It's time to look for discounted perennials!

A couple of months ago, out of necessity, I created a little flagstone and rock path on the south side of my house….

When I first made it, it was all crisp and perfect…then two big dogs did a little “zoomy” number on it. Now it’s not so “crisp and perfect.”

So be it…still better than the wasteland that was there before. Too much moisture and shade for grass to grow but shade loving perennials will LOVE it!

First, let me explain the difference between annuals and perennials.

Annuals last one year and in MOST zones have to be replanted every year. Perennials come back every year…in MOST zones. It is important to check your “zone” and know what you can count on to come back and most importantly, WHEN you can plant. Our last freeze is in mid-April, whereas northern states may have freezes as late as early May. Know your zone…then in my experience, add a few weeks just to be on the safe side.

THIS is a good site to check your planting zone. Again, I always add a few weeks to our freeze date before I plant. Even though the threat of a freeze may be over, new plants still struggle with cooler temps and heavy rains.

I have been trying to plant perennials as much as I can and just fill in with colorful annuals.

But man they can be pricey. A cute little annual may only cost a few bucks but a perennial can cost $10+.

Short term, painful. Long term, you will be money ahead.

One way I have found to save a few pennies is to look for perennials that have been marked down.

This is the perfect time of the year to look. Sales of plants are starting to slow a tad so stores (especially big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot) are more likely to have markdowns. Plants are more likely to be marked down just from showing stress and being root bound rather than dying from heat and lack of water. Some smaller stores are marking plants down just to get rid of them before the heat hits…especially grocery stores!

That is exactly what I did to fill this side yard with perennials…I went searching for puny plants.

I ended up finding two Redbud trees, 6 perennials ferns, 6 Lungworts, two bottle brush bushes, 2 hydrangeas and a handful of other perennials I have never even heard of….all for 1/2 off. Most big box stores and even nurseries have a place where they put marked down struggling plants. Look for them. (And it never hurts to ask a manager…this week I was helping a friend pick out some perennials and we ended up getting two free and the rest 75% off …SCORE!)

They aren’t dead. They are usually just root bound and maybe have some dead foliage. But they are still salvageable and if you plant them properly and water them well this year, they will all rebound beautifully next year!

TIP: Research each plant and make sure you pay attention to the sun requirements. This area of my yard gets no direct sunlight so I had to make sure I choose plants that could handle shade.

TIP: Make sure you dig a hole twice the size of the root, amend the soil with potting soil if necessary and cut the bottom 1” off the bottom of the root if the roots are “bound.” Water, water, water!!!!

TIP: I used a root stimulater (mainly because of the trees). You can also add fertilizer. Just make sure you follow the directions because you can burn up a plant by giving it too much of either!

I need to split my hostas. I like to wait until they are just popping their little heads up in the spring to split them. Then I can take the splits and plant them in the side yard…free plants!

MOST, if not all, of the marked down plants I picked up should survive this year…but if a few don’t I can always fill in with the hostas.

The only thing I didn’t get at a reduced cost was the dogwood tree. I have several white dogwoods in this yard and I have desperately wanted a pink one. Those aren’t on sale. Not only are they difficult to transplant, they don’t rebound well when they start struggling. I ended up buying a smaller one only because I couldn’t handle the thought of killing a big mature one. Hopefully it will make it!

Most of these plants will bloom in the spring…if this were a focal point in my yard I would have worked a little harder at “layering” the plants so that I would have blooms throughout the season…but it’s not, and I didn’t. Again, if I really have to have some color I can add some annuals or maybe even some pots later.

If you are looking for plants that will come back year after year, this is the time to buy them at a discounted price. With a little TLC this year, they will come back for years to come bigger and prettier!