic . . . I know of no other perennial book that gives you this much information and presents it in such an accessible format. This book is a classic.
Deborah Brown, Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune
Revised and updated, this all-in-one guide designed for northern-tier gardeners from coast to coast features:
• more than 2,000 varieties proven to thrive in cold climates
• five-star ratings to help you choose top-performing perennials
• new selections of varieties with variegated or brightly colored foliage
• new mail-order sources for hard-to-find varieties of each plant
If you are a gardener and winter temperatures in your region can dip below –20 degrees, this is the one guide you need. Comprehensive and fully illustrated, Growing Perennials in Cold Climates is an excellent resource for selecting, siting, planting, and maintaining perennials that flourish in northern climates. This expanded edition identifies the fifty most popular perennial groups, offers in-depth information on wild and cultivated varieties best suited to cold climates, and rates more than 500 of the choicest plants. In addition to the plant data, this book includes a concise course in perennial gardening, from preparing a site and buying potted perennials to composting, watering, mulching, fertilizing, weeding, staking, deadheading, pruning, protecting plants in winter, companion planting, and dealing with disease and insect problems. Owning this guide is like having a professional gardener at your side every step of the way.
Written to make even the most sophisticated aspects of growing perennials easy to understand, this book will be indispensable to novice and advanced gardeners alike.
Truly encyclopedic . . . I know of no other perennial book that gives you this much information and presents it in such an accessible format. This book is a classic.
Deborah Brown, Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune
A beautifully illustrated and in-depth guide showcasing more than 500 plants that actually like growing up here. In addition to the pictures and plant IDs, the book offers a concise course in perennial gardening . . . In fact, owning this guide is kind of like having a master gardener at your side every day.
The Phoenix Spirit
Owning this guide is kind of like having master gardener at your side every day.
The Phoenix Spirit
Highly recommended for northern gardeners.
Library Journal
Armed with this book, a gardener can make informed choices about the best perennials for their northern garden.
Northern Wilds
Growing Perennials in Cold Climates is first and foremost a reference, and it is one you will find yourself reaching for again and again as you plan and care for your perennial gardens.
My Northern Garden
If you have thought of a perennial border in a new spot or to improve what you already have, there is a beautiful, big new book devoted to the subject, and it’s been written for our place on the globe- Growing Perennials In Cold Climates.
Montana Senior News
The Perennials by Common Name
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Major Perennial Groups
Part I. The Most Popular Perennials 1
1. Individual Listings 3
Achillea 5
Aconitum 12
Alchemilla 18
Aquilegia 23
Artemisia 30
Asclepias 36
Aster 41
Astilbe 50
Baptisia 58
Campanula 63
Chelone 70
Chrysanthemum coccineum (see Tanacetum) 344
Chrysanthemum corymbosum (see Tanacetum) 344
Chrysanthemum morifolium (see Dendranthema x grandiflora) 104
Chrysanthemum x rubellum (see Dendranthema species) 111
Chrysanthemum x superbum (see Leucanthemum-Superbum Group) 234
Chrysanthemum weyrichii (see Dendranthema species) 111
Cimicifuga 74
Clematis 79
Coreopsis 91
Delphinium 97
Dendranthema x grandiflora 104
Dendranthema species 111
Dianthus 115
Dicentra 124
Doellingeria 41
Echinacea 130
Euphorbia 136
Eurybia 41
Ferns 141
Filipendula 153
Geranium 158
Grasses 167
Heliopsis helianthoides 180
Hemerocallis 184
Heuchera 193
Hosta 200
Hylotelephium 336
Iris (Bearded) 210
Iris (Siberian) 222
Lamium maculatum 229
Leucanthemum-Superbum Group 234
Liatris 240
Lilium 246
Lysimachia 261
Monarda 266
Narcissus 272
Nepeta 284
Oenothera 289
Paeonia 294
Phlox 304
Platycodon grandiflorus 315
Pulmonaria 320
Rudbeckia 326
Salvia 331
Sedum 336
Symphyotrichum 41
Tanacetum 344
Thermopsis 349
Tradescantia 354
Tulipa 359
Veronica 373
Part II. The Basics of Growing Perennials 381
2. Understanding Perennials 383
How perennials grow 383
Buying perennials 383
3. Selecting and Preparing a Site 385
Soil and Light 385
Soil and Moisture 386
Spacing 389
Companion Planting and Good Design 389
4. Planting Perennials 393
Buying Bare Root Plants 393
Planting Bare Root Perennials 393
Buying Potted Perennials 394
Planting Potted Perennials in the Garden 395
Planting Potted Perennials in Large Pots 396
Transplanting 396
5. Caring for Perennials 398
Water 398
Mulch (summer) 399
Fertilizing 401
Weeding 403
Staking 404
Deadheading 405
Pruning 406
Winter Protection 407
6. Solving Perennial-Growing
Problems 409
Diseases and Insects 409
Marauders 413
7. Propagating Perennials 415
Sexual Propagation 415
Asexual or Vegetative Propagation 416
8. Special Uses for Perennials 419
Cut Flowers and Foliage 419
Dried Flowers, Foliage, and Seed Heads 420
Perennials as Food 421
9. Tools and Supplies 422
Glossary 424
