ANNUALS & PERENNIALS

Perennial Herbs

Perennials are the plants that come back every year. Even though perennial plants include trees and shrubs with woody stems and barks, the term perennial is commonly referred to herbaceous (non-woody) plants. Perennials are a great selection for your garden because they are some of the easiest to grow. They generally require little maintenance and aren’t commonly effected by the same issues experienced by annuals that grow faster and are soft-stemmed.

Perennials can be evergreen, retaining all or some of their leaves year round. Others can be herbaceous, where the stem and leaves die back during the fall but the roots survive the winter season and sprout again in spring.

HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL HERBS: mint, lovage, lemon balm, sorrel, fennel, and chives.

PLANTING GUIDE: The best time to plant perennial herbs is during either the spring or fall. During these seasons, the soil is warmer and more moist. Be sure to prepare the soil and water before planting. If you’re planting from a pre-grown pot, make sure you make the hole slightly deeper than the length of the pot. After you place the plant in the hole, fill dirt in around it loosely so it’s snugly in the ground. After planting, water the soil around it again.

MAINTENANCE: It’s best to cut herbaceous perennials back after flowering, especially when they start looking straggly. It will help them put out fresh foliage. Perennials can have their old stems cut back during the fall or late winter. A winter cutting can help provide essential food and shelter for wildlife during the winter. However, if you cut them back during the fall, you can help prevent self-sowing.

Annual & Biennial Herbs

Annual plants are those that grow from a seed, then they flower and make more seeds, then die off in one growing season. A Biennial plant does the same thing, but instead of one growing season, they make it to two. Biennials only grow foliage in the first year, the flower and die off the following summer.

ANNUAL HERBS: Basil, borage, summer savory, dill, shiso, and nasturtium.

BIENNIAL HERBS: Caraway and Parsley.

PLANTING GUIDE: Thankfully, most seed packets provide an incredible wealth of information regards to sowing. It’s best to refer to your seed packets for useful information on when to plant your seeds: what month, how deep, how often to water, etc. Annuals are generally sown during early spring when the soil begins to warm up and biennials are sown later in the season. When planting an established plant from a pot, always hold the plant by the root ball - not the stems, otherwise you can easily kill the plant by crushing it. If you are transferring sprouts from your greenhouse to the outdoors, you’ll want to “harden” the plant to give the optimal opportunity to be healthy. When the weather begins warming during early spring, put your plants outside in a warm spot during the day (not on days when there is a freeze). The first couple of nights bring them indoors. After about 3-5 days, your plants should be acclimated enough to remain outdoors.

MAINTENANCE: In order to get bushier plants that put out more foliage and flowers, you can pinch off growing tips of your annual and biennial herbs. You can start this with young seedlings after they have grown a few set of leaves. Continuously doing so as they grow can help keep your plant healthy. If you pinch flower shoots before the flowers open can help prolong the foliage. Plants, such as basil, turn tough after flowering. Remove any dead plants after the growing season.