31 Low Maintenance Perennials That Require Minimal Upkeep

Adding some low-maintenance perennials to your garden is an attractive addition to for home gardeners, regardless of how much time you spend on the go. Not only do they offer plenty of beautifully colored blooms, but they’ll return year after year with an array of flora and foliage to delight the senses without much upkeep.

Many perennials also serve as a veritable nectar buffet for your local butterfly, bee, and hummingbird population. That means you can feel good about supporting backyard pollinators without spending your days toiling away at needy, single-season blooms.

From fluffy-headed Korean Mint to the spiraling stems of Hen-and-Chicks, these 31 low-maintenance perennial plants will inspire you to sow something spectacular this season!

Bear’s Breech

Scientific Name: Acanthus mollis

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Mediterranean
• Plant Size: 3’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 5-10

Elegant and upright, Acanthus mollis produces an erect, leafy herb with blush-colored flowers that spring forth from deep purple and green hoods. They are quite showy throughout the early-mid summer, with pules of shiny, verdant foliage at the bottom of the spike.

Bear’s Breech is an aggressive, low-maintenance grower that does well in all soil types and at any pH, so long as it is well-drained. They are also drought tolerant once they’ve established themselves in your garden.

Bee Balm

Scientific Name: Monarda fistulosa

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: North America
• Plant Size: 1’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 3-9

Bee Balm, also known as Wild Bergamot or Horsemint, produces bursts of brightly-colored blossoms atop deep green, square stems throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Each pink or lavender flower head is accented with showy, spiked bracts that attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

They do their best work when allowed to thrive in groups or along borders in moist, well-drained soil, regardless of soil type or pH. Bee Balm is a vigorous spreader, but gardeners should cut them down at the end of the growing season to encourage bounteous blooms in the spring. They are susceptible to powdery mildew but resist deer and rabbits.

Blanket Flower

Scientific Name: Gaillardia

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: North and South America
• Plant Size: 1’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 3-10

Despite a short bloom season lasting only through the early summer to early fall, the daisy-like blanket flower is a delightful addition to any wildflower garden, thanks to its cheerful and warm color array in shades of burgundy, orange, and yellow. They form gorgeous stalks of sage-green leaves that naturally form into mounds.

The blanket flower requires well-drained alkaline or neutral loam but is fantastically resistant to drought, salt, deer, and rabbits, making it one of the best low-maintenance perennials for hummingbird and butterfly gardens. These perennials are also budget-friendly on top of being native to North America.

Blazing Star

Scientific Name: Mentzelia laevicaulis

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Western North America
• Plant Size: 1’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 2-11

Blazing Stars bloom from curling bracts into a stunning, five-petaled yellow flower that closely resembles its celestial namesake, reaching up to 3 inches in length. The center is dense with tall stamens that draw in flutters of bees, moths, and butterflies throughout the summer and fall. Notably, they open wide at dusk, then close again the following afternoon.

They’re very common wildflowers, particularly in dry, rocky loam and sand. They prefer well-drained soil of any pH and propagate wonderfully on slopes.

Coneflower

Scientific Name: Echinacea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Eastern and central North America
• Plant Size: 1’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 3-10

Echinacea, or Coneflower, closely resembles a Black-Eyed Susan, though they come in a much larger variety of colors. Typically, they feature a large, dark center with petals that elegantly sweep downwards, forming a bright, circular “hoop skirt” that dances around the hairy stem.

Coneflower is the epitome of low-maintenance perennials, growing best when left to its own devices in well-drained soil with plenty of sun exposure.

They are a classic American wildflower, long hailed as a tough-as-nails bird, butterfly, and bee attractant that stand firm in the face of drought, unfavorable soil conditions, and deer.

Cream Wild Indigo

Scientific Name: Baptisia leucophaea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: United States
• Plant Size: 2’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-partial sun
• Plant Zone: 3-9

Cream Wild Indigo is a spring bloomer growing in long racemes from a clump of soft, green leaves. The clustered, bi-lobed flowers weigh down the stems, creating a distinctive arch that looks elegant and adorned with creamy, ivory-colored blooms.

