Any plant, having a lifespan of more than two years, can be called a perennial plant. Though all trees and shrubs come under perennials normally in gardening perennials mean a flowering plant, which blooms in growing seasons, and then either die back or stay dormant. Next season it grows again. They often required two or more years from seed to bloom. Perennials vary in size, leaf texture, flower color and shape.

There are two types of perennial; herbaceous and woody perennials. Herbaceous perennials are those whose stem die to the ground each year after blooms, such as; Canna, Heliconia, etc. And woody perennials live from season to season and continue to grow in size and shape. Selecting different perennials for different season can make a garden colorful throughout the year. So plan before planting and do accordingly.

Perennials live for many years; therefore require a careful planning regarding location. The beds should be highly visible and should go well with the total landscape. Many of them, like annuals, looked beautiful, when planted in mass. But normally perennials are better viewed as small bundle of color accenting other things in the garden. Perennials look attractive in front of building, trellis, fence, wall, etc. Taller plants should be placed behind, so that every one of them can be viewed properly, and also they can create a backdrop for the other ones. Though most of the perennials prefer sunny location, some of them also thrive in shade or semi-shady condition. Therefore choose your site according to your plant selection. As, perennials live for several years, soil preparation is very important for them. The bed preparation is same as annuals. Remove any debris, foreign object and weed from it. Spade it thoroughly and prepare it by mixing two part of soil with one part of leaf mould and one part of farmyard manure. Perennials prefer well drained soil. For water logged areas, raised bed is the only choice.

Perennials can be planted through out the year. In tropical regions, it is best to plant them at the beginning of monsoon. It will help the seedlings or transplants to develop a good growth, as normally the climate stay mild and moist, at that time.

Most perennials can be propagated vegetatively by cutting or layering. The plus point of vegetative propagation over seedling is that the plant emerge with every quality of the mother plant and mature early, giving blooms in the first year.

Add slow release fertilizer during soil preparation accordingly. Vermicompost, bone meal and other organic fertilizers are also very useful. An extra fertilizing dose is required, in and before the blooming or growing season. Usually 50-75 gram of a 10-50-10 fertilizer per square meter is enough. Keep the soil moist, at least for three days, after adding the extra feed. Do not add fertilizer in the dormant period, or to an immature plant.

Mulching perennials will help the soil, to conserve moisture in dry season. As in the tropical areas like our country India, summer can be very harsh. Mulching also reduce weed, as it tries to prevent germination, by keeping the soil comparatively cool. Apply 4-5 centimeter of shredded straw, grass clippings or wood chip as mulching. Do not forget to remove the mulch after summer.