The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-By-Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It

The best-laid perennial garden designs result in gorgeous beds that bring color and texture to home landscapes. But no matter how perfect the garden, how glorious the color, how eye-catching the combinations, no perennial garden stays beautiful by itself. The plants need tender care - watering, pruning, deadheading, and dividing.

With Nancy Ondra's detailed plant-by-plant guide to tending perennials, maintenance is a breeze. Ondra has grown hundreds of today's most popular perennials in her own gardens and has kept detailed notes on how each plant looks through the seasons and what the plants' needs, quirks, and preferences are. All this valuable information is gathered in 125 plant profiles, arranged alphabetically by genus. Each entry features gorgeous, instructive photography by award-winning garden photographer Rob Cardillo, as well as advice on preferred light and soil conditions and complete care and maintenance instructions. What to do and when to do it are as simple as looking up the plant and following an expert gardener's advice.

Complementing the plant-by-plant section, Ondra offers in-depth coverage of basic techniques for the perennial gardener. From planning a stunning but easy-to-care-for garden to fertilizing, mulching, propagating, and much more, the home gardener will find every answer to that one big gardening question: How do I keep my perennial beds looking their best - fresh, beautiful, and healthy -  season after season?

Ondra's detailed plant-by-plant guide to tending perennials makes maintenance a breeze. Each of the 125 plant profiles features gorgeous, instructive photography as well as advice on preferred light and soil conditions and complete plant care instructions.

The Complete Primer on Caring for Perennials

Your yard is home to a gorgeous perennial garden, carefully designed and lovingly planted. Maintain its health and good looks all season long with Nancy Ondra's comprehensive guide to perennial care.

General advice on planning, planting, watering, mulching, pruning, and propagating gives you all the hardworking information you need to become a knowledgeable and effective perennial gardener. For plant-specific questions, an alphabetical perennial reference puts every answer right at your fingertips. Need to know how to divide your sedum or when to cut back your lavender? It's all in the book's Plant-by-Plant Perennial Guide, drawn from Ondra's personal experience growing each perennial. Thorough instructions on how to care for 125 popular perennials include everything from light and soil requirements to how to prepare your plants for winter.

How do you keep your perennial beds looking their best, season after season? This comprehensive resource covers everything you need to know, from planning and planting to watering, mulching, pruning, propagating, and more. Author Nancy Ondra also includes an in-depth, plant-by-plant guide showing you how to maintain more than 125 of the most popular perennials, giving specific information on everything from soil requirements to bloom height to preparing plants for winter. Simple, clear instructions paired with beautiful photography by award-winning garden photographer Rob Cardillo make it easy to keep your perennial garden beautiful!

Nancy J. Ondra is the author of seven books, including Foliageand Grasses. She has worked with Stephanie Cohen before, on the award-winning Perennial Gardener's Design Primer. Ondra lives in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, where she operated Pendragon Perennials for six years.

Foreword
Welcome!

Part One: Perennial Care Basics
Creating an Easy-Care Perennial Garden
Caring for Your Perennials
Keeping Up Appearances
Troubleshooting Perennial Garden Problems

Part Two: Plant-by-Plant Perennial Guide

Resources
Index