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Many gardeners love perennial flowers. Plant them once, and the blooms return year after year. The 20 perennials you see here are ideal for beginners—low-maintenance, no-fuss, vigorous, andhigh-performing!
What arePerennials?
Perennials are those flowers that return reliably year after year—whereas annuals are those one-season wonders that add color and need to be replaced every spring. It’s the perennials that form the backbone of a garden, whereas annuals are planted for spots of color.Think of perennials as the foundation. Learn more about the difference between annuals andperennials.
An advantage of perennials is that they require minimum maintenance. After establishment, most perennials require minimum pesticides or pruning. They just need well-drained soilthat’s amended with compost or organic matter.However, there are literally thousands of varieties of perennials, and while some are indeed as easy as pie to grow, others require at least as much attention as annuals. So, if an easygarden is what you seek, choose the rightperennials!
ReadNext
Deer-Resistant Plants, Flowers, and Shrubs: Deer-Proof Your Garden!
Shady Characters: 10 Best Flowers and Plants For Shade Gardens
One tip: Choose native perennials when possible! Don’t be tempted by a beautiful flower that grows in the far North orSouth if it’s not meant for your zone! See the USDA Native Plant database.
When to PlantPerennials
You can plant a perennial any time, but the best times are fall and spring. This allows the plant to get well-established before winter or hot, dry summers.We prefer fall because the soil is already warmed. Planting in summer is okay, but you’ll need to waterfrequently.
The following are among the easiest perennials common throughout most of NorthAmerica.
Why These Perennials Are SoEasy
The plants listed here are perfect perennials because they…
- do not need fussy care, such as pinching, staking, and deadheading (although some of these plants, like daylilies, can benefit fromdeadheading)
- are fairly resistant to pestsand diseases and may even be unappealing to deer (although a hungry deer will eat just aboutanything)
- have a long life span (more than 5years)
- adapt to a wide range ofconditions
- do not spread all over the garden via invasiverhizomes
- grow and bloom well even if you do not dividethem
- are tough enough to hold their own against invasiveneighbors
- will grow almost anywhere in North America (Zones 2 to9)
Check out these easy tips for perennial garden care.
20 Easy-to-Grow Perennial Flowers forBeginners
1. Black-eyedSusans
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta)are a popular native flower and have been a staplefor so long that just about everyone grows them. Sturdy stems bear cheerful golden daisy-like flowerswith a black, conelike center. They occur singly atop 1 to 2-footstems. Take note, though, that this is alate starter, flowering at the end of summer. ‘Early Bird Gold’ is a selection of the more common‘Goldsturm’ that is physically identical to it but “day-length neutral”: It starts blooming early and doesn’t know when to stop, so it can bloom from late May until Christmas in some climates. (Northern gardeners can figure on a late June through October season.) Read our Growing Guide for Black-Eyed Susans.
2. Purple Coneflowers (Echinaceaspp.)
Echinacea purpurea, commonly known as coneflower, is a popular and easily grown native perennial in the U.S. that produces long-lasting lavender flowers on smooth 2 to 5-footrobust stems and bears a prickly, green to orange center. It blooms from midsummer to early fall, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. The flowers are used to make an extremely popular herbal tea. Read our Growing Guide for Coneflowers.
3.Daylilies
Daylilies(Hemerocallis spp.) are the workhorse of the gardenand very low-maintenance,thriving in full sun but also can tolerate partial shade. It’s not an original native, but it’s been here a long, long time. Lots of choices here, from big flowers to small, from dwarfs to giants, from early bloomers to fall bloomers—all trumpet-shape and borne over attractive, arching, grasslike foliage. Some varieties, such as the ever-popular ‘Stella de Oro’ (yellow flowers), bloom all summer! Colors include yellow, orange, pink, purplish red, and “white” (well, more like cream), often with a contrasting eye. Each flower lasts but a day (thus the name, “daylilies”), but stems can produce dozens of flowers… and there can be dozens ofstems!
4.Goatsbeard
Aruncus, commonly known as goatsbeard, has an extensive native range in North America.This is a big, tough perennial with stems so sturdy that they have survived tornadoes unharmed. The giant leaves are fernlike, and the frothy white flowers are rather like astilbe blooms. It’s a bit slow to develop and thus may not reach its full size for 4 to 5 years, but goatsbeard can live for 100 years or more in the same spot. Expect blooms in earlysummer.
5.Hostas
Ever popular, hostas are tough as nails as long as you remember two things: You must buy slug-resistant varieties (these usually have thick leaves), and deer belove hostas. (Read our advice for getting rid of slugs and deer in the garden.)Hostas come in various sizes and are grown mostly for their foliage—usually large leaves, with attractive veining in shades from dark green to chartreuse and blue, often with beautiful yellow or white variegation. The trumpet-shaped flowers are white to purple and usually fairly insignificant; however, there are some large-flower, highly scented varieties. Hostas require full shade to partial shade and bloomfrom early summer to fall. Read our Growing Guide for Hostas.
6.Peonies
Your great-great-grandmother probably grew peonies (Paeoniaspp.)—and, likely, they’re still exactly where she planted them! Peonies are about the longest-lived perennials around. The deeply cut leaves are a glossy dark green that reddens in the fall, but their main attraction is the huge, showy, blowsyblooms that are pink, white, or red (and, more recently, yellow or peach). Flowers can be single, semidouble, or double, but take note: many of the double varieties require staking. Peonies bloom in mid-to-late spring. Read our Growing Guide for Peonies.
