Perennials & grasses

Pinch out tips when they’re about 20cm tall to encourage strong, floriferous plants, but if you want fewer, larger flowers, create a single stem by removing buds as they appear. Take basal stem cuttings in spring to bulk up stocks of your favourite types. Keep an eye out for white rust, particularly during wet autumns, removing infected leaves. Potup rooted cuttings in early spring, ready to plant them out when the risk of frost has passed around mid-May.

MISCANTHUS SINENSIS ‘Malepartus’

It should be a good year for miscanthus, as the deciduous grass produces its best flowers after a long, hot summer. This variety is especially striking, with arching leaves that feature a distinctive central white stripe and take on a beautiful orange and red hue in autumn. Miscanthus likes a sunny spot with wellCERCIS draining soil, and doesn’t need watering or feeding to thrive. Cut back dead leaves in spring, once new growth starts, and bulk up stocks by dividing mature clumps in spring. Ideally plant in spring to provide enough time for this grass to get established.

This switch grass looks like its tips have been dipped in colour, as the upright leaves turn from green to redpurple in autumn with a haze of purplegreen spikelets adding further interest for gravel gardens, prairie-stye borders and patio containers. Ensure it has a sunny spot and well-drained soil and cut back after flowering to encourage new growth. At 90cm tall, it’s more compact than other switches – for an extra 10cm, try ‘Purple Haze’ or ‘Heiliger Hain’.