I have been battling iris borer - irises aredefinately not trouble-free unless you live outside of the iris borer territory. So I have been casting grateful glances on my more troublefree perennials, and wondered if you would like to share yours:
Sedums of all varieties
Daylilies
Daffodils
The Best of the Troublefree?
Don't know if you are looking for similar plants, either way
these are some I call low maintenance:
coneflowers
heliopsis
helenium
bleeding hearts
cosmos - yes they are annual, but they reseed consistently
liatris
ornamental grasses
perennial bachelor buttons
allium
peonies
I'll stop there
Al
Standard Geraniums - I have some trouble keeping my exotics healthy, but I tried passively to kill my first standard, and failed, which is how I came to fall in love with them.
Mint - of all sorts, unless you actually ignore it.
Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) - Make sure they have good drainage, or you can drown them easily. I can't get mine to bloom.
Strawberries - as foliage, no fruit yet.
Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum)
That's about it for me. I have less than ideal conditions for my "garden" at the moment though, so I struggle with a lot of my plants.
I guess an important part of troublefree is to plant what is hardy in our zone - Christmas cactus survives forever for me also, but indoors in the winter.
Here's some more:
nepeta six hills giant
salvia may night
goldstrum
purple coneflower
lamiums (white nancy, etc.)
I'd add one to the list and I don't know why more people don't use it in their gardens, at least here in the east. I don't have an easier plant in my gardens than the euphorbia martinii. And it's so pretty - everyone who comes here asks, "What is that plant?!"
Evergreen leaves, gorgeous lime green bracts with red flowers in the spring, never has any insect or disease problems and doesn't mind if it doesn't rain for weeks. I wish all my plants were so undemanding.
We need a pic of that in the PF, hart.
Don't forget Camellias, Iris and the ever growing, ever living Hosta!!!
That reminds me that my Euphorbia cyparissias (graveyard spurge/ cypress spurge) is lovely from spring to fall. Happy yellow blossoms in the spring, and the rest of the season its foliage gives a gorgeous frothy foreground that hides browning foliage of taller plants in front of it. Love it.
North Carolina must not be in the iris borer belt - lucky you!
One more:
Hardy geraniums
I have some different ones to contribute:
any variety of cuphea
any variety of scutellaria
any variety of clerodendrum (NOT cashmere bouquet)
rangoon creeper
mexican oregano--poliomintha longiflo
americrinum
hibiscus coccineus -both red and whit Texas Stars
Phlox paniculata 'John Fannick'
hamalia patens
solanum seaforthianum
tecona sans--both yellow and orange
butterfly weed-milkweed
Louisiana Iris (too hot for the borers I guess)
Notice Al--not a single palm tree, canna, or banana tree to be found in my yard--LOL
zennia, annual reseeder
soapwort, bouncing bet
blue mist flower
salvia, Texas red
swamp hibiscus
yellow bog iris
mints in wetter areas
Lioripe
Ironweed
goldenrod
mexican petunia
Balloon Flower, Platycodon maresii and Komach
Echinacea, Vintage Wine
Standing Cypress, Ipomopsis rubra
Centaurea montana
Common Bachelor buttons
Penstemon, Husker Red
Gloriosa Daisies
Phlox, the reverted violet seedlings
Phlox, Franz Shubert
Blue Flax, linium
Except for the Franz Shubert, none really need watering and come back year after year. Franz is still pretty tuff. Mine's shaded by a walnut tree.
I don't have any pictures of it and I need to get a new usb cable for my camera.
Here's a good picture of the blooms
http://www.duchyofcornwallnursery.co.uk/Extras/Euphorbia%20martinii.jpg
I always enjoy euphorbias when I see them in a garden. All of the ones I familiar with, however, are pretty poisonous. That's my main reason for keeping them out of the garden. My children are trained to never pick unless they ask first, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Beautiful plants, though :)
SEDUM of all kinds is my top "absolutely no care" perennial. How many plants would you actually ruin by deadheading?! I think the showy cultivars are gorgeous from when they first emerge in spring straight through to when I remove their deadheads at the very end of the winter.
STACHYS BYZANTINA (lamb's ear) - 'Helen von Stein' does not flower and it's the only lamb's ear I grow because I don't care for the floppy, sloppy bloom stalks of the flowering varieties. Helen von Stein is gorgeous planted in front of the showey sedums and the two make an outstanding "no care" combination. Occassionally I'll remove browned leaves from the base of my lamb's ear, but that's just because I'm picky about clean foliage.
