Open Grow Guide

Perennials

By Open Grow Guide Updated

This hub collects care guides for perennial plants. A perennial lives for more than two years and grows back from the same roots each spring. Right now this list holds 74 plants. It includes garden species such as Echinacea purpurea and Monarda fistulosa. It also includes wild or weedy ones, such as Cirsium arvense and Rumex obtusifolius. Five of those guides are published so far. The rest are added as each one passes the site's research checks. A plant earns a place on this list for one reason: its life cycle fits the perennial pattern. It dies back each year and returns, instead of finishing its life in one season or two. That life-cycle test is the only one applied here. A spot on this list does not mean a plant is common, easy to grow, or better than another one here. Some entries are plants people choose on purpose, like border flowers and herbs. Others are species gardeners meet without planting them, spreading through lawns or waterways on their own. Several of the plants here carry a toxicity note for cats or dogs. Those notes name the plant parts involved and the signs a vet would want to know about. This list is not ranked, and it does not claim to cover every perennial species. It grows as new guides are finished, so a name you see here may still show as not yet published until its page is ready. Use this page to browse what the site covers. Then open a plant's own page for details on its light, water, and soil needs. Those needs differ widely, even among plants that share the one trait of coming back each year.

Lists in this category

Most-read plants here

  • viper's bowstring hemp (Dracaena trifasciata), whole plant

    Snake Plant

    Dracaena trifasciata

    Bright, indirect light; tolerates low light · Part shade · Zones 10a–12b

  • spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), whole plant

    Spider Plant

    Chlorophytum comosum

    Medium light; tolerates low light and bright, indirect light · Part shade and full shade (part shade preferred) · Zones 9a–11b

  • Aspidistra elatior, whole plant

    Cast Iron Plant

    Aspidistra elatior

    Low light · Part shade and full shade (part shade preferred) · Zones 7a–11b

  • American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), whole plant

    American Pokeweed

    Phytolacca americana

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 4a–8b · 4–10 ft (1.22–3.05 m)

  • belladonna (Atropa bella-donna), whole plant

    Belladonna

    Atropa bella-donna

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 5a–9b · 3–4 ft (0.91–1.22 m)

  • stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), whole plant

    Stinging Nettle

    Urtica dioica

    Full sun, part shade and full shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 4a–10b · 10 ft (3.05 m)

  • sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), flower

    Sacred Lotus

    Nelumbo nucifera

    Direct sun · Full sun · Zones 4a–10b

  • common yarrow (Achillea millefolium), whole plant

    Common Yarrow

    Achillea millefolium

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 3a–9b · 1–3.3 ft (0.3–1 m)

  • absinthium (Artemisia absinthium), whole plant

    Absinthium

    Artemisia absinthium

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 3a–9b · 1.3–5 ft (0.4–1.52 m)

  • common St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum), flower

    Common St. Johnswort

    Hypericum perforatum

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 3a–8b · 1–3.3 ft (0.3–1 m)

  • Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), whole plant

    Japanese Knotweed

    Reynoutria japonica

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 5a–5b · 10–13 ft (3.05–3.96 m)

  • common selfheal (Prunella vulgaris), whole plant

    Common Selfheal

    Prunella vulgaris

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 3a–9b · 1.7 ft (0.51 m)

  • cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), whole plant

    Cloudberry

    Rubus chamaemorus

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · 1 ft (0.3 m)

  • common wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris), whole plant

    Common Wormwood

    Artemisia vulgaris

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 3a–8b · 2–6 ft (0.61–1.83 m)

  • Peruvian groundcherry (Physalis peruviana), habit

    Peruvian Groundcherry

    Physalis peruviana

    Full sun · Zones 3a–9b · 1–3 ft (0.3–0.91 m)

  • marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa), whole plant

    Marvel of Peru

    Mirabilis jalapa

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 9a–10b · 2–3 ft (0.61–0.91 m)

  • spadeleaf (Centella asiatica), whole plant

    Spadeleaf

    Centella asiatica

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 10a–11b

  • lawndaisy (Bellis perennis), whole plant

    Lawndaisy

    Bellis perennis

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 4a–8b · 0.3–0.5 ft (0.08–0.15 m)

  • purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), whole plant

    Purple Loosestrife

    Lythrum salicaria

    Full sun · Zones 3a–9b · 3–7 ft (0.91–2.13 m)

  • stinking willie (Jacobaea vulgaris), whole plant

    Stinking Willie

    Jacobaea vulgaris

  • pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), whole plant

    Pennyroyal

    Mentha pulegium

  • sweetscented bedstraw (Galium odoratum), whole plant

    Sweetscented Bedstraw

    Galium odoratum

    Part shade and full shade (part shade preferred) · Zones 4a–8b · 0.5–1 ft (0.15–0.3 m)

  • bitter ginger (Zingiber zerumbet), whole plant

    Bitter Ginger

    Zingiber zerumbet

    Part shade and full shade (part shade preferred) · Zones 8a–10b · 4–6 ft (1.22–1.83 m)

  • greater burdock (Arctium lappa), whole plant

    Greater Burdock

    Arctium lappa

    Full sun and part shade (full sun preferred) · Zones 3a–10b · 2–10 ft (0.61–3.05 m)

How to choose

Start by deciding what role you want a perennial to play, since this list runs from garden staples to wetland and weedy species. Some names here are picked on purpose for a border or a pond. Others are plants you only need to recognize, since they showed up without an invitation. Decide which kind you are looking for before you scroll through the full list. Next, check whether cats or dogs live in your house, since several plants on this list carry a toxicity note on their own page. Open that page before you plant anything a pet can reach. Once you have a short list of names, open each plant's own page rather than relying on this one. That is where the details on light, water, soil, and size live, since this page only tells you who belongs on the list and why. Not every name here has a finished page yet, so check back if the one you want still shows as not yet published.

All perennials, A to Z

Filter all 48 Perennials plants →

Photo credits

How this page was made

  • Written with AI assistance from the sources listed on this page. AI is never the source of a fact.

How we work

Other categories