Hard-to-Kill Plants That Can Adapt to a Changing Climate

Purple Coneflower

This quintessential Midwestern native (Echinacea purpurea) remarkably adapts to changing weather by growing shorter in drought conditions and taller in more ideal conditions. Pollinators are drawn to its purple flowers, and birds love the seedheads. Try bullet-proof varieties like the compact PowWow Wild Berry or larger ‘Magnus’.

Salvia

In mid-spring, perennial sage or salvias (Salvia nemorosa) put on a show with lavender to violet blue flowers and colorful bracts that add interest beyond the blooms. These perennials thrive in full sun to part shade and often rebloom in fall. Try classic varieties like ‘May Night’ and ‘Wesuwe’ or newer cultivars like the longer-flowering ‘Blue by You’ and ‘Blue Marvel.’

Pro Tip: After flowering, cut back old growth to make room for fresh leaves and flowers to form from the center.

Mountain Mint

With a name that means “densely packed flowers,” these 3-foot perennials (Pycnanthemum) are covered with small white flowers that pollinators adore. Plant them in mass in full to part sun in wet areas. Their gray-green foliage pairs beautifully with lamb’s ear, another tough plant.

Allegheny Spurge

This lovely semi-evergreen groundcover (Pachysandra procumbens) is ideal for shaded woodlands. It spreads slowly to form a dense carpet 8-10” tall and helps suppress weeds. In spring, fragrant white bottlebrush blooms emerge to support early pollinators.

Hardy Geranium

A workhorse in the garden, hardy geraniums (Geranium) feature saucer-shaped flowers above mounds of green foliage. The blooms begin in late spring and continue into early summer. Use these fast-growing plants to create an attractive border. Favorite cultivars include ‘Rozanne’ (long-flowering purple blooms), ‘Karmina’ (pink blooms) and ‘Biokovo’ (white blooms).

Catmint

Catmint (Nepeta) is a reliable, long-lived perennial in the mint family. It produces aromatic gray-green foliage and upright flower spikes in shades of lavender-blue, pink or white. Catmint is drought-tolerant and thrives on neglect, making it good for beginning gardeners, low-maintenance landscapes and dry areas. Plants are virtually pest and disease-free, while the mint-like scent repels deer and rabbits. Catmint’s mounding growth habit is perfect for mixed borders, as pathway edging, or in mass plantings.

Goldenrod

Goldenrod (Solidago) is a very forgiving plant and an ecological superstar. The arching stems and sprays of golden flowers provide food, nesting and winter shelter for bumblebees, long-and short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, spiders and more. The late season blooms offer food as pollinators prepare for winter hibernation. ‘Fireworks’ and ‘Little Lemon’ are two standout goldenrod cultivars.

Pro Tip: Look for galls (rounded growths) along goldenrod stems. They are formed by insects when they lay eggs inside the stems. Larvae emerge inside the galls and eat from the plant as they overwinter.

Penstemon

These tough native perennials (Penstemon) come in a rainbow of colors and stand up well in drought conditions. Their charming tubular flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Birds feast on their seeds in fall and winter. Any extra seeds drop and self-sow the following spring. Favorite cultivars include ‘Blackbeard’ with eggplant foliage and lilac purple flowers, and Quartz Rose with red flowers that rebloom throughout the season.

Pro Tip: Diversity is key in an eco-friendly garden. “Don’t just plant one thing throughout your garden,” says Knapke. “Improve your success rate with a mix of plants.”

Wood Fern

Wood ferns (Dryopteris) bring a rich textural layer to wooded areas with their upright foliage and diverse colors. While they thrive in shady wet areas, they will tolerate some periods of drought.  Try ‘Brilliance’ with showy fronds that turn orange in fall.

Little Bluestem Grass

Knapke calls perennial grasses, like little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), the “anchors of the garden,” since they send down roots to improve the soil. This native grass thrives in full sun and endures droughts. It’s known for its upright form and colorful foliage that changes from blue-purple in summer to coppery red in fall. Top performing cultivars include ‘Standing Ovation’ and ‘Twilight Zone’ (both 4’).

Pro Tip: Wait to cut back the foliage until late winter. Little bluestem provides cover and food for ground birds, small mammals and insects. It is a host plant for skipper butterfly caterpillars.

Appalachian Sedge

Sedges are the shade-loving cousins to perennial grasses and offer many of the same eco-benefits. The graceful, native perennial Carex appalachica features clumps of thin, finely textured leaf blades and makes an attractive, grass-like groundcover for dry, shaded areas. A similar sedge is Carex pensylvanica with a more spreading habit.

Pro Tip: In shady areas where it’s tough to grow a lawn, try planting a carpet of sedges as a lawn alternative.

Spicebush

This deciduous shrub (Lindera benzoin) is named for its spicy, fragrant leaves and stems. It is native to moist woodlands throughout the Midwest. Birds feed on the bright red fruits from July to October. To produce fruits, plant one male plant for up to three or four female plants. The shrubs reach 6-15’ tall, and feature yellow flowers followed by glossy leaves and graceful, slender, light green branches.

Korean Spice Viburnum

This shrub (Viburnum carlesii) is beloved for its fragrant, waxy pink flowers and bright red berries. In the fall, the foliage turns burgundy. Use these shrubs for borders and foundation plantings where you can enjoy their fragrance. The shrubs reach 6’ tall and 8’ wide with age. Compact selections—Spice Baby, Sugar ‘n Spice and Spice Island—are good choices for smaller landscapes.

Buttonbush

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is a great native shrub for partly shaded wet areas. It features glossy green leaves and fragrant, round flower clusters during mid-summer. It attracts more than 24 species of birds, as well as numerous species of butterflies. The common buttonbush grows 6-12’ while the cultivar Sugar Shack reaches half the size at 5’.

Pro Tip: Add a rain garden to minimize stormwater runoff.

Witch Hazel

In the depth of winter when many other plants are dormant, witch hazel shrubs (Hamamelis virginiana) bloom with surprising spidery flowers in yellow, orange, red and purple. These tough shrubs provide a valuable food source for early waking pollinators. The shrubs are pest-resistant and tolerate a variety of soil conditions. Use them singly as a specimen plant, clustered in a privacy screen or naturalized along a wood line. Shrubs grow 10-20’ tall.

Ginkgo

This ancient tree (Ginkgo biloba) from China is a survivor from the dinosaur days. The tree is cold-hardy and pest-resistant with unmistakable fan-shape leaves that turn gold in fall. Check out the different forms including upright (‘Princeton Sentry’), cone-shaped (‘Autumn Gold’), dwarf (‘Mariken’) and weeping (‘Pendula’). Plant in full sun or partial shade and give room to grow. They can reach 50’ tall and 30’ wide.

Ironwood

Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) is a tough understory tree with beautiful birch-like leaves, grayish-brown flaky bark, fine-textured drooping branches, muscular trunk and attractive hop-like fruits. It’s considered one of the Midwest’s toughest native hardwoods and resistant to many diseases and insect problems. Knapke recommends Firespire for smaller yards.

Pro Tip: When looking for trees to plant for the next generation, Knapke says to turn to warmer climates for options. Her suggestions include loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, willow oak, southern white oak and Shumard oak.

Hackberry

“Find a place to grow a hackberry in the wild side of the yard,” says Knapke. “It’s the host tree for many, many butterflies.” The butterflies are often seen attached to the tree’s gray, warty bark. This fast-grower (Celtis occidentalis) easily reaches 80’ tall by 60’ wide and adapts to a variety of soils and conditions. Leaves turn yellow in autumn for a fiery display.