perennial Hear it!

perennial Definition

per·en·nial (pə ren′ē əl)

adjective

  1. lasting or active throughout the whole year
  2. lasting or continuing for a long time perennial youth
  3. returning or becoming active again and again; perpetual
  4. having a life cycle of more than two years: said esp. of herbaceous plants that produce flowers and seed from the same root structure year after year

Etymology: < L perennis, lasting through the year < per-, through + annus, a year: see per & annual

noun

  1. a perennial plant
  2. a person or thing that is present continuously or reappears regularly

perennial Related Forms

per·en′·ni·ally adverb

perennial Synonyms

perennial

modif.

enduring, sustained, continuing; see permanent 2, perpetual 1.

perennial Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • divide: Now is the time to divide those perennials which might be getting a little too large for their space.
  • grow: Week 2 General Put plant supports over tall growing perennials.
  • plant: To get the best effect, always aim to plant perennials in groups to make the most impact.

Adjective modifier

  • herbaceous: Describe herbaceous perennials suitable to cut flower growing in a specific locality.
  • half-hardy: April: base stem cuttings from border and half-hardy perennials.
  • hardy: Small plants & hardy perennials, many bulbs & ferns, hardy orchids & dwarf trees & shrubs.
  • rhizomatous: All the species are hardy, semi-evergreen to evergreen clump-forming rhizomatous perennials retaining their leaves throughout the winter.
  • flowering: FEATURES It's the low growing shrubs or flowering perennials which provide most of the obvious colorful flowers in a garden.
  • evergreen: All the species are hardy, semi-evergreen to evergreen clump-forming rhizomatous perennials retaining their leaves throughout the winter.

Modifies a noun

  • ryegrass: Grazing Area Grazing swards were found to contain nearly ninety four percent perennial ryegrass.
  • rhinitis: This causes the symptoms of hay fever or perennial rhinitis to appear.
  • weed: Below is a list of common perennial grass weeds.
  • herb: The Herb Garden Advice on when to plant and harvest annual, biennial and perennial herbs.. .
  • sow-thistle: Management: Perennial sow-thistle is susceptible to repeated tillage in the early part of the growing season.
  • rye-grass: We are studying the effect of age and hardening on resistance to M. nivale in perennial rye-grass.

Used with adjective complement

creep: Ginger, which is used in a vast array of sweet and savory dishes around the world, is a tender, creeping perennial.

Noun used with modifier

  • tender: These can be filled with summer bulbs, tender perennials or annuals.
  • border: Dividing border perennials The centers of many plants which form congested large clumps eventually exhaust the soil.

Preposition: with

  • flower: Wood Cranesbill is a downy perennial with attractive purple flowers.
  • leave: It is a quick growing, rather tender perennial with large exotic leaves.