All perennials require maintenance. Watering, fertilizing, pinching, staking, deadheading, dividing, and providing winter protection are common maintenance chores. Some perennials require frequent attention through the growing season. Others require minimal maintenance. The following perennials require minimal maintenance, but are attractive additions to the home landscape.
Low Maintenance Perennials for Sun
| Plant | Variation |
|---|---|
| Butterfly Weed | Peony |
| (Asclepias tuberosa) | (Paeonia hybrids) |
| False Indigo | Russian Sage |
| (Baptisia australis) | (Perovskia atriplicifolia) |
| Gas Plant | Moss Phlox |
| (Dictamnus albus) | (Phlox subulata) |
| Hardy Geranium | Balloon Flower |
| (Geranium spp.) | (Platycodon grandiflorus) |
| Hardy Zinnia | Coneflower |
| (Heliopsis helianthoides) | (Rudbeckia spp.) |
| Daylily | Perennial Salvia |
| (Hemerocallis spp.) | (Salvia x superba) |
| Siberian Iris | Stonecrop |
| (Iris sibirica) | (Sedum spp.) |
| Blazing Star | Carolina Lupine |
| (Liatris spp.) | (Thermopsis caroliniana) |
| Daffodil | Speedwell |
| (Narcissus spp.) | (Veronica spp.) |
| Catmint | Ornamental Grasses |
| (Nepeta spp.) | (Various species) |
Low Maintenance Perennials for Shade
| Plant | Variation |
|---|---|
| Lady's Mantle | Hosta |
| (Alchemilla mollis) | (Hosta spp.) |
| Blue Star | Virginia Bluebells |
| (Amsonia tabernaemontana) | (Mertensia virginica) |
| Jack-in-the-Pulpit | Creeping Phlox |
| (Arisaema triphyllum) | (Phlox stolonifera) |
| Goat's Beard | Mayapple |
| (Aruncus) spp. | (Podophyllum peltatum) |
| Canadian Wild Ginger | Lungwort |
| (Asarum canadense) | (Pulmonaria spp.) |
| Heartleaf Brunnera | Bloodroot |
| (Brunnera macrophylla) | (Sanguinaria canadensis) |
| Turtlehead | Siberian Squill |
| (Chelone spp.) | (Scilla sibirica) |
| Bugbane | False Solomon's Seal |
| (Cimicifuga racemosa) | (Smilacina racemosa) |
| Bleeding Heart | Foam Flower |
| (Dicentra spp.) | (Tiarella cordifolia) |
| Barrenwort | Ferns |
| (Epimedium spp.) | (Various species) |
Perennials must be planted in their proper environment to be truly low maintenance. Important site considerations are the amount of sunlight and soil conditions. Perennials planted in unfavorable sites will require more care.
This article originally appeared in the 5/21/2004 issue.
Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Yard and Garden, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on May 21, 2004. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.