After the flowers die off at the end of summer, they leave behind black pods that are a popular addition to cut arrangements.

Cream Wild Indigo thrives despite drought or poor soil conditions, thanks to its deep taproot, but may struggle when crowded by other tall plants. Thanks to its longevity and ability to get by on very few resources, it’s ideal for new gardeners or those who want to beautify an open field.

‘Dot Com’ Asiatic Lily

Scientific Name: Lilium ‘Dot Com’

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Central and East Asia
• Plant Size: 2’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-partial sun
• Plant Zone: 4-8

‘Dot Com’ Asiatic Lily is one of the most visually stunning varieties of the Lilium genus, with enormous, creamy white flowers that can reach up to 8 inches in width.

The center is accented in a wash of deep burgundy that transitions outward into dainty freckles. Each stem can produce up to nine stunningly dramatic lilies that open in the early summer.

Lilies grow well in containers and gardens, so long as the soil is moist and well-drained. Pet owners should be wary, as lilies are toxic to cats and dogs. Dot Com Asiatic Lily are gorgeous additions to pollinator gardens, drawing in hummingbirds and butterflies while resisting common garden pests.

Dwarf Chinese Astilbe

Scientific Name: Astilbe chinensis var. pumila

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Eastern China, Japan, and Korea
• Plant Size: 8”-10” high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun, shade
• Plant Zone: 4-9

If you’re looking for a late-season, low-maintenance perennial, look no further than the charming Dwarf Chinese Astilbe. The fluffy flowers add stunning visual interest to gardens in the late summer and fall, producing clustered florets perched proudly over dense, fern-like vegetation.

At the end of the growing season, they transition to a custardy brown that sustains through the winter.

Dwarf Chinese Astilbe is an exemplary floral showstopper along borders, in containers, and next to water features, as they require plenty of moisture-retentive soil to produce to their fullest potential. Apart from their water needs, they exist happily regardless of sun level or soil pH.

Echinops

Scientific Name: Echinops sphaerocephalus

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Europe, east to Central Asia, tropical Africa
• Plant Size: 2’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-partial sun
• Plant Zone: 3-9

Better known as Globe Thistle, Echinops is a stately, low-maintenance perennial with distinctive flower heads that produce densely-packed clusters of icy blue florets. Spiny, olive-colored leaves branch off the sturdy stems, creating a spirited display of bouncing globes each time a strong breeze passes through your garden.

Like most thistles, Echinops are self-sufficient and will propagate themselves in well-drained soil. They tolerate many common concerns, including herbivorous woodland visitors, drought, and dry or rocky soil.

Fragrant Sand Verbena

Scientific Name: Abronia fragrans

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southwestern and western plains regions of North America
• Plant Size: 1’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Part sun
• Plant Zone: 4-8

Charming and dainty Fragrant Sand Verbena is often called the “Prairie Snowball” due to its clustered flower head covered in up to 70 tiny florets. They are notable for their sweet, vanilla scent, bright green leaves, and the fact that they open after the day’s heat has passed before closing again in the morning.

While they are particular about having well-drained, sandy soil, they are drought-resistant and continue to produce blooms throughout the spring, summer, and fall.

Heartleaf Milkweed

Scientific Name: Asclepias cordifolia

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Western United States
• Plant Size: 1’-2’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 7-10

Heartleaf Milkweed is a hardy member of the Asclepias genus with richly pigmented, dark purple flowers that bloom in the spring and early-mid summer. The color-coordinated stem produces branching pedicels, each of which droops forward and heart-shaped, frosty leaves.

It does well in rocky, loamy, or sandy soil, so long as it is well-drained. It’s an excellent bird and butterfly attractant, serving as a staple food source for monarchs.

Hens-and-Chicks

Scientific Name: Sempervivum arachnoideum

• Plant Type: Perennial succulent
• Geographic Origin: Southern Europe and northern Africa
• Plant Size: 1”-3” high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 5-8

Hens and chicks are tight, stunningly green rosettes of fleshy leaves covered in a filamentary mat of silken white hairs. The name is a reference to their method of propagation.

