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Self-supporting perennials

LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
in Plants
We have lots of rain here, and it's also warm and windy.  My perennials grow huge:  on Beechgrove this morning they were recommending Verbascum chaixii album as a self-supporting plant.  Theirs was no more than a metre tall; ours are 1.5 to 2 metres and regularly fall over.  We have teasels taller than the shed.  I spend far too much gardening time propping things up which have grown ridiculously tall.

I'd really appreciate some recommendations for plants which definitely don't need support, in your experience.  So far my list includes astrantia, primulas (including the tall ones), Iris sibirica, Digitalis lutea, Cephalaria gigantea (amazingly) and Polemonium caeruleum.

I'm having to grow a lot of herbaceous perennials here, because there is honey fungus around - otherwise I'd have a lot more shrubs to help with support.  
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    My rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm doesn't need support, nor does veronica Roman Candles. My Polemonium grew quite tall and did need support.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Thanks, @Busy-Lizzie.  I should have thought of Veronica, because my V.gentianoides doesn't need support either.  Good news about the Rudbeckia - I'll give it a try - but interesting that your Polemonium wasn't as well-behaved as mine...  
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I have several Persicaria amplexicaulis cultivars, they all stay upright except one. 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I have support rings around my Veronicas,  everything has to be staked here. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • SalixGoldSalixGold Posts: 450
    edited July 2023
    cannas, gaura, milk parsley, thalictrum, heuchera, brunnera, valerian (both types), eupatorium, Rozanne, hellebores, feverfew, linaria.

    This is the list that have never needed staking in my garden.  
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    North east of Scotland is very different in terms of climate too, so stuff on Beechgrove doesn't always bear comparison to this side of the country either.
    Teasels get to a huge size round here - there's some that have escaped from a garden where I often walk. They're at least 6 - 8 feet tall.  :)
    I don't grow masses of perennials, but most need staking, or planting among shrubs for support. Lychnis coronaria is ok though.  Jap. anemones are usually fine. I only grow the whites, but any pink ones I see are fine too. Liatris are ok. 
    Most self seeded foxgloves need help, and so do Astrantias.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Thank you, @nutcutlet @Lyn @SalixGold & @Fairygirl.  I'd forgotten that heucheras, hellebores & feverfew hadn't needed staking here either; Brunnera comes into the Alchemilla category for me, ie it wafts about and I expect it to flop a bit, but elegantly.  The fact that some things are fine for some people and not for others is really what I'd expect - but sorry you have to stake everything, @Lyn.  That would drive me bananas.

    Must try more Persicaria, and some Japanese anemones.   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • SalixGoldSalixGold Posts: 450
    edited July 2023
    My ground is pretty dry, sharp drained and not hugely rich, so the plants don't get that big or lush. Which is fine with me. 

    Helianthus Lemon Queen was self-supporting for me and lots of the umbellifers - fennel, Baltic parsley, angelica, pimpinella.

    Might feeding your plants less (less manure etc) help them be shorter and sturdier?
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    edited July 2023
    I don't feed them, @SalixGold.  Three years ago when I moved here and created the beds from lawn (which hadn't been fed for 17 years), I mulched with a lot of municipal compost.  The beds haven't had anything since then.  I think it's mostly to do with the amount of rain and wind, coupled with a clay-rich soil... and I suspect there are lots of little slugs chewing stems near ground level, too.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    edited July 2023
    What about Verbena bonariensis? California poppies good too.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
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