Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      Hot off the minds of Midwest travel writers: a fresh look at where to eat, drink, play and stay around the region. Read More
    • Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      One has conquered the world of plant-based baking. Another runs a microbakery from her home. Two own businesses with their spouses. And the fifth is a James Beard finalist chef. The common thread? Absolutely delicious cakes. Read More
    • The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      For many Midwesterners, holiday feasting kicks off with a relish tray. We dare not mess with an icon—at least, not too much. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    At Wisconsin supper clubs, the steak is served rare and the traditions are well done. Like the brandy in an Old-Fashioned, these timeless institutions only get better with age.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    This sleeper hit of a weeknight dinner comes from Food Network star Molly Yeh's cookbook Home is Where the Eggs Are—and is basically a vehicle for Parmesan and garlic toast. No complaints! (The alternate version, with ham and cream, is excellent too.)
    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    With visions of dinner parties and game nights dancing in their heads, a Chicago couple renovated their historic (and first) home, one DIY project at a time.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    Author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf shares how to make blooms last longer—and repeat.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Buses, trains and very few automobiles—check out these out-of-the-ordinary holiday lights displays.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Tamales are a project, but many hands—even tiny ones—make lighter work.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • DIY Pistachio Wheat Stalks for Fall Decorating
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    About Us

    About Us

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
    • Fall 2022 Issue
    • Winter 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Garden
  3. Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  4. 25 Top Easy-Care Plants for Midwest Gardens

25 Top Easy-Care Plants for Midwest Gardens

By LuAnn Brandsen Updated May 13, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Blanket flower

Plant these low-maintenance perennials and shrubs—including hostas, peonies, yarrow, daylilies, catmint and switchgrass—for a carefree Midwest garden.

Start Slideshow

1 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Blanket flower

Blanket flower

Give these red or orange daisy-like flowers full sun, and they'll bloom from summer deep into fall. Another plus: These drought-tolerant flowers attract butterflies, not deer. Zone 3-11.

1 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Daylily

Daylily

Nearly impossible to kill, vigorous sun-loving daylilies tolerate drought and can even take part shade. Each bloom lasts just a day, but plants keep the trumpetlike blooms coming for weeks on end. Choose reblooming varieties like yellow 'Stella de Oro' (pictured) or red 'Lady Scarlet' for even more flowering time. Zones 3-9. Read more about daylilies.

2 of 25

3 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Poppy

Poppy

Large crepe-paper-like blooms of poppy bring vivid pops of spring and summer color-neon orange and red to pastel pink and cream. Many kinds are available, including Iceland, Alpine, Atlantic and Oriental poppies. Little care is needed other than a sunny location and watering during dry spells until established. Zones 2-8.

3 of 25

Advertisement

4 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Hosta

Hosta

Few plants can brighten even the toughest dry shade like these rugged and varied perennials. Superstars include 'Pandora's Box' with green-edged white leaves and 'Frances Williams' (pictured) with large rippled blue-green foliage and chartreuse edges. Zones 3-9. Read about 5 hot hosta plants.

4 of 25

5 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Peony

Peony

This voluptuous beauty is no diva, thriving for decades given full sun and well-drained soil. Expect attractive mounding glossy-green foliage and fragrant late-spring blooms. Solid performers include the classic double 'Sarah Bernhardt' and the semi-double 'Coral Charm' (pictured). Zones 3-8. Read more about peonies.

5 of 25

6 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Yarrow

Yarrow

Typically ignored by foraging rabbits and deer, sun-loving yarrow blooms generously and stands up to summer heat and drought. Choose sterile varieties like 'Coronation Gold' (pictured) that won't spread aggressively. Zones 3-8.

6 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Allium

Allium

One of the easiest bulbs to grow, ornamental onions add interesting contrast to the garden with their clumps of grasslike leaves and rounded or nodding flower heads. Try 'Forescate' common chives for pink globes in spring or 'Nodding Pink' (pictured), a native ornamental onion with long-lived dangling pink flowers in late summer. Zones 4-9.

7 of 25

8 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Switchgrass

Switchgrass

Given ample sunlight, this fountain-shaped ornamental grass (panicum) offers blue-green foliage in summer and dramatic golden or red tones in fall. Plus, it's not on the menu for rabbits, deer or grasshoppers. Zones 5-9. Read more about ornamental grasses.

8 of 25

9 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Goldenrod

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)

Contrary to popular belief, this dependable perennial does not cause hay fever. It does, however, add glorious golden-yellow plumes to the late summer and early fall garden. Try 4-foot tall 'Fireworks' (pictured) for lacy blooms; 'Golden Fleece' grows 15"-18" tall with richly textured flowers. Zones 4-9.

9 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Leadwort

Leadwort

Late-season blue flowers play off autumn's vivid red and orange displays. Ranging from 6 inches to 3 feet, this perennial does best in well-drained soils and makes a good groundcover for dry sunny sites or part shade. Zones 5-9.

10 of 25

11 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Hardy geranium

Hardy geranium

A dependable workhorse, perennial geraniums are lovely massed as a groundcover or used as an accent plant. The plant is tolerant of wet or dry soils in full sun to part shade. Choice varieties include 'Biokovo' with delicate pink flowers, 'Bevan's Variety' with deep magenta flowers and 'Johnson's Blue' (pictured) with its long-blooming flowers. Zones 5-9.

