Perennials

Perennials

Our enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable perennials team is here to answer your questions and help you choose the best perennials for your situation. There’s always something in bloom for sun, shade, butterflies, birds or deer resistance  as well as a variety of bulbs for your space.

Stroll through our time-tested favorites and introduce yourself to the newest varieties. We garden with perennials too; we love them and it shows!

Dryopteria australis

Height: 4 feet

Spread: 3 feet

Sunlight: partial shade, full shade

Hardiness Zone: 4b

Description:
This tall fern is a great vertical accent; has graceful, arching fronds; keep evenly moist, provides habitat and shelter for birds and bees.

Ornamental Features:
Dixie Wood Fern is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its cascading habit of growth. Its tiny ferny compound leaves remain green in color throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes:
Dixie Wood Fern is an herbaceous evergreen fern with a shapely form and gracefully arching fronds. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Dixie Wood Fern is recommended for the following landscape applications:

- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing:
Dixie Wood Fern will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round. As this plant tends to go dormant in summer, it is best interplanted with late-season bloomers to hide the dying foliage.

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Hibiscus x 'Lord Baltimore'

10" crimson blooms. Erect habit. Tolerates wet sites. USDA 5-9

Hibiscus 'Cherry Cheesecake' PP26089

Striking variety with white, ruffled flowers that are accented with red and fuschia margins. USDA 4-9

Hibiscus 'Mars Madness' PP27838

Vivid, magenta blooms in the summer. Dark, purple-tinged foliage accents bright flowers. USDA 4-9

Hibiscus 'Ballet Slippers'

Large white ruffled flowers with a red center and blush pink edges. Upright, shrub-like. USDA 4-9

Hibiscus 'Ballet Slippers'

Large white ruffled flowers with a red center and blush pink edges. Upright, shrub-like. USDA 4-9

Asclepias incarnata

This monarch host plant produces pink blooms summer through fall. Requires moist soils. Self-seeder. Native. USDA 3-6

Asclepias incarnata

Plant Height: 3 feet

Flower Height: 4 feet

Spread: 32 inches

Sunlight: full sun partial shade

Hardiness Zone: 2a

Other Names: Butterfly Weed

Description:

A wonderful selection for attracting butterflies to garden beds and rain gardens; this upright selection features clusters of rosy-pink, fragrant flowers and green narrow foliage; a compact variety that is easy to grow, needing little to no maintenance

Ornamental Features:

Swamp Milkweed has fuchsia flat-top flowers with rose overtones at the ends of the stems from mid summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its narrow leaves remain grayish green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes:

Swamp Milkweed is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Swamp Milkweed is recommended for the following landscape applications:

- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
- Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing:

Swamp Milkweed will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 32 inches. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. This species is native to parts of North America.

Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal'

Blue-green foliage with feathery, pinkish-white plumes in summer. Strong, upright habit. USDA 5-9

Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal'

Blue-green foliage with feathery, pinkish-white plumes in summer. Strong, upright habit. USDA 5-9

Eupatorium purpureum ssp. maculatum 'Gateway'

Pink blooms. Tolerates clay & wet soils. Native cultivar. Naturalizing. USDA 4-8

Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline'

Height: 4 feet

Spacing: 30 inches

Sunlight: full sun partial shade

Hardiness Zone: 3a

Other Names: Bergamot, Oswego Tea

Ornamental Features:
Jacob Cline Beebalm has masses of beautiful clusters of fragrant red flowers at the ends of the stems from mid to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its fragrant pointy leaves remain forest green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes:

Jacob Cline Beebalm is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration: Spreading, Self-Seeding

Jacob Cline Beebalm is recommended for the following landscape applications:

- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing:

Jacob Cline Beebalm will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 30 inches apart. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.