Grow at home

Over the coming weeks and months, the RHS, the UK’s gardening charity, is more committed than ever to continue to help and support the nation to get gardening and grow a new generation of gardeners.

The RHS believes that there are thousands more people taking up gardening as it sees visits to some of its advice pages on the RHS Website increase almost as much as 500%.

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

perennial

Most popular activities

Moss on lawns

Moss on lawns

How to divide perennials

How to divide perennials

RHS 10 top tips for April

1. Sow seeds, lettuce, carrots, leeks, wild flowers and garden
   Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season. They are generally easy to grow from seed or can be bought as young plants from garden centres. Annuals are ideal for growing in summer containers and filling gaps in borders. Some examples of annuals include sunflowers, cosmos, sweet peas and zinnia.

   annuals such as nigella and pot marigolds outdoors
2. Sow tender plants, cosmos and zinnia for example and vegetables such as courgettes, melons, sweet corn, pumpkins and squash indoors to plant out in 6 weeks
3. Plant artichokes, potatoes, onion sets and shallots before the middle of the month
4. Propagate shrubs and climbers by layering, bending shoots to ground level, covering with soil and leaving until autumn when the shoot can be severed to make a new plant
5. Take
   A method of growing new plants from parts of an existing plant, such as sections of root, stem, leaf or bud. When prepared correctly and planted in the right conditions, they can produce roots and eventually become independent plants. There is a wide range of different methods for taking cuttings, depending on the plant and time of year.

   cuttings form new shoots, delphiniums, asters and chrysanthemums for example, as well as tender plants such as fuchsias and geraniums, to make new plants
6. Pot up
   A seedling is a young plant grown from seed.

   seedlings and divisions to help them grow into healthy robust plants
7. Repot potted plants that have finished flowering such as camellia and those which are not yet growing – canna for example, to keep them strong and healthy
8. Support UK nurseries and search RHS Find a Plant online, to buy plants from nurseries. Now is the time to plant tender
   These are fleshy, rounded, underground storage organs, usually sold and planted while dormant. Examples include daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilies, onions and garlic. The term is often used to cover other underground storage organs, including corms, tubers and rhizomes.

   bulbs and
   Tubers are swollen, usually underground, parts of a stem or root used to store food by the plant. They have buds that can produce new plants. Examples are tuberous begonia, cyclamen, dahlia and potato.

   tubers such as begonia, dahlia and gladioli, towards the end of the month in the north
9. Weed lawn as required, but leave some for wild flowers to grow if possible. Thicken thin lawns by 'overseeding', sprinkling on grass seed and raking to cover it
10. Winkle out seeds now before their roots go deep or they set seed. Leave them as long as you can in wild areas to feed wildlife.

Perennials are any plant living for at least three years. The term is also commonly used for herbaceous perennials which grow for many years (To compare: annual = one year, biennial = two years).

perennials