Winter is the time when a steady stream of free catalogs arrives in the mail and the next year's garden begins to take shape. After a long summer working in the garden, the catalogs offer different plants, tools, and wisdom for the next season, and many gardeners order from many different seed and nursery catalogs each year.
Nursery catalogs primarily focused on selling perennial plant stock differ from seed catalogs in timing. While seed catalogs ship all year, nursery catalogs generally have a hard cutoff in late winter or early spring so that the plants can be shipped while dormant. This may vary by location, and warmer climates may be able to receive plants all year long. Since most are perennials, be extra careful to check the hardiness zones for each variety. Many dwarf plants like Meyer lemon trees and even cacao trees can be grown indoors year-round even in the coldest climates with proper care, but be sure you have adequate space for the full-sized plants.
What Makes a Perennial Catalog Different
Perennial catalogs focus on plants that return year after year rather than annuals that must be replanted. The reference material notes that perennial plant stock is typically shipped dormant and that the ordering window is limited by climate and dormancy. The catalogs below provide perennial flowers, landscape plants, fruiting shrubs, trees, and tropical indoor specimens that can be ordered for spring planting.
Perennial Flower and Landscape Nurseries
Wild & Son’s
Claiming to be the countries largest supplier of Daylilies, Irises, and Peonies, they specialize in all manner of landscape perennials.
- Specialties: Daylilies, Irises, and Peonies
- Location: Reeds, MO (USA)
- Type: Perennial Flower Catalog
- Pictures: Yes, Online Catalog.
- View Online Catalog
Greenwood Nursery
Greenwood nursery carries a wide variety of landscape plants and a few fruiting shrubs.
- Specialties: A wide variety of landscape plants and a few fruiting shrubs.
- Location: McMinnville, TN (USA)
- Type: Online Plant Nursery
- Pictures: Yes, online catalog.
- View Online Catalog
Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm & Nursery
A specialty provider of peonies, daylilies, and shade-tolerant perennials.
- Specialties: peonies, daylilies, and shade-tolerant perennials
- Location: Avalon, WI
- Type: Perennial Plant Nursery
- Pictures: Yes, online catalog
- View Online Nursery Catalog
Jackson & Perkins
While I’ve never been much of a rose gardener, both my mother and grandmother order from this catalog every year. While they’re world-famous for their roses, they also sell other flowers, trees, and shrubs, as well as supplies and gifts.
- Specialties: Hybrid Roses
- Location: Little Newark, NY (USA)
- Type: Rose Nursery Catalog
- Pictures: Yes
- Request a Jackson and Perkins Nursery Catalog
Logee’s Tropical Plants
A source of fruiting, rare and tropical plants for indoor gardening and outdoor gardening in warm locations.
The catalog is noted as a source of fruiting, rare and tropical plants for indoor gardening.
Perennial Fruiting and Hardiness-Focused Nurseries
Fieldstone Gardens
Fieldstone Gardens has been around since 1984 and carries hardy perennials for colder climate regions. Every plant they ship is at least two years old, not seedling size. While they don’t have a paper copy catalog, all of their perennials are available to purchase right on their website.
- Specialties: Perennials, grasses, vines, and climbers
- Location: Vassalboro, ME
- Type: Online store on their website
- Pictures: No
- Non-GMO/Organic?: Neither
- Fieldstone Gardens Complete Inventory
Fedco Trees
One of my very favorite nursery catalogs, and we dependably order from them every year. Fedco trees has plenty of unique fruiting plants, hundreds of varieties of heirloom fruit trees and medicinal shrubs too. For the flower lovers, they’ve even got landscape plants. Fedco has three different plant and seed catalogs in all, an annual seed catalog listed above and a specific fall bulb catalog listed below in the bulbs section. All three can be requested at the same time on their website.
- Specialties: Edible fruiting plants, but also flowers and herbs.
- Location: Clinton, ME
- Type: Perennial Plant Catalog
- Pictures: No, the catalog is in black and white, but has some of the best descriptions and planting wisdom anywhere.
- Request a Fedco Trees Nursery Catalog
Burnt Ridge Nursery
There are no pictures, but some of the varieties in here really can’t be found elsewhere.
- Specialties: Perennial Plants, Fruit Trees, and Nut Trees
- Location: Onalaska, WA (USA)
- Type: Perennial Fruiting Plant Catalog
- Pictures: No
- Request a Burnt Ridge Nursery Catalog
Chief River Nursery
More of a forester’s nursery, Chief River Nursery sells forest trees in convenient plant plugs. Want to put in an arborvitae hedge, line your walk with a dozen linden trees or plant 100+ cedar trees? This is the place to find them.
- Specialties: Tree seedlings
- Location: Grafton, WI (USA)
- Type: Tree Nursery
- Pictures: Online, but few in print catalog.
- Request a Chief River Nursery Catalog
Seed Catalogs That Include Perennial Offerings
While the focus is perennial catalogs, several seed catalogs provide non-GMO perennial plant material and are part of the free catalog landscape.
Willhite Seed Catalog
- Specialties: Vegetables and melons
- Location: Poolville, TX
- Type: Seed catalog
- Pictures: Yes!
- Non-GMO/Organic?: All non-GMO
- Request a Willhite Seed Catalog
HPS Seeds Catalog
You can request a free catalog, peruse their digital catalog, or order directly from the online store on their website. All the seeds they carry are now non-GMO!
- Specialties: Annual, herb, perennial, and vegetable seeds
- Location: Unclear
- Type: Seed catalog
- Pictures: Yes!