ECHINACEA - I can't say this is "no care" because I do deadhead my coneflowers regularly and they have a tendency to flop which means they require staking at times. All in all, though, a whole lot of performance for very little care. Pretty behind showey sedum, too :)
ORIGANUM 'Herrenhausen' - perennial oregano, but I don't harvest it at all. It blooms a lovely purple bloom in late June (zone 6) and then turns a deep red/purple in the fall and stays that way all winter long until I cut it back in the early, early spring. That's all I do to it all year long, just cut it back before the new growth really gets rolling. I'd call it "no maintenance".
Butterfly Bush and Joy Pye Weed (Eupatorium) are two more of my easy-care favorites. I pinch the joe pye in early summer, but that's about it until I cut it back. I deadhead the butterfly bush, but that's the only care I give it, too, besides cutting back at the end of the winter.
With 3 small children and a 4th now on the way, I'm with you on the low-maintenance thing! :) Best wishes!!
Jacci
Weigelas of various kinds
Viburnums
Self-sowing cleome
Hydrangeas (only the boring annabelle is hardy here though)
Artemisia
Yarrow
Sharon,
About the Hydrangeas. The Paniculatas should be hardy for you, and there's also White Dome, and Samantha, which are arborescens like Annabelle. My customers in Z4 are having no problem with Paniculata Limelight, Quick Fire, Brussels Lace etc. They are about as carefree as you can get.
SalmonMe, I'm another with little ones: four 6 and under. Besides the euphorbia, daylilies that bloom all summer are wonderful and carefree, as are the echinacea, comfrey (personal fav), lily-of-the-valley, and coreopsis. I find feverfew and chamomile lovely, too.
Hey, Zep, I didn't know that! Congratulations :) My 4th is due about 2 weeks after my oldest turns 6. We're very excited :)
Oooh, oooh, oooh! Second the coreopsis! C. verticillata 'Moonbeam' is all I have grown, but I've loved it every year. It's pale yellow color goes with every other color it seems :) I shear it once each summer to get it to rebloom with gusto a few weeks later, but it's a matter of preference, not of need. Without shearing I'd still get over 2 months of blooms out of it. With shearing though I get atleast and additional 2 after a brief rest period. Good one, Zeppy.
This is a fun thread! :)
Jacci
edited for punctuation ;)
This message was edited Jul 22, 2006 1:55 PM
Hi Polly, I have thought about Limelight, but haven't heard about Brussels Lace and Quick Fire. Will have to look into these. Thanks!
Actually there's a lot of the paniculatas that would be hardy for you. Here's a webpage. Beginning about 1/3 of the way down. And there's quite a few more.
http://www.pottedliners.com/plants_hyd3.htm
I agree about these:
Weigela
Six Hills Giant Nepeta
Bee Balm- not hybrid just the regular red
Boxwood
Cosmos
Hydrangeas
Plain pink Coneflower
and these are ones that I never have to do a thing to:
Corydalis Lutea
Anise Hyssop
Pelargoniums
Geraniums- Rozanne, Jolly Bee, Tiny Monster
New Wave Petunias, no doubles
Angelonia- blue, purple and bicolor varieties
Margarita Sweet Potato Vine
Rosa Albertine
Malva Zebrina
Diablo Ninebark
Cercis
Katsura tree
Lots of things I find easy listed here plus a couple I find hard.
I dont think anyone mentioned:
rudbeckia
shrub roses like bonica
rugosa roses
Malva zebrina grows like a weed here! I am trying to select for the more blue coloration that goes with everything in the garden. (It has also spread to the lawn but can be kept low by mowing!)
Rudbeckia - is the backbone of one of my beds. I am planting daylilies, etc. that complement the colors.
Ivy1- some of the things you mentioned are annuals, right? Yeah, that would have to be in the easy category also - buy plants in the spring and plant is about all you need to do for most of them.
Polly - Thanks for the hydrangea link. I hope they can breed some new colors for the north - like dark purple. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
Oops! Yes,I guess I goofed- they are annuals, but I am annual challenged- these are the only ones that work for me in my windowboxes! The others I've tried simply shrivel up and die. I have killed Verbenas, Lobelias, Lantanas, Begonias, Sunflowers (yes, I know. Anyone can grow a sunflower), Zinnias, Larkspurs, Stocks - you name it, I've killed it. Guess I'll stick to perennials!
There is a Malva called Marina in a deep almost navy blue.
Blue flax and russian sage have lovely colors, and as the flax ends, the sage picks up.
Also, love-in-a-mist, and limnanthes douglasii (poached egg plant).
