11 Summer Perennials to Grow: Care Tips for Perennials

Perennials are flowers that live for multiple growing seasons, directly contrasting annuals, which offer only one season of blooms per year. As a result, you typically will not need to replant perennial plants after the growing season ends because they are hardy enough to withstand winter. Many herbs and flowers—from tulips to sage—are perennials.

The longer lifespan of perennials makes these plants easier on the home gardener. As long as you adhere to your perennials’ needs in regard to their planting zones, watering, and sunlight exposure, you can have a successful garden of perennial flowers year after year with varied bloom times.

Summer perennials bloom during early summer and liven up any summer garden. Here is a list of some of the most popular summer perennials:

1. 1. Black-eyed Susans: Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are bright yellow flowers with dark brown centers that reach peak bloom in the late summer. These hardy wildflowers have a long growing season, which allows them to stay in bloom for weeks and attract pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Planting black-eyed Susans in the late spring or early summer for a summer bloom will allow these warmth-loving plants to take advantage of warm temperatures and full sun.
2. 2. Catmint: Catmint (Nepeta racemosa) is an herb that’s similar in appearance to lavender due, in part, to its blue flowers and shrub-like shape. Catmint’s bloom time spans from early spring to early fall, so you’ll have plenty of time to harvest and dry this spicy scented flower for homemade potpourri.
3. 3. Coneflower: Coneflowers are any of three genera of the daisy, aster, and sunflower family: Echinacea, Ratibida, and Rudbeckia. Coneflowers are perfect for home gardens because they are heat- and drought-tolerant perennials that attract pollinators. Start your seeds inside twelve weeks before the summer so that you can set these heat-tolerant plants up for a mid-summer or late summer bloom time.
4. 4. Daylily: Daylilies (Hemerocallis) have three petals and three sepals—leaf-like petals that protect the flower buds—that develop on scapes, which are flower spikes without leaves). Warmth-loving daylilies need full sun to part shade and well-draining soil to thrive, so you should schedule their planting for the summer growing season.
5. 5. Geraniums: Perennial geraniums (Geranium bohemicum) bloom showy bright pink (and sometimes dark red) symmetrical flowers that make great additions to any cut flower arrangement. You can use geraniums as bedding plants in your garden, flower bed, or plant them inside. If you start your geranium seeds indoors six weeks before summer, you should be able to plant them outside by the time summer arrives so that they can take advantage of the full sun that they require to thrive.
6. 6. Hardy hibiscus: Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos), also known as swamp rose mallow, is a cold-hardy, wetland plant found naturally in swamps and marshes and the moist areas around rivers and ponds. Their flower blossoms can be as small as four inches and grow to be wider than 10 inches. If you start these hibiscus plants inside about six weeks before the summer arrives, they’ll be ready to plant outside by the beginning of summer.
7. 7. Lavender: Lavender is an herb in the mint family, alongside rosemary, sage, and thyme. It has fragrant purple flowers that have a floral yet woody aroma. Lavender thrives in dry, well-draining soil and full sun, making it ideal for the summer growing season.
8. 8. Lupine: Lupine flowers are garden plants that belong to the pea family (Fabaceae), which bloom showy, colorful flower spires. These nitrogen-fixing legumes sprout colorful blue, white, purple, or bicolor conical flower spikes that attract pollinators such as hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Plant lupine flowers in the late spring so that your flowers will bloom between late spring and mid-summer.
9. 9. Phlox: Perennial phlox varieties are plants in the Polemoniaceae family that grow panicles, or branching flower clusters. Found across North America, these fragrant flowers grow in star-shaped blooms. Creeping phlox thrives best in the summer growing season because these plants need plenty of sunlight to nurture their vibrant blooms.
10. 10. Sedum: Sedum, also called stonecrop, is a fleshy-stemmed perennial plant in the Crassulaceae family with colorful, star-shaped flowers and succulent leaves. Most sedum plants bloom red, yellow, or white flowers in late summer and fall. Their nectar attracts all types of pollinators, including hummingbirds.
11. 11. Yarrow: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) plants have tightly-packed clusters of small flowers that look similar to small bouquets. Yarrow blooms in various bright colors and does best in dry conditions, making them great summer plants to grow in your garden.

Plant summer perennials in the early spring or fall. Your newly-planted perennials will benefit from the warmth as the soil begins to warm up in summer, encouraging the plant's root and foliage growth.

By late spring, your summer perennials should be ready to bloom. If planting perennials in fall, it is important to mulch the soil around your new plants to protect their root systems from frost.

Many summer perennials are low-maintenance, but there are a few things you can do to make your plants bloom all summer long. Here’s how to care for summer perennials:

• Water regularly. Water your summer perennials regularly but ensure that the soil dries out between waterings. Overwatering can lead to root rot, so be sure to check that your soil is also draining well.
• Prune. Pruning back dying flowers will encourage new growth. Deadheading your flowering perennials can set your summer flowers to bloom more than once during a single growing season.
• Mulch. Applying a layer of mulch over the soil can help it retain moisture, protect against frost during the winter, and discourage weeds from crowding your perennial garden.
• Fertilize. Feeding low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus fertilizer to your plants will encourage your plant to produce more flowers and less foliage. Adding fertilizer to the soil will help your summer garden produce more vibrant blooms.

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