Corona's Principles of Planting How to Guide

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PLANTING ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, AND CONIFERS

Perennials are the workhorses of a garden scheme,

valuable for the variety of their foliage, stature – from

groundcovers to stately grasses – and rainbow-hued

ﬂ owers that can be arranged in the garden to create the

most beautiful compositions from spring to ﬁ rst frosts.

Perennials regrow each year from an underground

root system. Over the time, the root system will

expand and the best growth will appear around the

outer edges. At that point – and it can be in as little as

3 years in a vigorous grower or more than 5 in a slow

developer – it is advisable to dig up the plant in the

autumn and separate, or divide, it into several healthy

new clumps and replant (or share with friends!).

Annuals are plants that experience their entire life

cycle in one year. Often referred to as bedding plants

or “spot color,” annuals can give bursts of seasonal

color – pansies in spring, petunias in summer and so

forth – but it is fun to experiment with annual grasses,

herbs, even vegetables, tucked among the shrubs and

perennials. You don’t have to eat kale to grow it, and

some of the purple, frill-leaved varieties are knockout

used with late-summer ﬂ owering perennials.

Perennials are best if planted in the autumn when the

soil is warm and moist. Mulch well to prevent frost-

heaving in cold climates. Annuals are generally put

into the garden after the last frost, although some, like

pansies, will overwinter in mild zones.

Most plant tags will indicate a recommended measure-

ment for spacing annual plants, but for speed simply

use the length of the trowel head as a measure. Plant

in straight lines only if you intentionally want a formal

look; otherwise dot them about, three here, ﬁ ve there,

one tucked into a corner, so that it appears the annuals

have seeded themselves prettily into the garden.

Planting Conifers and Hedges

The term conifer encompasses woody trees and

shrubs that bear cones and generally produce needle