The term "perennial" is mainly at home in gardening jargon and is only occasionally mentioned in botany. But how can you tell whether a particular plant is a perennial or not? We strive for an understandable definition and also have an "error example" ready for you.
Perennials hardly or not at all lignify
What are perennials actually?
Perennial herbaceous plants are referred to as perennials, the above-ground parts of which either do not wood at all or only very little. This is already the most essential, most impressive distinguishing feature to trees and shrubs.
Note: The above-ground plant parts of perennials are herbaceous and soft. They usually die off after each growing season.
perennial
And how can you tell within the group of herbaceous plants whether you are dealing with a perennial? It's relatively simple: unlike other herbaceous species, perennials usually survive for several years. In most cases they flower and bear fruit every year. In contrast, annuals, biennials and other perennial herbaceous plants die after flowering.
DIY Hibernation
An impressive feature of perennials is their pronounced winter hardiness. The majority of plants overwinter, depending on the specific species, in the form of
- rhizomes,
- tubers,
- onions,
- stolons or
- other root storage organs.
These organs can be located below the surface of the earth or just above it.
From the so-called overwintering buds, the respective perennial sprout again in the new vegetation period. This process repeats itself continuously.
No rule without exception: among the perennials there is also a range of evergreen species that do not move in after the “DIY hibernation mode”. These plants are so low in the cold and temperate zones that the snow covers them.
Different types of perennials
There are many types of perennials. The spectrum ranges from small succulents to gigantic shrubs. Incidentally, not only the popular flowering perennials belong to this special group of plants; this also includes most hardy ferns, some grasses and several bulbous, bulbous and various aquatic plants.
The Lavender Mistake
Lavender is often attributed to perennials - but wrongly. In reality it is a semi-shrub. Lavender lignifies in winter and then sprout out of the wood again. This has little to nothing to do with perennials.