13 Perennials That Can Survive the Coldest Winters

Showy Stonecrop

Need a colorful taller plant for the back of the border? Try showy stonecrop (Hylotelephium spectabile) which can take hot summers as well as cold winters. It's also a drought-tolerant perennial, so it makes a good choice if rainfall is scarce in your area.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Peony

Northern gardeners can rely on peonies to provide a spring festival of color. These plants are tough enough to survive long, frigid winters. Peonies are available in a wide variety of flower forms and colors, so you should have no trouble finding one or more that fits in with the rest of your garden's design.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 3 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-8

Coneflower

An American native perennial, coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a tough and rugged flowering plant that tolerates drought well. Its large flowers bloom through the summer and fall, drawing pollinators. Varieties are available in a wide range of colors, like pink, purple, yellow, orange, red, and white, plus there are a few different flower forms. Most varieties are hardy enough for cold weather, but some of the modern hybrids aren't very cold weather-tolerant, so check the plant label before you buy.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Zones: 3-8

Bee Balm

Bring bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies to the garden with bee balm (Monarda spp.) This upright, aromatic perennial develops beautiful flowers resembling mopheads that can be pink, red, orange, purple, or white, depending on the variety you choose. This plant belongs to the mint family and like many other mint relatives, it can spread quickly, so place it where it will have room to ramble.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Wild Columbine

A delightful spring bloomer, wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) forms large colonies in partially shady locations. Each plant might only live a few years, but they re-seed easily, so a patch of this perennial will likely sustain itself for decades. Its wiry stems support pink and yellow flowers that bob and dance on spring breezes.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 36 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Zones: 3-8

Coral Bells

Pack a ton of color into your shady garden beds with coral bells (Heuchera spp.). Often prized for their colorful foliage, coral bells come in shades of purple, green, yellow, orange, red, and multicolored varieties. As a bonus, the plants send up spikes of pink or white bell-shaped flowers in the early summer, attracting pollinators.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide

Zones: 3-8

Siberian Iris

Native to northern Turkey and Russia, Siberian iris (Iris sibirica) isn't bothered when temperatures drop below zero. This reliable perennial puts on a spectacular spring show of blue, purple, lilac, yellow, or white flowers. It also produces thick clumps of dark green, straplike leaves that provides lasting beauty after it blooms.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 3-8

'Moonbeam' Coreopsis

Throughout the summer, 'Moonbeam' coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) produces a seemingly endless supply of cheerful yellow flowers. It's also a rugged variety that takes cold winter temperatures in stride. Not all coreopsis varieties are as winter hardy as 'Moonbeam', so check the plant label before you buy.

Growing Conditions: Full sun in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 2 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Baptisia

Once established, baptisia can live for decades. Also called false indigo, this hardy prairie native has pretty gray-green foliage topped with sprays of blue, purple, white, or yellow flowers in the spring. Thanks to its prairie heritage, baptisia can tolerate both summer heat and below-zero winters. This perennial grows slowly, so buy the largest plants you can find if you want a faster flower show.

Test Garden Tip: Baptisia be a bit fussy when transplanted, so place it in your garden in the early spring or fall. That way the plant will have plenty of time to develop a strong root system before summer's heat kicks in.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in dry to medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Catmint

You'll love catmint (Nepeta spp.) for its lavender-like flowers in spring and summer, making it an ideal substitute for actual lavender, which is less winter hardy (its leaves are fragrant like lavender, too!). Shear back the plants after the first wave of flowers fades in spring and you'll get a second wave of bloom in late summer.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in dry to medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 30 inches tall and 36 inches wide

Zones: 4-8

False Sunflower

An American native, false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) produces masses of cheerful yellow flowers all summer long. Plant this large perennial where it can spread out. False sunflower isn't fussy about soil type but does need full sun to keep stems upright; it'll flop over if grown in part shade. The blooms make pretty cut flowers and the more you cut, the more the plant will produce.

Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry to medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

New England Aster

Keep your garden colorful through the fall by adding a generous dose of New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). These easy-care natives burst into bloom just as other perennials in your garden start to flag. New England asters are also a popular source for nectar for migrating monarch butterflies on their way south each year. Available in shades of pink and purple, asters look terrific paired with ornamental grasses and chrysanthemums.

Growing Conditions: Full sun in medium moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 4-8

Hosta

Make hostas the backbone of your shade garden. Unfazed by cold winters, hostas just keep growing bigger and better every year. Because these hardy perennials are available in a seemingly endless selection of shapes, sizes, and colors, they're a lot of fun to mix and match in your garden. They also make perfect companions for other shade-lovers such as astilbe, deadnettle, barrenwort, coral bells, and bleeding heart.

Growing Conditions: Part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 18 inches tall and 30 inches wide

Zones: 3-8