Tough Perennials for Tough Places

Tough Perennials for Tough Places
Great Lakes Trade Exposition
January 2006
Dr. Art Cameron
Department of Horticulture
Michigan State University
cameron@msu.edu
Herbaceous Perennials
Iris reticulata Early iris The earliest of irises – 2004 already in bloom in early
March! Tough as nails
Tulipa tarda
Tulipa greigii
Species tulips A bright and cheery start to the spring! Dormant in the
summer – spreads by seeds
Euphorbia epithymoides
Euphorbia cyparissia
Cushion spurge Great yellow start to spring - may seed around but
never is a problem in my experience – E. cyparissia has
great texture and cute yellow flowers
Pulmonaria Lungworts –
Many cultivars
They can tolerate dry soils and shade – sometimes even
better as container plants – but still nice as garden
plants
Heuchera Coral bells Grown more and more for the foliage. Tough plants in
the garden, they certainly can thrive in a shady area
with a minimum of moisture. Good in container!
Brunnera Jack Frost An impressive new Brunnera with cute flowers and
fabulous foliage – in my experience –nicer than
Pulmonarias! Very tough – takes dry shade.
Asarum canadensis Wild ginger Actually quite a good plant for dry shady locations –
makes a handsome ground cover.
Hosta
Corydalis lutea
Golden scepter
Krossa Regal
So many others!
A colorful and dependable hosta – grows and thrives on
very dry soils – holds foliage well into the summer.
Hostas are tough and popular.
A great old workhorse with dainty foliage and pretty
flowers that does well in dry shade -
Aquilegia Columbines! Origami, Winky, A canadensis, I can’t help it, I love
them all – let them seed around the garden if they will –
tougher than you might think – esp to drought and
shade – love it cool!
Digitalis Foxgloves Maybe great foxgloves – they love cool temps and can
tolerate dry soils – tough plants
Allium christophii
Allium afluatnense
Allium gigantea
Allium sphaerocephalum
Ornamental onions
Try some of the oddballs – you can find them on the
web or in specialty nurseries – many are worth a try -
Allium cernuum Nodding onion This is a summer flowering onion – very showy – I have
seen these growing in profusion in some gardens!
Dianthus
Essex Witch
Bath’s Pink
Firewitch
Pinks are tough! And there are many to choose from.
Essex Withc is an old cultivar – perhaps harder to find -
Bath’s Pink and Firewitch should be available and are
very drought tolerant.
Achillea
Moonshine, Anthea
Red velvet,
Terracotta many
others!
So many great ones – definitely worth it to try some of
the new ones – many colors – though some don’t hold
as well during the summer – Anthea is a lovely light
yellow – repeat bloomer!
Nepeta Catmints So many great catmints to choose from – esp Walker’s
Low and Six Hills Giant – carefree and totally drought
tolerant!
Oenothera fruticosa Many new cultivars These are grown – but not enough! Incredible flower
display in late June that lasts for about 3 weeks