7.Salvia
Salvias (also known as sages) have gained their new fame because they flower for a long period of time and also grow fairly rapidly.Many salvias will stay low enough to be used at the front edge of your flowerbeds.In addition to the colorful flowers and interesting foliage of salvias, one of the main benefits of growing sages is the hummingbirds and butterflies they attract. See our Growing Guide for Salvia.
Spotlight: Discover Salvia ‘Rockin Blue Suede Shoes.’
8.Foxglove
Foxglove(Digitalis purpurea) is a stunning tall flower with tubular blossoms that often looks best at the back of a garden; it’s also rabbit- and deer-resistant.Common foxglove is a biennial, which means they form a rosette and leaves in their first year, bloom in their second year, and then die. Foxgloves reseed easily, so plant foxgloves two years in a row for flowering plants. Also, new perennial varieties of foxglove have been developed that flower in yearone. See our Foxglove GrowingGuide.
NOTE: Foxglove is highly poisonous, so don’t plant them if you have pets or young children who might gnaw onthe plants. Additionally, foxgloveis not native to North America and may be considered invasive in some locations. Check with local regulations beforeplanting.
Spotlight: The ‘Arctic Fox Rose’ foxglove is an annual that is hardy enough to survive northernwinters.
9. CushionSpurge
Cushion Spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) is a native plant with chartreuse flowers that rise from mounds of green foliage. This plant blooms in early spring turns a colorful chrome-yellow in early summer and turns red in the fall. It’s a dramatic plant for the perennial border and is drought-resistant, deer-resistant, andbutterfly-friendly!
10.Columbine
Columbine (Aquilegia) is a beautiful woodland perennial with dropping, bell-like red petals whichattract hummingbirds. Once started, columbine propagates for years and, although perennial, increases rapidly by self-seeding. See how to plant columbine.
11. RussianSage
This shrubby plant with sturdy white stems has silvery, highly aromatic leaves and a haze of lavender-blue flowers. Bloomingfrom summer to fall, Russian Sage is a robust plant that is drought-tolerant once established and very attractive to pollinators. Its softer look can provide a beautiful supporting role to bolder perennials, like coneflowers and rudbeckia.Read more about sage.
12. ShowyStonecrop
One of the taller membersofthe genus Hylotelephium(formerlySedum),thesepopular garden plants are extremely easy to grow. White to pink cauliflower blooms appear over succulent, blue-green leaves. Blooms in fall. Read more about Stonecrop.
13.Astilbe
Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) has a low growing habit that makes it work as a border plant or ground cover. The flowers are fluffy pink or white panicles above dense fern-like foliage. See our Astilbe Grow Guide.
14. SiberianIris
This is the easy iris—it produces abundant blooms in purple, lavender, pink, white, or yellow in attractive, grasslike foliage. Blooms from late spring to early summer.Read more about growing irises.
15.Phlox
A very common wildflower, phlox blooms anytime from late spring through the summer months in pastel pink, purple, or white flowers. Most species need full sun to thrive. Butterflies and hummingbirds love phlox! Read more aboutgrowing phlox.
16.Baptisia australis, commonly known as FalseIndigo
One of the oldest known perennials to exist, most native Baptisia species is an upright perennial and features blue-lavender, lupine-like flowers on mountains of clover-like blue-green foliage.Baptisia australis has dark seed pods formed in fall that are a good counterpoint in cut flower arrangements. A carefree plant thatgrows in full sun or light shade, they aretypically deer-resistant and attractbutterflies.
17.Heliopsis helianthoides or FalseSunflower
A native perennial often found wild along roadsides and in fields across the U.S. and much of Canada, this upright, sunflower-like perennial features daisy-like flowers with yellow-orange rays surrounding yellow center cones.The flowers will brighten your garden from midsummer to fall in full sun to light shade. Pollinating bees and butterflies enjoy the blossoms.The plant tolerates dry to average soils and does not require rich soil to thrive.
18. Bee Balm (WildBergamot)
Bee balm (Monarda spp.)blooms yearly in mid to late summer. It’s beloved bypollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, who enjoy the sweet nectar found in its tubular-shaped florets. In zones 4 to 8, it grows in full sun to part shade and prefers average to consistently moist soil. Deer tend to leave it alone due to its minty-scented foliage. See our Bee Balm Guide.
19. Perennial Hibiscus, also known as RoseMallow
Native to the Eastern U.S., hearty hibiscusflowers from midsummer into early fall andgrow best in full sun to light shade. Natives grow near bodies of water, so this plant needs consistent moisture to thrive and isn’t recommended for containers.Deer usually leave them alone, but bees and hummingbirds enjoy their blossoms. See our Hibiscus Growing Guide.
20.New EnglandAster
The native aster has colors ranging from lavender to blue to white, with showy flowers. The perennial’s hairy, clasping leaves are arranged densely on its stout stems, and the plant can grow to six feet or more in height. Learn more about growing asters.
Which of these easy perennials is your favorite? Do you have any favorite perennial flowers which you would recommend to theAlmanac community?Please let us knowbelow!
See how to plant and care for perennials.
