When I was at the local home and garden show I got to hear Joe Sherinski speak, He has a show on the discovery channel or something. Very good speaker here is the list he sent me for the easiest to grow perennials. He calls them brown thumb perennials says that no one can kill them..
Coreopsis "moonbeam"
Coreopsis "Zagreb"
Daylilly
Veronica "Sunny border blue"
veronica "redd Foxx"
Siberian Iris
Japanese Iris
Iris pseudoacorus
Lythrum "Morden Pink"
Japanese Anemone
Mexican Primrose
Bee Balm
Asclepias tuberosa
Black-eyes susan
Purple Coneflower
Columbine
Miscanthus cultivars
Hosta
Heuchera "Palace Purple"
Hakonechloa
Ferns
Astilbe
Sweet Woodruff
Brunnera
Sedum " Autumn Joy"
Pulmonaria
Bleeding Heart
Virginia Bluebells
He said that when he does a yard for someone he uses these plants because they won't call him and tell him to replace them because they died...
Brown Thumb Perennials
Hi Chris and thanks for the list :) I have Sweet Woodruff, Astilbe, Sedum, Hosta, Columbine, and Daylily. I have stomped all over the Sweet Woodruff and it still keeps going and going and going, LOL!
On the list that I am starting from seed this year: Coreopsis "Moonbeam", Iris, blackeyed susan, purple and white coneflower, bee balm, seven new varieties of columbine, heuchera 'palace purple', dicentra, more hostas and two types of sedum. Nice to know they will be strong growers.
The only one on the list I had a problem with was ferns, I planted a great big one last year and it just croaked mid-summer. My neighbors say theirs did the same thing and then reappeared the next spring. At $10 I'm hoping it reappears!
well guess what I got from spring hill last year-Virginia Bluebells -I killed them! I dont know why-how but they are dead and I am very sad-I wanted these in my blue garden! =[
dori
ferns oh yeah I can kill them too!
2 tries at maiden hair ferns....DEAD!
This message was edited Tuesday, Apr 3rd 9:59 AM
My ferns do real well but they are by the airconditioner and stay moist all summer.They are with my astible and hostas.The combo looks good together.I have a few things on the list plan to get more.
Are you sure the Virginia Bluebells died? They go dormant VERY FAST after flowering - they may be back this spring.
I personally have killed several "Moonbeam" coreopsis, but I agree with most of that list.
You might want to re think the Lythrum (Purple Loosestrife). He is right you certainly can't kill it. It is so invasive that it is banned from planting in several states. It has clogged waterways and choked out many native plants and has become a menace. Morden's pink supposed to be sterile, but as Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park, "Life finds a way". It will cross with any other loosestrife in the area and suddenly it isn't sterile anymore.
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I did not know that Lythrum was loosetrife which I have read and heard alot about. If this guy is an "expert" he should know better than to tell greenhorns to plant something that is envasive.
This message was edited Tuesday, Apr 3rd 11:05 PM
In addition to the loosestrife being invasive, the Mexican Primrose and Asclepias can also be pretty aggressive. So yes, they ARE able to withstand a "brown thumb" gardener, but they can become bullies in a bed. And the bee balm is susceptible to mildew, especially in the more humid climates.
But you know, there's no such thing as a "perfectly behaved" plant (except the plastic kind), so all in all I'd have to agree with the list, especially for the new gardener, or someone who doesn't have the time/inclination to fuss over their plants.
And even the plastic kind fade!