Mother Nature can be unpredictable. Despite our best efforts, extreme weather conditions like record-breaking rainfall or severe heat and drought can harm plants. So, what’s a gardener to do in the face of such challenges? Plant tougher plants. These resilient perennials and shrubs can withstand harsh weather without compromising on style, keeping your garden looking beautiful throughout the season. They can thrive in various conditions and don’t require excessive care. By using these hardy plants, you can simplify gardening in tough spots and ensure long-lasting blooms and weather-resistant foliage in your garden.
While these plants are chosen for their ability to endure challenging weather and conditions, they still need care during the establishment period. Providing additional watering as necessary in the first year after planting will help them develop strong root systems.
Daylily
Botanical Name: Hemerocallis spp.
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Medium to moist, well-draining, rich
Soil pH: Slightly Acidic (6.0-6.5)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Daylilies are surprisingly tough plants. They can thrive in various well-drained soils and become drought-tolerant once established, though they benefit from watering during dry spells to maintain their foliage. These plants do well in the heat and humidity of Southern gardens and are salt-tolerant. It’s recommended to divide daylily clumps every three to four years for optimal performance.
Switchgrass
Botanical Name: Panicum virgatum
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Medium to moist, well-draining, average
Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline (5.0-8.0)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Grasses can add texture and drama to your landscape, and many are adaptable. Switchgrass thrives in various soil and moisture conditions, making it suitable for rain gardens and water-wise landscapes. These plants are excellent for controlling erosion on slopes and can withstand heat, humidity, providing a structural and aesthetic element to the garden with their airy seedheads.
Flowering Quince
Botanical Name: Chaenomeles speciosa
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Average, well-draining
Soil pH: Slightly Acidic (5.5-6.2)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Flowering quince is a tough shrub that blooms beautifully in neglected landscapes. It displays stunning rose-like blooms on gracefully arching branches in spring. Modern varieties are thornless and resistant to diseases.
Daffodils
Botanical Name: Narcissus spp. and hybrids
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Medium to moist, well-draining
Soil pH: Acidic to neutral (6.0 to 7.0)
USDA Hardiness Zones
Throughout the season, Russian Sage provides a magnificent autumn display with its tubular blooms that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. The aromatic foliage of this plant remains evergreen through much of its range and is resistant to browsing deer and rabbits, as well as tolerant of coastal conditions. With silvery foliage and a long blooming season, Russian sage adds months of color and texture to the garden. The periwinkle blue flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds from mid-summer through fall, making it an excellent choice for fragrant cuttings. Russian sage thrives in hot, dry sites with any soil type.
Oakleaf Hydrangea, with its bold, deeply lobed foliage and large flower panicles, brings flair to shady gardens. Despite their native habitat in moist woods, these plants tolerate dry soil and drought. Their showy, long-lasting blooms attract pollinators, and the seeds are eaten by songbirds in autumn when the foliage turns red and purple.
Deciduous Holly makes a big impression with its autumn berries that cling to branches through winter. Songbirds eat the red fruits late in the season. This plant, growing as a small tree or large shrub, tolerates both drought and wet soil conditions, making it ideal for rain gardens or areas prone to water accumulation.
Turk’s Cap is a drought-tolerant native plant that flowers from summer through fall, adding vibrant red color to the garden. The twisted flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies, while the bright red fall fruits are enjoyed by songbirds. Turk’s Cap naturally grows on challenging sites like limestone ledges and erosion-prone stream banks.
Threadleaf Coreopsis, despite its delicate appearance, is a tough native perennial that tolerates heat, drought, deer, rabbits, poor soil, and salt. This plant produces an abundance of long-lasting daisy-like blooms and attracts native bees and butterflies to the garden. Various cultivated varieties are available, offering unique flower colors and compact growth.
Hellebore, thriving in partial to full shade with dappled sun, is a beautiful addition to gardens.
Soil Type: Medium, well-draining, rich
Soil pH: Neutral to alkaline (6.5-8.0)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Hellebores, with their deeply lobed evergreen foliage and winter to early spring blooms, are a delight in the garden when little else is in sight. These hardy plants thrive in shady areas, are deer-resistant, and can tolerate various soil types, from loamy to rocky. Hellebores are also adaptable to urban settings with good air pollution tolerance.
Fragrant Sumac
Botanical Name: Rhus aromatica
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Dry to medium, well-draining, average
Soil pH: Acidic to Alkaline (5.0 to 8.0)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Featuring lemon-scented foliage, Fragrant Sumac is a versatile shrub that thrives under black walnuts, resists rabbits, and serves as an excellent groundcover for slopes and eroded soils. Its toothed leaves turn vibrant red and orange in the fall, with summer blooms attracting butterflies and moths, and late-season berries attracting birds.
Bearded Iris
Botanical Name: Iris germanica
Sun Exposure: Full
Soil Type: Medium, well-draining, rich
Soil pH: Slightly acidic to neutral (6.5-7.0)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Bearded Iris offers a variety of flower colors and patterns. Sturdy stems hold blooms that make stunning cut flowers, while the sword-shaped foliage adds structure to the garden. These plants spread from thick rhizomes, forming dense clumps that benefit from division every few years.
Yarrow
Botanical Name: Achillea spp. and cultivars
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Dry to medium, well-draining
Soil pH: Acidic (<6.0)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Yarrows, including various species and cultivars, are resilient to tough growing conditions. Their clusters of yellow, white, pink, or red blooms attract native bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects. The ferny foliage forms an attractive evergreen groundcover in milder climates.