11 of 25

12 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Catmint

Catmint

Drought-tolerant and deer-resistant, sun-loving catmint adds fragrant foliage and purplish-blue blooms to the summer garden. 'Walker's Low' and the new 'Cat's Meow' are varieties bred to remain upright rather than split in the middle. Zones 3-8.

12 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Helenium

Helenium

A member of the aster family, deer-resistant Helenium provides long-blooming yellow, mahogany or red daisy-like flowers to jazz up the fall garden. Vigorous varieties include bright yellow 'Butterpat' and coppery red 'Moerheim Beauty'. Zones 4-8.

13 of 25

14 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Penstemon

Penstemon

A magnet for hummingbirds, this drought-tolerant native offers long-blooming brilliant tubular flowers in spring or summer and can tolerate part shade. There are numerous types, so be sure to pick one that suits your zone. Zones 3-9.

14 of 25

15 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Sedum

Sedum

Gardening doesn't get much easier than this. Undaunted by heat, humidity and drought, this disease-resistant perennial is among the first to emerge with attractive fleshy foliage in spring. Most offer long-lasting blooms in summer and fall. Choose from low-growing varieties like 'Tricolor' (pictured) or the taller, popular 'Autumn Joy' and 'Vera Jameson'. Zones 3-10. Read more about sedums and other succulents suitable for the Midwest.

15 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Veronica

Veronica

Resistant to insects, disease and drought, this spiky bloomer thrives for years without care. Though it's most vibrant in full sun, it also easily handles part shade. Choose from a broad range of heights, from groundcovers to back-of-the-border types. Zones 3-9.

16 of 25

17 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Little bluestem

Little bluestem

This native is a champ in sunny spots, boasting feathery spikes that blend well with everything from roses to black-eyed Susans. Resistant to heat, drought, disease and foraging animals, little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) turns a pretty straw color in fall. Zones 3-9. Read more about ornamental grasses.

17 of 25

18 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Bluestar

Bluestar

Clusters of delicate blue flowers top thin stems in spring, and mounded foliage stays attractive though summer. Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) tolerates wet sites; shining bluestar (Amsonia illustris) tolerates drought; threadleaf bluestar (Amsonia ciliata) (pictured) has narrow leaves that turn yellow in fall. Remove seed pods to prevent self-seeding. Zones 3-9.

18 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Coreopsis

Coreopsis

One of the longest bloomers if deadheaded, coreopsis adds yellow, pink or bicolor flowers to the garden. Top choices include coreopsis grandiflora (pictured) and the thread-leaf 'Moonbeam' that will bloom for months if sheared back after flowers fade. Not a favorite of deer. Zones 3-9.

19 of 25

20 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Potentilla

Potentilla

Not to be confused with the woody bush called cinquefoil, this drought-tolerant subshrub cinquefoil makes a good groundcover that's especially effective on slopes. Orange, yellow, pink or white flowers bloom from June through August. Red peeling bark offers winter interest. Zones 2-7.

20 of 25

21 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Russian sage

Russian sage

Tolerant of heat and drought, this fragrant shrublike plant attracts bees, but not rabbits or deer. Its cool blue flowers delight all summer, mixing well with red, orange and yellow plantings. Zones 4-9.

21 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Coneflower

Coneflower

Deer resistant and tough as nails, this drought-tolerant overachiever will spread into a nice stand given a sunny location. Numerous hybrids come in colors from orange to green, but also consider the native pale purple coneflower. Its long drooping petals and large cone attract bees and butterflies; the seed heads are favorites for goldfinches and chickadees. Zones 3-9.

22 of 25

23 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Aromatic aster

Aromatic aster

Native to dry upland prairies, fragrant Aster oblongifolius prospers in dry, clay or rocky soil. Covered with flowers in fall, it makes a strong companion plant to little bluestem grass and goldenrod. Pinch in early summer to prevent flopping. Choice variety is 'October Skies'. Zones 3-8.

23 of 25

24 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Hardy hibiscus

Hardy hibiscus

Giant saucerlike flowers on 5-foot plants make this one of the most dramatic perennials in the garden. Easily grown in wet or dry soil, these showy flowers attract butterflies, not deer. Individual blooms are short-lived, but plants bloom prolifically until frost. Zones 4-9.

24 of 25

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 25

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Wiegela

Wiegela

With no notable insect or disease problems, reliable Wigela florida is a 4- to 5-foot shrub that is pretty alone or in a hedge. Its showy pink flowers in spring attract hummingbirds; fall foliage is colorful. Weigela prefers full sun, but tolerates shade as well as clay soil. One to try: award-winning 'Alexandra' (also marketed as 'Wine and Roses'). Zones 4-8.

25 of 25

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By LuAnn Brandsen

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 25 Blanket flower
    2 of 25 Daylily
    3 of 25 Poppy
    4 of 25 Hosta
    5 of 25 Peony
    6 of 25 Yarrow
    7 of 25 Allium
    8 of 25 Switchgrass
    9 of 25 Goldenrod
    10 of 25 Leadwort
    11 of 25 Hardy geranium
    12 of 25 Catmint
    13 of 25 Helenium
    14 of 25 Penstemon
    15 of 25 Sedum
    16 of 25 Veronica
    17 of 25 Little bluestem
    18 of 25 Bluestar
    19 of 25 Coreopsis
    20 of 25 Potentilla
    21 of 25 Russian sage
    22 of 25 Coneflower
    23 of 25 Aromatic aster
    24 of 25 Hardy hibiscus
    25 of 25 Wiegela

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    25 Top Easy-Care Plants for Midwest Gardens
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.