(Alcea rugosa)
Now, on to money-saving, smart purchasing tips for biennials:
■ Consider buying seeds. Many biennials are sold as seeds, which is the least expensive way to purchase them.
■ Buy first-year plants in small pots or when they go on sale. To save additional money, purchase pots in fall when prices have been slashed. Then set the first-years out in the garden where you want to see flowers the next season.
■ Avoid buying second-years. Don’t waste your money on second-years that have been marked down for sale, unless there are still a few flowers/seed heads left to salvage. I still wouldn’t bite unless the plant was marked at least 75% off and I was in a risk-taking mood.
■ Create a bloom cycle. Prime the garden pump and buy one first-year plant in a small container and one second-year plant in bud or just starting to bloom (usually sold in quart or gallon pot). This way you have a complete cycle already in place in the garden.
■ Hollyhocks and rust. Hollyhocks are beloved as old-fashioned cottage flowers. But they are prone to getting rust, a fungal disease on their leaves that is very hard to treat. Thankfully, fig-leaf (Alcea ficifolia) and Russian (Alcea rugosa) hollyhocks are more resistant to rust and can be longer-lived as well.
■ Dazzled by Gloriosa Daisies? Eye-popping varieties of Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) like ‘Cherry Brandy’, sell like hotcakes when in bloom. They are usually sold in gallon-sized containers in the perennial section and cost a pretty penny. Remember, this beauty will most likely be dead the following year. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t make impulse buys, just be an informed consumer, and allow some to reseed. FYI: most Rudbeckia with fuzzy leaves like ‘Cherry Brandy’ are considered short-lived perennials or biennials.
■ Carrots in flower…double the pleasure. You might be surprised to learn that carrots are biennials. If you have traditionally grown these for their yummy roots, why not leave a few unharvested for flowers next year. They have striking Queen Anne’s lace-like flowers all summer long.
Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) ‘Cherry Brandy’
Biennials aren’t no-brainer plants. They take some planning. If you want to save money and the headache of making sure that 1) second-year plants successfully reseed, 2) you don’t weed seedlings out as they emerge, and 3) the seeds land where you actually want flowers, then purchase long-lived perennial lookalikes instead. Here are a few captivating substitutes to consider:
4 Long-lived Perennial Lookalikes
BIENNIAL
Foxglove (Digitalis)
Miss Willmott’s Ghost (Eryngium)
Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
Lupine (i.e. Russell Hybrids, Popsicle series)
Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
Sundial Lupine (Lupine perennis)
PERENNIAL
Digitalis grandiflora (also known as ambigua)
Eryngium ‘Big Blue’
Dianthus barbatus ‘Heart Attack’
Lupine perennis
Foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora)
Sea Holly (Eryngium) ‘Big Blue’
ORNAMENTAL GRASSES
Ornamental grasses rock! They have many “plant-and-forget” attributes. Most grasses are drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, pollinator friendly, offer long seasonal interest, require no fertilizer, and are pest and disease free.
But to get the most bang for your buck from these superstars, I recommend considering the following characteristics before purchasing:
A Grass’s Posture
Is it narrow and upright like native feather reed grass ‘Karl Foerster’ (Calamagrostis acutiflora
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