Herbaceous Perennials - continued
Tough Perennials for Tough Places
Dr Art Cameron
2006
Geranium ‘Rozanne’ A very nice new everblooming geranium – this is
definitely a keeper – Blooms of Bressingham introduction
– ok – maybe not as drought tolerant as some on this
list - but still pretty darn tough!
Artemesia Valerie Finnis An old timer well worth the trial – very aggressive and
benefits from severe pruning – just use a lawn mower in
the middle of the summer
Amsonia tabernamontana
A. hubrectii
Gaura lindheimeri
Blue star
Whirling butterflies,
Siskiyou pink
Ballerina
Both have nice blue flowers – but really shine in the fall
with great yellow foliage coloration – the fine foliage of
the A. hubrectii is especially beautiful
The gauras are now indispensable in my garden – tough
and drought tolerant – they do like plenty of sunshine
for best performance – in some cases, they may not
survive the winter – but this is more I think to do with
new breeding and shade
Echinacea So many cultivars The standard – plus Art’s Pride – an orange selection
that will be hard to find for a couple more years – pretty
interesting color from Chicago Botanic Gardens
Rudbeckia triloba
Actually a great, underused perennial – smaller flower
than Goldsturm – great late summer accent
Leucanthemum
Shasta Daisies
Helenium autumnale
Sneezeweed
Helianthus salicifolius
Helianthus angustifolius
Snowcap, Becky
Moorheim beauty
Willow-leaved
sunflower
Low down
First light
Really – Becky is a nice improvement – large repeat
bloomer – Snowcap is a dwarf that fills a niche early in
the season – probably does better with a bit of moisture
A real trooper – and definitely underused in Michigan
gardens – drought tolerant and showy in the mid
summer – many cultivars
A huge plant for the tough garden – can be cut to the
ground in mid-summer and will come back much shorter
–
Two late bloomers – related to the tall willow-leaved
sunflower – but these are much shorter – bloom into
October!
Ornamental Grasses! Tough as Nails!
Calamagrostis xacutifolia ‘Karl Foerster’
Feather reed grass
The best of the best – flowers in June and is showy the
rest of the year and through the winter – 4-5 feet
Panicum virgatum
Hans Hermse,
Shenandoah, Cloud
Nine, Northwind etc
Native prairie grass with many great cultivars – most are
German bred – very drought tolerant as a rule – though
a little moisture will always improve the show
Briza media Quaking grass Small and cute – can mass for ground cover effect
Calamagrostis
brachytricha
Miscanthus sinensis
Miscanthus floridulus
Saccharum ravennae
Fall-blooming
Calamagrostis
Graziella, Morning
Light, Variegatus,
Strictus,
Silberfeder so
many more…
Ravennae grass
Northern pampas
grass
A beautiful flower – but does not show up til about
September and generally does not last the winter.
Very effective landscape plants – and very low
maintenance – all of the Miscanthus species should be
considered and each has their own distinguishing
characteristics – plant en masse for best effect – some
early flowering selections can seed out into the
environment and create a nuisance – stick to suggested
cultivars .
A large Miscanthus for large spaces – may not always
flower – but makes a great screen
Perhaps not quite as hardy as some of the other grasses
above – still a large imposing grass that can make a true
statement in a garden setting

Ornamental Grasses – continued
Tough Perennials for Tough Places
Dr Art Cameron
2006
Arundo donax Giant Reed Grass Definitely less hardy – a soft Zone 5 grass – but still
quite imposing when it is well-situated in a garden
setting
Molinia litoralis
‘Skyracer’,
‘Windspiel’
Tall purple moor grasses are airy, graceful flowers that
bloom in August – M. caerulea variegata is another
worth a try
Schizachrium scoparium Little bluestem A great native plant that is as tough as can be – very
showy in the fall months
Sorghastrum nutans Indian grass Another great native plant in the upper Midwest with
showy flowers and good garden potential – not yet
highly utilized
Leymus canadensis Blue lyme grass Native - grows best in dry sand – spreads by
underground runners which in the wrong spot can create
headaches!
Sporobolus heterolepis Prairie dropseed Native - great fall interest for dry sites – very durable –
not as tall as some of the other grasses.
Up on the Roof – rooftop survivors for the north – the sedums!
Sedum acre Biting Stone Crop A small star-shaped flower that shows off from Mid-may
and on through the summer – dense dark-green foliage
– very acid taste – great for vegetative coverage -
Sedum album Bella d’Inverno’ En masse, the white to light pink are showy throughout
the entire summer – leaves shift to a showy red when
drought stressed
Sedum dasyphyllum Lilac Mound Blue-green foliage – cute flowers and small - a favorite
of some roof experts!
Sedum sediforme
Flowers up to 18” tall – so great since yellow to white
flowers rise above some of the shorter sedums – flower
spikes showy with clusters on horizontal inflorescences
Sedum reflexum
( a.k.a S. ruprestre)
Very showy on the roof and in the garden – spreads by
seed and shows up sometimes when you least expect it
– great for the dry garden
Sedum spurium Many cultivars Relatively common species – grown in gardens – spread
easily by stolons – with bright white to pink flowers –
very attractive when they come into bloom
Colocasia
Xanthasomas
Musa
Elephant ears
Black Magic
Basjoo,
Rojo others
Just for fun
Absolutely a tropical – plant in June, and dig up after
foliage has frozen to ground – can store in a cool
basement – still I am drawn more and more to this and
other “tough” plants that merit use in our gardens -
Bananas tough? Well in my dreams you might say – but
Basjoo is reportedly hardy to zone 5 – this and other
bananas really are worth a try for the adventuresome
garden!
Brugmansia Angel trmupet A unique plant for a container during the summer
months – very tough and can be overwintered in the
basement with essentially no care
Darmera peltatum
(Peltaphyllum
peltatum)
Umbrella plant
A great plant native to California that lives right in rivers
and streams in the Sierras. Great plant for difficult wet
spots – great foliage and flowers.