This is a stupid question but I don't understand.

I have some perennial wallflowers erysimum apricot twist and they have been described as evergreen. I have seen this on other plants too. I thought perennials died down at the end of each year and then re-emerge in the spring so how can they be evergreen?

Some perennials die back (these are generally referred to as herbaceous perennials), and others stay green (these are referred to as evergreen). My Erysimums are evergreen.

Thanks ecrane3. So.... the flowers will die and just leave the leaves. Wow I had no idea. I thought all perennials died. I like the sound of evergreen perennials I will have to look some more up. I am sure when I bought my heuchera palace purple that said it was evergreen I hope so. I love it.

Not a stupid question...! Some perennials are evergreen, and some go completely dormant (lose foliage and "disappear", then regrow and bloom the following season).

Example:
Evergreen Perennial : Agapanthus (Lily of the nile)
Non-Evergreen : Delphinium

I don't grow Heuchera so I don't know if they're evergreen or not. There are tons of evergreen perennials though so you shouldn't have trouble finding more if you want to keep the garden looking more interesting during the winter.

I thought I was stuck with just trying to choose evergreen shrubs to mix in with my deciduous shrubs and trees. I am really exited now. I am not a big fan of annuals so evergreen perennials sound great. Thank you for enlightening me. I have been trying to pluck up courage to ask as I felt so silly.

ecrane3 is right. Some perennials will lose their foliage in some areas and not in others...depends on your climate. My purple palace heucheras go completely dormant, the others, like Amber Waves, don't.

Don't EVER be afraid of sounding "silly" here at DG...that's why we're all here...to learn from each other.!!!

JasperDale I assume when you say your Palace Purple go dormant you mean they behave more like the herbaceous sort but depending on where you live this may or may not happen......interesting.

yes I agree some plants are evergreen in the warmer climate zones and go dormant in colder zones

ditto what Len said !

Also, sometimes you may read in a plant's description "Perennial treated as an annual"....this means that in some zones, it may not overwinter and come back in the spring due to climate differences.

Where I am, in Calif., the Hybrid Delphiniums never come back the following year. I just plant new ones....even though they are technically a perennial. Much of it depends on climate, rainfall, your soil, etc.

Well thank you for all that fantastic info. I think a trip to the nursery/ garden centre may be in order to stock up on some evergreen perennials. The phrase "kid in a sweet shop" comes to mind lol.

You may also see the term "tender perennial". This means that a plant is marginally hardy in your zone. In that case, look for any extra care instructions that will help that plant overwinter. And remember, everybody kills something sometime. Just don't give up.

New to the site, question about this topic. The plant Sweetspire Little Henry Itea Virginica. Is it an evergreen (will it stay green all winter, I live in zone 5)? The description says Deciduous Evergreen. I am very confused now. I thought deciduous loses leaves in the fall. My husband wants an evergreen shrub, will this do the job? Thank you for any help here.

This message was edited Apr 23, 2007 7:40 PM

Here in NC, Sweetspire is a semi-evergreen plant. It loses some leaves and the rest are darker and brownish over the winter. Not a plant that I would choose to fill the 'evergreen' niche in my yard.

Thank you, and if you are in NC, then certainly in Ohio, I should not expect it be be evergreen. I sincerely appreciate your help.