The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Perennials are the heart of many ornamental gardens, adding color and texture.
Beyond the temperature extremes of hardiness zones, some plants just do better in certain areas of the county.
Delphiniums struggle through hot, dry summers.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Guara can be capricious in frigid winters.
Here are 10 easy-to-care-for perennials that will grow just about anywhere in the Northeast.
But every plant species has an expected lifespan.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Astilbe (Astilbe spp.)
Astilbe plants havetall flower plumesand attractive lacy foliage.
There are varieties that bloom from mid-spring or well into summer.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The only required maintenance is to cut back the dead leaves in the fall or spring.
Most astilbe plants grow more vigorously if divided about every three years.
Otherwise, it will need supplemental water.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The plants grow to 1 to 3 feet in height.
Speedwell tends to self-sow, but the volunteer seedlings are easy to manage.
Speedwell should be divided every three years or so.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The plants typically grow to 12 to 18 inches in height.
More recently, it has become the darlings of plant breeders who have created varieties with colorful foliage.
Some gardeners even cut off the flower stalks so they does not distract from the leaves.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Mulching it after the ground has frozen will help protect the crown from cold damage.
The plants do best if divided every three to five years, but these are not long-lived plants.
Bleeding Heart (Lamprocapnos spp.)
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Its major drawback is that it cannot handle hot summers.
When the temperatures climb, bleeding heart either fades to yellow or disappears completely.Dicentra eximiaandD.
Formosawill repeat flower periodically throughout the summer, especially if you dead-head them.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Bleeding heart should be divided every four to five years
Cranesbill Geraniums (Geranium Spp.
Those plants are actually members of thePelargoniumspecies.
Common varieties range from 9 inches to about 2 feet in height.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Cranesbill geraniums should be divided every six to eight years.
Some are sterile hybrids that have none of the rampant self-seeding habits of the species varieties.
It grows to about 18 inches, with an attractive clumping growth habit.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Catmint can be an excellent substitute for lavender, which does not grow well in much of the Northeast.
Columbine (Aquiligia Spp.)
Deadheading the plants will prevent them from self-seeding.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Once established, columbine plants can be very drought-tolerant.
Division is required only every 10 years or so.
It is actually considered a sub-shruba woody-stemmed plant that dies back to ground level each winter.
In addition to its tolerance of cold, this is an excellent plant for dry, drought-like conditions.
The plants should be divided every four to six years; whole plants do not transplant well.
Daylily (Hemerocallis Spp.)
Daylilies are ubiquitous in the Northeast.
Daylilies tend to fill out quickly, which is a nice feature if you are just starting a garden.
Although many of the older varieties are lovely, you will get more mileage out of newer repeat-blooming hybrids.
‘Happy Returns’ is a classic cultivar known for repeat blooming.
Daylily leaves can get ugly in midseason, but shearing them back will create a flush of new foliage.
Cutting back the flower stems will prompt quicker reblooms on the repeat-blooming varieties.
Peonies (Peonia spp.)
Peonies are very long-lived plantsthey will live for many decades once they are well established.
But they do not like to be moved, so be careful to position peonies carefully when planting.
