Stephen Albert
Long-blooming perennials are perennial plants that will hold blossoms for weeks on end–sometimes as long as 5 to 8 weeks for each flower. Long-blooming perennials are also plants that produce successions of blooms over a long season. They bloom and then they bloom again.
Perennials are often referred to as the “busy gardener’s favorites” because once planted they stay in the garden for 3 or more years with no need for replanting. Long-blooming perennials go one step further; they stay in the garden for several years and they bloom and bloom.
With the judicious selection and arrangement of long-blooming perennials, a gardener can be assured of continuous blooms and color from spring to autumn.
Preparing for Long-Blooming Perennials
Because a perennial bed is permanent it should be well prepared. Dig the soil to a depth of at least 12 inches (30cm) and mix a 2 to 3 inch (5-7.6cm) of aged compost and well-rotted manure. Sprinkle bonemeal across the bed as well. Thorough preparation at the start will ensure the soil does not need renewal or elaborate attention for a few years.
20 Long-Blooming Perennials
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Zones |
| Aster | Aster spp. ‘Moench’, ‘September Ruby’, ‘Wonder of Staffa’ | 4-8 |
| Black-eyed Susan, perennial | Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldstrum’ | 3-9 |
| Blanket flower, perennial | Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Baby Cole’ | 2-10 |
| Bleeding heart, fringed | Dicentra eximia | 3-9 |
| Catmint | Nepeta x faassenii ‘Dropmore’, ‘Six Hills Giant’ | 4-9 |
| Coreopsis | Coreopsis spp. ‘Sunray’, ‘Early Sunrise’, ‘Zagreb’, ‘Moonbeam’ | 3-9 |
| Daylily | Hemerocallis spp. ‘Stella de Oro’, ‘Happy Returns’, ‘Lemon Lollipop’, ‘Black-Eyed Stella’ | 3-10 |
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Zones |
| Goldenstar | Chrysogonum virginianum | 5-9 |
| Joe-pye weed | Eupatorium purpureum | 3-10 |
| Lavender, English | Lavandula angustifolia | 5-8 |
| Phlox, garden | Phlox paniculata ‘Eva Cullum’, ‘Fran Schubert’ | 4-8 |
| Pinks, Bath’s | Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Bath’s Pink’ | 4-9 |
| Pinks, Sweet William | Dianthus spp. | 3-8 |
| Russian sage | Perovskia atriplicfolia | 5-7 |
| Salvia, perennial blue | Salvia x superba ‘May Night’ | 4-8 |
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Zones |
| Scabiosa | Scabiosa caucasica ‘Butterfly Blue’ | 3-7 |
| Sedum | Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ | 3-10 |
| Shasta daisy | Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Butterfly Blue’ | 3-7 |
| Thrift, sea | Armeria maritima | 4-8 |
| Verbena | Verbena spp. | 8-10 |
| Veronica | Veronica spp. ‘Sunny Border Blue’ | |
| White gaura | Gaura lindeimeri | 5-9 |
| Yarrow | Achillea spp. ‘Fire King’, ‘Apple Blossom’ | 3-9 |
Also of interest:
Ten Autumn Blooming Perennials
