Jill LaVigne of Austin's The Great Outdoors Nursery is who we called when we wanted a good list of plants that are nearly unkillable (by lack of maintenance, of course). Though tons of factors go into what makes a plant hardy, we asked specifically about plants that are good with high heat and little water, and plants that are immune to people who are really good at killing plants.
Her first suggestion was actually to check out a website called Grow Green, where you can download a free and comprehensive Native and Adapted Plant Guide (this one is for Austinites and Texans).
Next, she listed off her favorite hardy plants:
1) Lantana Comes in lots of colors and in lots of height varieties
2) Salvia Greggii A great evergreen with a fun texture
3) Shrimp Plant This one does pretty well in the shade
4) Echinacea A bold flower
5) Rosemary, Oregano and other herbs Tasty with great scents
Jill did admit that any plant will need extra care in the first year or so of its life, but after these plants make a home in your yard you can expect them to live pretty well in most conditions. Of course, Jill advises readers to check out lists of native plants available for your area to know where to start. She also said to take notice of older homes in your neighborhood with plants that have been there awhile—chances are those are hardy plants that do well right where you live!
Looking for hearty indoor plant suggestions? We have them. What plants have you seen stick it out summer after summer?
(Photos: Flickr member John Tann, Wikipedia user Stan Shebs, Flickr member ahisgett, Echinacea and Flickr member miheco. Flickr photos licensed for use under Creative Commons License)
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I believe the term you are looking for is "Hardy." Hearty usually describes rib-sticking food, hardy describes plants that can survive.
I once planted a half acre of wildflowers with about 20 varieties that are native to the Midwest. After about 5 years, my field was mostly purple coneflowers and black-eyed susans. I am growing both in unirrigate heavy clay in my current yard. They're both thriving. Siberian iris will grow in just about anything also.
I can speak to the hardiness of Lantana. We had one our coldest winters on record this year in Baton Rouge (I woke up one Saturday morning and it was 18 degrees! That doesn't happen here). After numerous freezes, I thought my lantana was dead and gone. But I cut it back as far as possible and just gave it time and now it's back -- tiny, but blooming!
failjolesfail---- Good catch! I always mix those two, I looked up "hearty's" definition and felt good about it, but should have re-looked up hardy last night, too. Thanks for catching it!
Both the Lantana & Shrimp Plant, although nice, are non natives and invasive. My sister actually planted a small Lantana plant once and it soom became a monster that needed to be pulled. Great alternatives can be found here: http://www.wildflower.org/
What plants are hardy depend entirely on the area. Ever tried getting rosemary to take off in Seattle?
I totally forgot Austin had that on the city website. We recently uprooted some shrubs that were looking sickly (not enough sunlight I think), and I've been trying to find something native and flowering that can handle part/full shade as replacements.
I'm doing a pretty good job of killing Echinacea in my yard. However, the Golden Euonymus shrubs appear to be immortal.
Here in the New England area, I've found wild geranium and sedum to be very hardy. Also (and rose purists are going to hate this) I've have a bunch of double red knockout roses that have done really well with zero maintenance. I don't prune, fertilize, etc. and they bloom profusely from May to October.
yeah, im about to become a lantana killer because it is completely taking over my patio! you can't even tell planters exist underneath them at this point and its only been 5 weeks. i think it's going to kill my other plants :( (which i'm already fighting to save becuase it's been 90/ degrees in VA lately.) so, the lantana does great in swealtering heat.
I've had a hell of a time getting rid of Lantana here in Phoenix. I gave up, it was a rental anyway. I hate that plant, though! It stinks and there are tiny prickles all over it! Grrr, to each their own.
My dad grew Russian sage at his house in Michigan, and that stuff took over, plus it smells wonderful. He had been adding compost to the soil for many years, so it was very rich and loamy. I've seen a few people try to grow it in Phoenix, to no avail. I think the soil here is just too crappy (alkaline, salty, compacted...)
JME718...I am in the same boat in San Antonio. After a little bit of research, I am considering Lemon Wave Hydrangea, Viburnums or perhaps Yews and considering Liriope in the foreground. I believe all of these are evergreens, okay with zone 9 and part to full shade.
Good theme developing here - before you plant, make sure the plant is right for your area and soil type and that it is not invasive. Some invasive species can be planted by putting the plant with the pot in the ground to limit root spread. I do this with catmint. I have issues with seeding flowers - most notably wild geranium and shasta daisy - and ended up removing them. Unfortunately, I still keep getting new plants. Stick with native plants and follow planting instructions for best results.
Ha ha, "black thumb." Even though I have beautiful yard, I describe myself that way ever since I killed some cacti in my office. One by one, they became crispy. I suspect the IKEA "soil" they came in was not right.
