Summer Performing Perennials

With little effort, your gardens and landscapes can thrive with colorful blooms year after year, even when the midsummer heat is in full swing. When Spring and early summer flowers begin to fade, many perennial flowers are just waking up. To ensure that you have a beautiful blossoming garden all summer long, picking the right perennials is of utmost importance. With this in mind, Erin, a 25-year veteran at Family Tree Nursery, shares some of her favorite low-maintenance perennials that will provide reliable color in the hot summer months.

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Hardy Hibiscus
Common Name: Rose Mallow

One of Erin's favorite late-blooming perennials is the Hardy Hibiscus. These plants feature 6-10 inch diameter blooms that come in a variety of colors, including pink, red, magenta, and white. Starry Starry Night and Candy Crush are two of Erin's favorite varieties. While each tissue-thin, oversized bloom typically lasts a day or two, the fading flowers are quickly replaced by succeeding blooms. Blooming in the first to the second week of July and then through the rest of the summer, these tropical-looking plants are hardy in Kansas and Missouri and will come back year after year for all to enjoy. Hardy Hibiscus are pollinator magnets, attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Reblooming on new growth, these plants benefit from fertilizer. Erin recommends our Family Tree Nursery Controlled Release Plant Food, as it will fertilize your plant each time it is watered. For optimal growth, be sure to plant your hardy hibiscus in a location that receives full sun (6 hours plus) and deeply water it 1-2 inches weekly. ​

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Nepeta
Common Name: Catmint

​Nepeta, also known as Catmint, is another perennial recommendation from Erin. Catmint has blue-green foliage that emerges in neat, tidy mounds with billowy clusters of lavender-blue flowers. Two of her favorite varieties are Walker's Low and Purrsian Blue. This pollinator-attracting plant has fragrant blooms and is also drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, bunny-resistant, and sun-tolerant. Nepeta does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations and should do just fine under typical garden conditions. This tough-as-nails plant has some of the longest-blooming flowers in the garden bed, appearing in late Spring and lasting until late Fall. The cool tone of the Nepeta's leaves pairs well with vibrant plants like red Shasta daisies. Erin's confidence in recommending and selling Nepeta to customers is a testament to its reliability. Knowing that Nepeta is a reliable and beautiful addition to the garden will help to reassure and instill confidence in any gardener. 

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Lagerstroemia indica
Common Name: Crapemyrtle

​Crapemyrtle is another fantastic recommendation for those who want a low-maintenance but beautiful plant beloved by pollinators. Crapemyrtles are exciting, ornamental perennial shrubs that produce volumes of vibrant, frilly blooms, making for a captivating focal point in the garden or border. These plants are not just happy with neglect but thrive on it, making them excellent plants for those who travel a lot and are not home to provide the care most plants may need. Wanting to dry out between watering, the low-maintenance nature of these plants will surely bring confidence and ease to any gardener. Crapemytrles can range dramatically in height and spread, but Erin's favorite varieties of crapemyrtle come from the Barista Series, which are dwarf varieties that average 3 feet in height and 3 feet in spread. Within the Barista Series, there are a variety of colors in both their foliage and blooms, including pink, white, and cherry red flowers. Crapemyrtles are late to emerge, but once the heat of the summer is in full swing, this plant is ready to pop with vibrant blooms for the rest of the summer, making them a great plant to pair with Nepeta whose blooms are a more relaxed purple. Bred in cold weather, Crapemyrtles are true perennials that can tolerate a cold winter and a hot summer.  To see the most vibrant blooms, plant in full sun (6 hours plus). 

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Echinacea
Common Name: Coneflower

​Another classic perennial is Echinacea, the tried-and-true Midwest perennial commonly known as the coneflower. This generic name is derived from the Greek word ekhinos, which means "hedgehog", due to its spiky central disk. Two of Erin's favorite varieties of coneflower are the Sombrero Kismit and Sunseeker. These plants come in red, yellow, gold, burgundy, pink, coral, white, and many more, adding a vibrant and diverse palette to your garden. The coneflower nectar feeds hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. They are fragrant, drought-tolerant, low-maintenance additions to the flower bed, pairing well with the Rudebekia flower charmed for its bright yellow, smaller blooms that compliment the larger Echinacea flowers. Native to Kansas and Missouri, these plants bloom from mid-June through September, topping off the blooming season. Coneflowers perform best in full sun and in well-drained soil. Prolong bloom time by deadheading spent flowerheads.

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Sedum
Common Name: Stonecrop

​​Lastly, Erin's favorite perennial, which she keeps in her own garden, is Sedum. Sedum, a perennial succulent that has a nickname "live-forever," is a highly durable plant that actually takes more effort to kill than to keep alive. Sedum plants come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Sporting fleshy leaves that store water, these plants are highly drought-tolerant and will do great in Kansas and Missouri soil. Two of Erin's favorite varieties of Sedum are Birthday Party and Thunderhead. New varieties of sedum have been developed in recent years, which are more compact plants, allowing the flowers to sit on top and create a beautiful and lush display. Some examples of these new varieties are Dazzle Berry, Dream Dazzler, and Lime Twister. These late bloomers will flower from August to November, giving your garden color all the way up until late Fall, when other plants have gone dormant for the winter. Sedum thrives in part to full sun and does best in well-draining soil, but is tolerant of poor soil conditions. Plant these perennials for a reliable source of late summer color. 

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​In conclusion, these blooming perennials will give your garden life and color in the hot summer months. From Echinacea to Crapemyrtle,  there are plenty of varieties for any gardener, with any style. Erin's recommendations are just a few of her "hot" summer favorites. Stop by any of our locations to find tables full of our summer-loving perennials.