First, the main plant (“hen”) sprouts a stalk in the summer, which then offshoots into several smaller stems (“chicks”).

The “hen” then blooms into several gorgeous, pointy-petaled flowers before dying. Each “chick” takes root on its own, forming perennial colonies that continually refresh themselves.

Like most succulents, they thrive in full sun and can easily resist deer, rabbits, drought, cold weather, and poor soil conditions.

Garden Phlox

Scientific Name: Phlox paniculata

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Eastern and the central United States
• Plant Size: 2’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 4-8

Perched atop a pine green stem, Garden Phlox forms pyramidal flower heads consisting of rose, lavender, or white florets. This short perennial only blooms during the summer, with the fragrant, nectar-rich blooms lasting around six weeks.

Garden Phlox require a little looking-after, particularly when it comes to keeping their roots cool, but gardeners can quickly solve the problem by adding a layer of mulch on top of the soil. Once established, they will continue to self-propagate in moist, well-drained soil of any type or pH.

Georgia Peach Coral Bells

Scientific Name: Heuchera ‘Georgia Peach’

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: North America
• Plant Size: 1’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun, shade
• Plant Zone: 4-9

Georgia Peach Coral Bells are a truly spectacular show of color. The large, lobed leaves transition with the seasons, starting as peachy-pink with a fibrous silvery covering in the spring. Over the summer, they deepen to dark rose, then purple, before finally turning frosty silver in the late fall.

This variety of Heuchera is truly a “set it and forget it” perennial, as it tolerates all levels of sun exposure, resists drought, pests, and disease, and can even live in salty soil. Georgia Peach Coral Bells are a must if you’re looking for dense ground cover in your butterfly garden.

Korean Mint

Scientific Name: Agastache rugosa

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Eastern Asia, Russia, Taiwan, India, and Vietnam
• Plant Size: 3’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 4-9

Agastache rugosa, a subspecies of Giant Hyssop, produces tall, herbaceous spikes of fuzzy violet flowers. After blooming in the midsummer, the spiky leaves have a scent similar to licorice, making them a popular rest stop for pollinators.

Korean Mint is quite hardy in drought conditions. It flourishes in all types of well-drained soil, so long as it has access to total sun exposure. Deadheading blooms promote continued flowering throughout the fall.

Lady’s Mantle

Scientific Name: Alchemilla mollis

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Subarctic regions of Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas
• Plant Size: 1’-2’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 3-8

While not the most spectacular low-maintenance perennial in terms of color, the sturdy Lady’s Mantle is an award-winning border flower. It forms dense sprays of small, citrusy green flowers floating above the mounds of scalloped foliage.

Lady’s Mantle can become an invasive perennial, thanks to how easily it self-seeds regardless of soil type or pH, making it an excellent choice for natural gardens or ground cover. Herbivores rarely show interest in these bush-like blooms.

Lamb’s Ear

Scientific Name: Stachys byzantina

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Armenia, Iran, and Turkey
• Plant Size: 6”-2’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 4-10

With its plump, velvety evergreen leaves and brilliant pink flower spikes, Lamb’s Ear is a vigorous, self-seeding plant favored as ground cover and for underplanting and crack filling in rock gardens.

For gardeners who are just beginning to flex their green thumb, Lamb’s Ear is sure to satisfy. It does a delightful job of taking root in chalky, loamy, or sandy soil of any pH. Cutting the flowers will help the greenery grow thicker and denser, but they typically die off on their own in the late summer.

Lantana

Scientific Name: Lantana camara

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: American tropics
• Plant Size: 2’-6’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 10-12

The beautiful Lantana more than pulls its weight in producing both flora and foliage. The leaves form into a dark green, aromatic mound that bursts into life in the late spring with multicolored clusters of trumpet-like flowers that keep blooming, all season long.

