Best Flowering Perennials For St. Louis Missouri
On our list of the best flowering perennials for St. Louis are some of the more easy and popular plants that can be grown in your garden. Some are for shade and some are for sun.
‘Sun King’ resembles a leafy shrub but actually is a herbaceous perennial. Within one season it may grow to 4′ tall. Are you looking for a colorful plant for the shade? ‘Sun King’ may be your answer.
Asclepias, commonly called butterfly weed, is a Missouri native perennial. It boasts a long bloom period from June through August and can tolerate dry conditions.
A long time favorite, ‘Fanal’ has dark green glossy foliage with red flower plumes. In general Astilbes are tough, shade loving plants that enjoy moist or even wet soils.
Berginia is an underutilized shade loving perennial that offers unique foliage that is coarse in texture. The evergreen, cabbage-like leaves are glossy with a leathery feel. It gets its common name, “Pig Squeak”, from the sound the leaf makes when rubbed between two fingers.
‘Moonbeam’ is a popular plant probably because it has such a long bloom period from late spring into the fall. Great for sunny areas where a mass of color is needed. 1992 Perennial Plant of the Year Award.
Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'
Echinacea is a butterfly, bee, and bird magnet. ‘Magnus’ is common variety that offers rosy purple blloms. Best planted in full sun. It can handle the hot humid summers of St. Louis. 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year.
Hemmerocallis
Daylilies are one of the easiest perennials to grow. They can tolerate almost any soil and location but are best planted in full sun and fertile soil. There many varieties to choose from. Picture here is ‘Catherine Woodbury’ and old time favorite.
Helleborus orientalis
Lenton Rose is a welcomed late winter early spring bloomer. Best situated in an area that recieves partial to full shade. A long lived perennial with evergreen foliage.
Hosta
Hostas are probably one of the most popular perennial plants for the shade. There are many cultivars to choose from that offer different sizes, colors, and leaf patterns. Best planted with morning sun and afternoon shade.
Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
Heuchera is grown more for its attractive foliage rather than its flowers. ‘Palace Purple’ can be grown in full sun but is better off it receives shad or partial shade in the hot afternoons.
Leucanthemum 'Becky'
Shasta Daisy is an easy to grow perennial and should be planted in areas that are a little dry or at least very well drained. ‘Becky’ features large blooms held on strong stems that help keep the 3′ tall plant upright.
Lythrum virgatum 'Mordens Gleam'
Lythrum virgatum ‘Morden’s Gleam’ is a seedless, non-invasive loosestrife. It grows 3-5 feet tall and in July and August bears beautiful tall spikes of star-shaped, rose-pink flowers.
Nepeta 'Walkers Low'
‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint has soft, fragrant, gray-green foliage. In April, sprays of large, trumpet-shaped, distinct bluish purple flowers appear on upright arching stems and continue until October.
Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'
A native to North America, ‘Husker Red’ Penstemon makes a great landscape display with its brilliant white tubular flowers against the backdrop of its foliage of rich red leaves intermixed with green leaves.
Perovskia atriplicfolia
Russian Sage offers a long season of bloom in the summer garden. Perovskia atriplicifolia boasts whorls of two-lipped, tubular, lavender-blue flowers tiered in branched spikes on a bushy upright woody clump of silver-green leaves that are lacy and fragrant.
Rudbekia flugida 'Goldstrum
The bright gold daisy-like petals of ‘Goldsturm’ rudbeckia have a distinct brown cone that highlight any summer garden from July into September. In the wild, black-eyed Susan inhabits grasslands and prairies, so it grows best in sites with rich soil and full sun.
Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
A popular perennial that changes with the seasons, ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum is valued for its late season of bloom and waxy, succulent, attractive green leaves. In late summer to fall, strong, upright stems support enormous rounded clusters of numerous, star-shaped flowers.