Some plants germinate, flower, set seed and die in a year. They are called annuals. A few plants take two years to complete these tasks and are called biennials. Perennials are different. When they germinate and grow they live for many years. Some perennials may not produce flowers in their first year. The oak tree takes about fifty years before it starts producing flowers and acorns.

There are two kinds of perennial plant. They are herbaceous perennials and woody perennials. A herbaceous perennial has a food store underground. This may be in the form of a bulb, underground stem or root. In spring and summer a shoot grows above ground from this food store. There are leaves on the shoot to make food and flowers so that the plant can reproduce. At the end of the growing season the shoot dies but the plant continues to survive in the ground. Bluebells and snowdrops are examples of perennial woodland plants. Grass is a perennial meadow plant.

Trees and bushes are woody perennials. They make a woody shoot which has a protective layer of bark and does not die back at the end of each growing season. The shoot is adapted to survive through the harsh winter weather and produces new shoots of leaves and flowers from its buds in the spring.