Lantana boasts brawn to go along with its beauty and can survive in drought, all types of soil, and salty conditions. To truly prosper, though, it prefers high humidity and extreme heat, ideal for coastal gardens in tropical regions.

Large Beardtongue

Scientific Name: Penstemon grandiflorus

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: United States
• Plant Size: 2’-4’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 3-9

Beloved by native plants, meadows, and cottage gardeners, Large Beardtongue is a showy Penstemon variant that sports sizeable florals in shades of soft pink, lavender, and creamy white.

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly delicate tube-shaped flowers of the Large Beardtongue—this prairie native is an expert self-seeder that prefers a hands-off approach. It will spread into masses of waxy leaves adorned in butterfly-attracting blooms in well-drained soil with plenty of sunlight.

Pasque Flower

Scientific Name: Pulsatilla vulgaris

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: North America, Europe, and Asia
• Plant Size: 9”-1’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 4-8

The Pasque Flower produces short-stemmed, ornamental blossoms that can grow up to 3 inches wide, with wavy-edged petals in shades of indigo and a flush of brilliant yellow stamen at the center.

After opening their face to the sun in the early spring, Pasque Flowers go dormant at the end of the growing season, making way for silky seed pods that facilitate self-sowing. They love full sun and well-drained soil but aren’t particular about growing in chalk, sand, or loam.

Pearly Everlasting

Scientific Name: Anaphalis margaritacea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Central and southern Asia, North America
• Plant Size: 2’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 3-8

Pearly Everlasting is a bushy, low-maintenance perennial with tiny clusters of button-shaped, white flowers bedecked with a tightly-packed core of caramel-colored stamen. Their small size, vitality throughout the growing season, and dense, wooly foliage serve well as a backdrop for more flamboyant blooms.

If you plan to add Pearly Everlasting to your garden, don’t be surprised if they seem hopelessly lost following the first frost. Rest assured that these robust wildflowers will pop back up at the first sign of spring, even if planted in poor soil or drought-prone climates.

Philomele Peony

Scientific Name: Paeonia lactiflora ‘Philomele’

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Central and eastern Asia, Tibet, northern China, eastern Siberia
• Plant Size: 2’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 3-8

Peonies have long topped the list of prized perennials, owing to their massive, multi-layered blooms in a rainbow of brilliant hues. Philomele is a noteworthy example of the sheer variety within the Paeonia genus due to its gorgeous scent and exuberant, lush petals.

Peonies only open for around a week, so enthusiasts would do well to stagger their plantings to elongate their blooming season. Even without multiple plantings, though, Philomele is a worthwhile, low-maintenance addition to any garden with access to full sun.

Rusty Foxglove

Scientific Name: Digitalis ferruginea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Hungary, Romania, and Turkey
• Plant Size: 3’-5’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 4-9

Standing tall and proud, Rusty Foxgloves start as rosettes of semi-evergreen leaves that shoot up into architectural spikes up to 5 feet in height. In the late spring, you’ll be rewarded with cream-colored bells that open to reveal richly pigmented, rust-colored veins.

Rusty Foxglove forms self-seeding colonies in optimal growing conditions that include moist, well-drained soil free of aphids and eelworms, which tend to snack on its leaves. Despite some mild anti-pest measures, Digitalis ferruginea requires little time or attention.

Sunset Muskmallow

Scientific Name: Abelmoschus manihot

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southeastern Asia
• Plant Size: 4’-6’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 8-10

Sunset Muskmallow is a midsummer bloomer, forming pinwheels of buttery yellow petals with a dark purple or maroon stamen core. The verdant palm-like foliage clump into dense bushes of edible salad greens similar to lettuce or spinach.

Besides thoughtful irrigation, beginning gardeners will have no problems coaxing this perennial to bloom.

Toad Lily

Scientific Name: Tricyrtis hirta ‘Miyazaki Hybrid’

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: The Himalayas to eastern Asia
• Plant Size: 2’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Part sun, shade
• Plant Zone: 4-8

Based on the name alone, one might expect the Toad Lily to produce warty, unattractive flowers in shades of dull green. In reality, the bright white orchid-shaped blossoms are stunningly freckled with vibrant splotches of mauve, plum, and amethyst.

