7 Perennials That Bloom All Season Without Deadheading

Many annual and perennial flowers benefit from deadheading, or trimming off the spent flowers. Deadheading neatens up the plant and encourages some flowers to rebloom. But trimming up perennials does take effort, which isn’t always enjoyable in the punishing heat and humidity of midsummer.

If you love gardening but don’t want to deadhead every plant in your garden to keep things looking good, there are perennials that keep blooming without deadheading. They’ll still flower for many weeks, even if you don’t get around to trimming them back.

Leaving spent flowers in place lends a more relaxed or cottage garden feel to the space, which has a certain appeal. There are also benefits to allowing flowers to go to seed because this provides winter interest and food for birds and wildlife.

Ahead, plant these pretty perennials for a long bloom time without needing to deadhead:

Catmint

Botanical Name: Nepeta spp.

Soil Type: Average to poor, well-draining

Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline

Catmint is simply one of the easiest perennials you can grow. It has fuzzy, silvery-green foliage with a spicy-minty scent. Its lavender, blue, or pink flowers last for weeks from spring to late summer, depending on the variety. Pollinators love it, too.

Russian Sage

Botanical Name: Perovskia atriplicifolia

Soil pH: Average to alkaline

For months from midsummer to fall, this sturdy, heat-loving plant pushes spikes of ethereal pale purple blooms above soft gray-green foliage. The texture and color are especially appealing alongside other perennials. Russian sage tolerates dry soils, too, once established and is beautiful massed or used as edging.

Blanket Flower

Botanical Name: Gaillardia spp.

Soil Type: Average to sandy, well-draining

Daisy-like flowers of red, orange, and yellow add pops of color to borders and mixed plantings. These drought-tolerant perennials attract birds and butterflies and bloom from spring to fall. The seedheads are attractive to birds.

Daylily

Credit: elenaleonova/Getty Images

Botanical Name: Hemerocallis spp.

Soil Type: Average to poor, well-draining

Though the flowers only appear for one day, each plant is covered in blooms, which naturally fall off when they fade. You’ll enjoy flowers for weeks in early, mid-or late summer, depending on the variety. Don’t plant these if you have deer because they’re a favorite snack. At the end of the bloom period, you can remove the stems for a tidier appearance.

Gaura

Credit: Getty Images / ANGHI

Botanical Name: Oenothera lindheimeri

Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade, especially in the afternoon

Soil Type: Average to sandy, well-draining

These airy blooms look like dancing butterflies. Gaura is drought-tolerant and flowers all summer long. Each flowering stem adds blooms to the end, so the stems can become long and tangled over time. If you don’t like that look, you can trim the stems back mid-summer and wait for a second flush of flowers, but it’s not essential.

Black-Eyed Susan

Credit: Getty Images / Jennifer Shields

Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta

Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade

Soil Type: Average, well-draining

Cutting back faded blooms may prolong flowering a bit, but it’s totally fine to leave these cheery-looking flowers alone, too. Blooming all summer, these happy-faced flowers also add winter interest to the garden if flowerheads are left intact. Plus, finches love the seeds!

Coneflower

Credit: Getty Images / Marcia Straub

Botanical Name: Echinacea

Soil Type: Loose, well-draining

Coneflowers are one of the easiest perennials to grow, and they come in an array of colors from hot pink to lemony yellow to bright orange. These hardy flowers are native to North America and bloom for weeks from mid to late summer. Deadheading prolongs the bloom time, but leaving the flowerheads to dry in place will make the birds in your garden happy and add winter interest to planting beds.

Read the original article on Southern Living