- Non-GMO/Organic?: Non-GMO
- Request an HPS Seeds Catalog
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Since 1973, Johnny’s Selected Seeds has been providing quality vegetable, flower, and herb seeds. In 1979, they became certified organic and offer organic vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits, and supplies. They have two catalogs, one is strictly organic and the other is for conventional seeds.
- Specialties: Vegetable, flower, herb seeds
- Location: Albion, ME
- Type: Seed catalog
- Pictures: Yes!
- Non-GMO/Organic?: All Non-GMO, conventional and certified organic seeds
- Request a Johnny’s Selected Seeds Catalog
Jung Seeds and Plants
Jung Seeds and Plants carry all non-GMO vegetable seeds and plants. Many of which, are organic! They also carry fruit plants, herb seeds, annuals, perennials, bulbs, roses, trees, and shrubs. They have a paper catalog that can be requested, however everything they offer can be ordered through their online store
- Specialties:
- Location:
- Type: Seed catalog
- Pictures:
- Non-GMO/Organic?:
Fedco Seeds
They offer both conventional and certified organic.
- Request a Fedco Seeds Catalog
Sand Hill Preservation
To obtain a catalog, you must send a snail mail request with $5 enclosed and then you’ll get $5 off your order when it’s placed. Understandable, as a small mom and pop operation, they can’t afford unlimited free catalog expenses. Their entire catalog is available for download online for free though.
- Specialties: Heirloom vegetable, tubers and poultry
- Location: Calamus, IA (USA)
- Type: Seed & Poultry Catalog
- Pictures: No
- Non-GMO/Organic?: All non-GMO, some organic.
- View Sand Hill Preservation Catalog Online
Seed Savers Exchange
Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization that has worked to preserve 20,000+ rare and heirloom seeds in their seed bank. Through their conservation efforts, they’re able to share many of these heirloom seeds with us all. They offer many organic and conventional heirloom and rare vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. All of which are non-GMO.
- Specialties: Heirloom vegetable, herbs, and flowers
- Location: Decorah, IW
- Type: Seed Catalog
- Pictures: Yes!
- Non-GMO/Organic?: All non-GMO and hundreds of organic varieties.
- Request a Seed Savers Exchange Catalog
Seeds from Italy
Seeds from Italy distributes over 450 heirloom Italian seeds from three different Italian brands. One of these brands being Franchi Seeds, Italy’s oldest family-owned seed company since 1783
Comparative Overview of Free Perennial Catalogs
| Catalog | Specialties | Location | Type | Pictures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild & Son’s | Daylilies, Irises, and Peonies | Reeds, MO (USA) | Perennial Flower Catalog | Yes, Online Catalog |
| Greenwood Nursery | Wide variety landscape plants and a few fruiting shrubs | McMinnville, TN (USA) | Online Plant Nursery | Yes, online catalog |
| Jackson & Perkins | Hybrid Roses | Little Newark, NY (USA) | Rose Nursery Catalog | Yes |
| Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm & Nursery | peonies, daylilies, and shade-tolerant perennials | Avalon, WI | Perennial Plant Nursery | Yes, online catalog |
| Fieldstone Gardens | Perennials, grasses, vines, and climbers | Vassalboro, ME | Online store on their website | No |
| Fedco Trees | Edible fruiting plants, but also flowers and herbs | Clinton, ME | Perennial Plant Catalog | No, black and white |
| Burnt Ridge Nursery | Perennial Plants, Fruit Trees, and Nut Trees | Onalaska, WA (USA) | Perennial Fruiting Plant Catalog | No |
| Chief River Nursery | Tree seedlings | Grafton, WI (USA) | Tree Nursery | Online, but few in print catalog |
Ordering Practicalities and Timing
Nursery catalogs generally have a hard cutoff in late winter or early spring so that the plants can be shipped while dormant. This may vary by location, and warmer climates may be able to receive plants all year long. Since most are perennials, be extra careful to check the hardiness zones for each variety.
Many dwarf plants like Meyer lemon trees and even cacao trees can be grown indoors year-round even in the coldest climates with proper care, but be sure you have adequate space for the full-sized plants.
Some catalogs require a paid request. To obtain a catalog, you must send a snail mail request with $5 enclosed and then you’ll get $5 off your order when it’s placed. Understandable, as a small mom and pop operation, they can’t afford unlimited free catalog expenses. Their entire catalog is available for download online for free though.
Conclusion
Free perennial catalogs provide a planning window for gardeners to select long-lived plants, fruiting shrubs, trees, and landscape material before the growing season begins. The perennial-focused options in the reference material range from daylily and iris specialists like Wild & Son’s in Reeds, MO, to rose-focused Jackson & Perkins in Little Newark, NY, to hardy perennial specialists like Fieldstone Gardens in Vassalboro, ME, which ships plants at least two years old and not seedling size. Fedco Trees in Clinton, ME, offers a black and white catalog with extensive descriptions for edible fruiting plants, flowers, and herbs, while Burnt Ridge Nursery in Onalaska, WA, supplies perennial plants, fruit trees, and nut trees with no pictures but unique varieties. Chief River Nursery in Grafton, WI, provides forest tree seedlings in plant plugs for larger landscape projects. Greenwood Nursery in McMinnville, TN, and Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm & Nursery in Avalon, WI, provide online catalogs with pictures for landscape perennials and shade-tolerant plants. Timing remains critical, with most nursery catalogs shipping in late winter or early spring during dormancy, and hardiness zone checks are essential for perennial success. Seed catalogs such as Willhite, HPS Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Jung Seeds and Plants, Fedco Seeds, Sand Hill Preservation, Seed Savers Exchange, and Seeds from Italy provide complementary non-GMO and heirloom options and many include perennial seeds and plants for garden planning alongside dedicated perennial nurseries.