Although often advertised as such and just as frequently found to be anything but, we grimace when we see this phrase making bold headlines in mail order catalogues.
When the gardener views, with dismay, the virtual annihilation of her garden to the wrong yarrow or bee balm, the phrase resonates with mockery. Or, watches as a once-fine clump of Siberian iris or tradescantia flops out from the center, splaying foliage and flowers in an unattractive mass on the ground. Division is called for here . . . and, unfortunately for this years’ garden, you are about 5 months late.
When perennials drop seed prodigiously, and the germination rate is near 100%, the resulting crop of seedlings (weedlings?) can be daunting. Anthemis and echinacea self-seed with gay abandon. Some perennials send runners 360° from center – bugleweed and the aforementioned achillea, aegopodium and artemisia are all notorious. For those who seek the wild, English cottage garden style, these plants are manna from heaven. For those who prefer a more composed look . . . as Mike Hammer might have said “beautiful, but dangerous”. These, then, by most gardener’s definition, are not “low maintenance” plants.
There are, however, many perennials that do not spread excessively or require too-frequent division. They are perfectly content to grow to magnificent specimens and continue, for many years, to present the same glorious show each season. These plants should be considered the bones of a well-planned garden. Use them to create the structure that will remain in place for as long as you enjoy it. This is not to say, of course, that they do not require fertilizing or deadheading or cutting back in fall. It does mean that they will not seed from here to the next street over, they will not flop over their neighbors every two years and they will not require extraordinary measures to hold them upright or to maintain clean foliage.
It makes sense, given their undemanding habit, to provide these easy, dependable plants with the absolute best planting site you can. Regular fertilization in spring or the addition of compost surrounding them will make the plant, and you, most happy. The old nursery-man’s adage, “give a $5.00 plant a $10.00 hole”, certainly applies to any perennial that you expect to stay in place for years to come.
Now, does all of this mean that you should not (or could not) divide them – should you care to or should you wish to share an especially lovely daylily with an especially lovely friend? No. Of course no. Some do not take well to division (and verily, you would not even think about trying to dig up a mature baptisia – unless you had a back hoe), but daylily, salvia, anemone, hosta, trollius and peony all take kindly to being shared. Any plant with a long taproot (like a carrot) will usually not divide well. This includes gypsophila and dictamnus. But most will be fine.
So low maintenance perennials do exist! But, usually, your neighbor won’t come through your gate carrying armsful of them. Trust us on this one. When this challenging social situation does occur, as often happens, the sensible gardener is usually occupied discreetly with other business and unavailable to callers.
For the next few days, stay behind the curtains. And watch the front porch for deliveries deep in the night.
Here are some to try: Aconitum (monkshood), Amsonia (blue star), Anemone (fall-blooming), Aruncus (goatsbeard), Asclepias (butterfly weed), Astilbe, Astrantia, Baptisia (false indigo), Dictamnus (gas plant), Echinops (globe thistle), Epimedium (barrenwort, Gypsophila (babies breath), Hemerocallis (daylily), Hibiscus, Hosta, Iberis (perennial candytuft), Ligularia, Veronicastrum, Kirengeshoma, Paeonia (peony), Platycodon (balloon flower), Salvia (sage), Thalictrum (meadow rue) and Trollius (globe flower)