Oh yes, Russian Sage is crazy good! Thalictrum Delavayi or Rochebrunianum are great doers here.
Lots of great information here! You can see where this type of topic can be very regional. Some of the plants mentioned don't like the heat, humidity or heavy clay typical of Virginia.
Jacci: Stachys byzantina is a plant that I need to try and Origanum 'Herrenhausen' sounds great.
Verbena bonariensis: This has been a great plant for me (I am on the northern edge for it hardiness, but have not lost a plant over the past 5 or 6 winters). It adds height and interesting texture and starts blooming by late spring and does not stop. Very easy to grow from seed.
Rudbeckia: I thought these were no care plants, but....I struggled with 'hirta' until I realized that it was a short lived plant. I harvested seed and grew more but this year they were a magnet for aphids. My fulgida (Goldsturm?) has been a reliable bloomer and spreader, but this year it has a really nasty case of what I guess is a fungus (I need to post a picture and get some info).
Edit: I forgot to mention one of the best attributes of Verbena bonariensis...it is an absolute butterfly magnet. This year I have seen a number of goldfinches at them as well. I sure wish I had a camera the day that 4 goldfinches were perched on the tiny little stalks of one plant. In the north I would recommend growing this plant as a reseeding annual.
Also, I posted a picture of my Rudbeckia woes over in the Garden Foes forum (I think that is the right forum for these types of questions): http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/631942/
- Brent
This message was edited Jul 28, 2006 12:19 PM
russian sage
yarrow (any kind)
artemisia "silver mound"
perennial salvia
coreopsis (any)
Yeah, I second that "nay" on the rudbeckia hirta, Brent. I've had trouble w/ powdery mildew on the hirtas. Haven't had trouble w/ my Goldsturm, but I've seen blackening in other gardens, if that's what you mean. Sorry for you :[
Yeah, I have some mildew on some plants too, but I still consider them essentially troublefree because of their other attributes. Just pull up the mildewy ones. Goldstrum never does this. Wonder why?
caitlins...you could try one of the Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood like endless summer or penny mac..you would then have the colors you like.
Hmmmm...never heard of penny mac. what color is that?
Endless summer and Penny Mac (and a few others) bloom on new wood and they would be the color of the ph in your soil..acidic(blue) and lime(pinkish).
Zeppy: I noticed you recommended flax, but whenever I have tried to grow it from seed it has been eaten instantly by slugs. Have you had a problem with slugs on flax?
I grow blue flax. I've had it in the sun and shade and have never seen a bug on it. It reseeds to the point of weediness, but when it blooms, you forgive it for being all over.
Coreopsis (the tall tickseed and the mounded creme brulee which I like even
better than moonbeam)
rudbeckia (any)
salvia (black & blue, hot lips, mexican purple, and an unknown screaming pink
variety)
ruellia- the tall mexican petunia- (so far for me it elbows out other plants but can
easily be moved)
Firespike!!!!! Love it!
clerodendrum of any kind, never found one that didn't like me, just a couple that
liked me too much
iris - any BUT louisiana which for some reason has wimped out on me several
times here in the Deep South (I hide my face in shame)
"happy returns" daylilies - great color, stay small, so darn cheery and easy
crinum- gotta love those bulletproof babies, and there are so many kinds!
rain lilies- zephyranthes and habranthes, tough and cheery
hymenocallis- also bulletproof in S. GA
Passiflora- it actually enjoys benign neglect!
Oh, and I almost forgot- it's not a perennial, but it is still a favorite bulletproof, it sits in the back row, looks like nothing at all, but oh, that
wonderful scent! Osmanthus fragrans- tea olive.
plantnutga
This message was edited Sep 13, 2006 9:36 PM
Even if you have to grow it as an annual, I recommend Salvia 'Indigo Spires'. I've had it in my garden for two years and have had non stop bloom from May to frost without touching it at all except to trim back in the spring. I love most of my salvias for being carefree-so little maintenance and they just keep blooming. The variegated yuccas get my vote too for plant it and just enjoy that fine architectural form. Year round too. A great winter garden plant.
chamthy, I second that, been reading this and was amazed that no one had mentioned "Indigo Spires". Mine covers about 6 foot in diameter, four foot tall, I don't think I've ever seen it out of flower, cuttings are a breeze. Also, "Salvia Waverly".
Sherry
We do have iris borer here in the mountains of NC. My daughter had them badly this year, had to dig and replant all her rhizomes. I live in the same county, about 10 miles away but 1,000 feet higher. I didn't have any.
I don't think the Louisiana iris is a rhizome so maybe that's why they aren't affected.