Glad to hear all the comments about Lantana being invasivel
I was about to run out and buy alot of it.
Thanks for the info.
We have a few lantana in our backyard beds. While it does grow crazy fast and can potentially take over your garden, I have found that it holds up well to being pruned back pretty much year round. And by "pruned" I mean I take a pair of crappy old scissors and I trim it down to the size I want for my garden. And it still thrives. Mind you, I'm in Arizona which I think must be one of the top Lantana growing places in the world, so maybe other climates wouldn't let the lantana bounce back as well?
love hearing your comments on lantana
here in Toronto, it's a valued plant, an annual only, and they are very popular at the garden centres. Obviously with out winters, it's not going to survive. I tried over-wintering it but it died. I only wish my one little plant would spread.
sorry, that with "our" winters, not with "out"
I second Echinacea (we call it purple coneflower around my parts)! It's a beautiful plant, actually my dad's favorite, lol.
Not that anyone needed to know that.
Rosemary and oregano do not live through the winter in Northwestern PA. Even when I try to cover them and nurse them through. Lavender sometimes dies too, but the sages do extremely well. My thymes doing well.
In California, I've had good luck pruning the Lantana back to short stubby branches every Winter. It starts to grow back in the Spring and by Summer it is blooming beautifully. Next winter I'm going to plant annuals (maybe pansies?) around the unattractive stumpy part. They'll cover it up until it starts leafing out in Spring.
One word: succulents (and cacti)
It has been like an oven on broil here in Miami and the hotter it is the better they do! Check out my blog Inspire Bohemia (at blogspot.com) to see my succulents and cacti. Succulents are so gorgeous and come in endless varieties, they spread quite quickly too with the way their fallen leaves propagate new plants! My favorite large landscape succulent is the Echeveria Glauca, look it up and get ready to gasp at its beauty. I call it my "bloomin' onion"...
Catherine
InspireBohemia.blogspot.com
Because of Catherine's Miami heat comment, I'd also suggest Bromeliads.
And aren't terms "invisive and non-native" zone-related? At least the non-native part?
And a shout out to Tessie in San Antonio! I love it there! "Deep. In the heart."!
I have a black walnut tree which (thanks to the juglans toxin it excretes) kills everything. People give me cuttings of everything, I pop them in in the bed nearby (20 feet, but still in the dripzone), and watch them die. Harry Lauder's walking stick, Colorado Columbine, poppies, succulents...the only things that grow underneath it are honeysuckle.
And here in the DC area, anyone can get honeysuckle to take - but DON'T. There are actually regulations in my town (never enforced), but you're supposed to keep your honeysuckle under control.
My lawn got so much more light once I took a chainsaw to it...
The honeysuckle, not the black walnut. It may be a Nuisance (with a capital N), but it's still a lovely tree.
P(too) come on down anytime!
Catherine, please tell me how you are keeping your succulents alive! I'm in the Miami area as well, but are sloooowly drying out/dying. I don't understand why. I'd bought two large pots of mixed succulents. They were gorgeous and full. Now half of the plants in each pot have dried up, shriveled and browned.
I will attempt to repot them this week. It's so, so sad!
I'm in zone 9 in Houston, hot & humid. I love lantanas but they usually gets moldy & die.
Bridal Wreath Spiraea & American Beautyberry are carefree in our yard. Roses do beautifully too once established if you choose one appropriate for your area. I have two Cecile Bruners & a Mrs. Dudley Cross that get along just fine with no help from me. Mrs. Dudley came from the Antique Rosary in Needville which sadly closed a few years ago when one of the owners died. Her husband has kindly kept their website up for reference. http://www.vintagerosery.com/ His wife was way into organic gardening & only sold roses that did well in our area without chemical intervention.
Some more info on zones would be nice here, too! What survives in LA with its seaside climate may not be hardy to those of us here in the frozen north of zone 3-4 Minnesota.
We've had good luck with hostas and day lilies in my parents' yard. One particularly shaded hosta next to the hose hookup is about six feet in diameter - so big that there's a family of mice living under it! We never expected it would get that huge.
If you're looking for good filler in a climate that gets up to 100s in the summer and could get down to -60 in the winter (in the same year), hostas in the shade and day lilies in the sun are the way to go!
AT folks PLEASE stop recommending people spread invasive, non-native plants. The hardiest plants for the place you live are natives. Here in the upper midwest, you simply cannot kill ironweed, pussy toes, swamp milkweed, joe pyeweed or rattlesnake master. All of these plants, despite their names are lovely and require no care. They support wildlife, they don't drive them away.
If you are throwing around "mystery" mixes of "wildflower" seeds randomly, you can be causing huge problems for the people trying to protect our remaining wildlife habitat.
PLEASE, please urge caution and know your stuff before blogging nationwide.