It’s highly regarded as a bold, low-maintenance perennial that extends the vitality of gardens well into the fall. For the best blooms, ensure Toad Lily establishes itself in high-moisture soil with plenty of shade.

Touchdown Teak Stonecrop

Scientific Name: Sedum telephium ‘Touchdown Teak’

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Mediterranean, Central America, Himalayas, and eastern Asia
• Plant Size: 1’-2’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 4-9

The glossy, wine-colored leaves and star-shaped flowers of Touchdown Teak Stonecrop are the paradigms of long-lasting perennials, as they maintain their vibrancy for up to six months. They do well in large groupings, densely filling in borders and backdrops well into the winter.

There’s nothing not to love about Touchdown Teak Stonecrop, as it boasts resistance to drought, extreme heat, poor soil conditions, and garden pests in search of a snack. Despite their steadfastness, they are by no means aggressive and will not take over your garden.

Urn Plant

Scientific Name: Aechmea fasciata

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Brazil
• Plant Size: 1’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Part sun
• Plant Zone: 10-11

The colorful, evergreen Urn Plant is native to the tropical climate of Brazil, where it can take up to three years to reach full maturity. Once it’s ready to blossom, gardeners will delight in the single, spiky-petaled pink flower with minute purple florets dotting the dense interior.

Urn Plant requires regular watering but happily takes root in even the grittiest, sandy soil. Gardeners can sow the offset buds that form near the base.

White Velvet

Scientific Name: Tradescantia sillamontana

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Northeastern Mexico, Spain, and Italy
• Plant Size: 6”-1’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full-part sun
• Plant Zone: 10-12

White Velvet is an evergreen stunner of the Spiderwort family, with silvery-green foliage draped in gossamer threads. It offers year-round ground cover in warm regions, which won’t die off when the grass does. It also does just as well in colder climes when planted in containers.

In the summer, the erect stems gain a jaunty topper in the form of a three-petaled lilac flower that sticks around for four to five weeks.

Wild Thyme

Scientific Name: Thymus serpyllum

• Plant Type: Perennial woody shrub
• Geographic Origin: Europe and North Africa
• Plant Size: 2”-3” high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 4-9

Known as “Creeping Thyme,” Wild Thyme is an increasingly popular grass replacement thanks to its plush texture, rich aroma, meager needs, and tendency to spread regardless of the soil conditions.

The leaves form a cushiony ground cover that stays soft throughout the fall and winter. It’s at its best in the summer, when it explodes into a carpet of pink or purple flowers that bring drifts of butterflies on the hunt for its abundant nectar.

Wood Sage

Scientific Name: Salvia x sylvestris ‘Mainacht’

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Western Europe and Tunisia
• Plant Size: 1’-3’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 4-8

Similar to Foxglove, Wood Sage produces erect spikes that reach up to 3 feet in height. The dark purple stems branch into twilight-covered bracts, each of which has elegant, indigo-colored flowers that last from late spring through the end of summer.

There’s nothing quite like Wood Sage if you need to add vertical interest to your garden, as the flower cones are spectacular against the emerald-toned leaves. This Salvia cultivator needs very little intervention apart from plenty of sunshine and well-drained, gravelly soil.

Wooly Rose Mallow

Scientific Name: Hibiscus lasiocarpos

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southeastern United States, California, and Mexico
• Plant Size: 3’-7’ high
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 5-9

Wooly Rose Mallow, or Hairy-Fruited Hibiscus, is a low-maintenance perennial plant with long, reaching stems covered in velvety, heart-shaped leaves. The solo-growing flowers start as tight buds that open to reveal a creamy, ivory-colored blossom with a stark, fuchsia throat and spindly stamen sticky with nectar.

Hibiscus lasiocarpos needs little from gardeners, as its native habitat includes ditches, brackish marsh banks, and flooded wetlands.