Low Maintenance Plants

Plant Name: Agastache spp.

Common Name: Hummingbird Mint, Anise Hyssop, Sunset Hyssop

Overall Low Maintenance Rating:                            4.8 Stars

Overview

In keeping with my resolution to grow more critter friendly plants this year, I am purchasing several more plants of Agastache. These plants provide nectar-filled flowers that benefit a variety of garden beasties, including the much desired hummingbird. There are many species of Agastache and I’ve found that only a few do well here in zone 5, though I will admit that our damp winters may have more to do with my success rate (or lack of) than the temperature.

Agastache rupestris is my hands down favorite. It is a delicate looking, wonderful smelling, care free plant I would not be without. I grew it from seed many years ago and, while the original plant is long gone, it provided several seedlings which I scattered throughout the garden. The long wands of flowers are a mix of salmon, rose and pink and the leaves are long and thin, smelling of root beer.

 

Agastache rupestris

This is not a bullet-proof plant. It requires excellent drainage and full sun. I have lost several plants when our winters were especially wet. During the season, though, it is totally carefree and a delight.

The other species I have had good luck with is Agastache foeniculum, especially the variety ‘Golden Jubilee’. The plain species is a beautiful herb grown for tea, with large, rough green leaves and spikes of blue flowers. ‘Golden Jubilee’ is a variety with golden leaves, very showy. Both seed quite a bit and it’s best to deadhead them. I have little gold seedlings coming up all around my patio after planting only two plants!



Agastache 'Golden Jubilee', guarding the entrance to the patio

Another gorgeous Agastache is A. cana which has many named varieties. I have had no luck overwintering any of them but they make fantastic pot plants and draw the hummingbirds like a dinner bell.

My favorite place to find Agastaches is High Country Gardens (http://www.highcountrygardens.com) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have a great selection and excellent advice on planting.

Disease                                                                                5 Stars

Very rarely, I have seen powdery mildew on an Agastache, usually when the weather was particularly cool and damp. I figure what the hell; EVERYTHING has powdery mildew when the weather is like that, including me, so why fuss? No problems other than that.

Pests – Insects                                                                  5 Stars

Unless you count too many pollinators, I’ve never seen insects damaging these plants. The bumblebees can get a little over-enthusiastic and occasionally snap a flower stem, but that’s about it.

Pests – Animal                                                                  5 Stars

None that I’ve seen. Many plants in my garden are troubled by voles but they won’t touch this plant.

Invasiveness                                                                      4.5 Stars

While some hummingbird mints reseed vigorously (yes, I’m talking to you, ‘Golden Jubilee’!), most are actually quite polite about it and don’t overwhelm the gardener. I actually search out and protect seedlings of Agastache rupestris, since they are not overly common and it is my very favorite. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but generally, the seedlings are modest or at least easily removed. They make great gifts to other gardeners!

General Maintenance – Water                                 5 Stars

Agastache is considered a xeric plant, meaning it doesn’t require lots of extra water. In my experience, it will do quite well in the main part of the garden with regular watering and even better over in the gravel pile with very little water. It will die a miserable death, though, if it gets too much water so don’t plant it in a bog garden. It is also touchy about winter moisture so make sure it gets better than average drainage.

General Maintenance – Fertilizing                          5 Stars

No extra fertilizer required. Agastache actually prefers a lean soil, though it will do just fine in regular garden soil, provided the drainage is excellent.

General Maintenance – Pruning/Cleaning             4.5 Stars

Agastache is best left alone until spring clean up. Pruning it down in the fall can result in dead plants by spring. Once the temperatures have warmed up, you will be able to see where the plant is resprouting and prune off everything above that.

Ready to pop!

Low Maintenance Plants

Plant Name: Platycodon grandiflorus

Common Name: Balloon Flower

Overall Low Maintenance Rating:  4.7 Stars

Overview

Balloon flower is one of those plants that should be found in every garden. The delicate star-shaped flowers open from balloon shaped buds and both stages are quite beautiful.

Platycodon, flower and bud



They begin flowering in early July and continue until frost. Their soft colors mix well with most other garden flowers and foliage.

Balloon flower with Heuchera

They also are wonderful flowers for drawing different insects and pollinators. Bumblebees are constant visitors, as are hummingbird moths.



Bumblebee on Balloon Flower

Hummingbird Moth on Balloon Flower

Platycodon requires very little care, performs well in most soils and comes in both a tall and short variety. The colors include blue, purple, pink and white.  In all honesty, while the breeders list the blue and purple colors as separate, I have never been able to see a difference between them. It’s a fine, bluish purple, whatever they call it.

There is also a short variety called 'Fairy Snow' which is white with blue lines radiating from the center. It is shorter than most balloon flowers, only getting 12 inches tall, so put it up front! It can be a little hard to find, but well worth it.

The shorter variety only gets between 18 and 24 inches and is reliably hardy up to zone 4. One exception to that is a variety called ‘Miss Tilly’, a short blue variety, which is only hardy to zone 6. Look for the Astra series or ‘Sentimental Blue’ for colder zones.

The taller variety is also hardy to zone 4.

Disease                                                                         5 Stars

Planting balloon flower in wet, boggy soil can lead to fungal diseases and root rot. They prefer average to dry soil.

Pests – Insects                                                              5 Stars

None, unless you don't like a constant flow of bumblebees!

Pests – Animal                                                              5 Stars

Animals avoid this plant due to the bitter, milky sap. You won’t have a problem with Bambie or Thumper!

Invasiveness                                                                 4 Stars

Balloon flower only gets 4 stars for invasiveness because it can seed like crazy. I don’t find this to be a huge problem, first, because I love this flower and welcome it wherever it might sprout and, second, because the sprouts are very easy to pull if they hit an area I don’t want them.

General Maintenance – Water                                   5 Stars

With its large tap root, platycodon has its own water supply for drier times and doesn’t require extra watering. As noted above, too much water can cause rot and fungal problems.

General Maintenance – Fertilizing                             5 Stars

No extra fertilizer required.

General Maintenance – Pruning/Cleaning                4 Stars

Balloon flower loses a point on maintenance because it has a tendency to hold on to dead flowers and look a bit ratty as time goes on. There’s no real way to prune the plant either as it blooms all over the stem at once. 

Platycodon with both current and past flowers

One other problem is the tall variety often requires staking. I find it easier to encourage the plant to grow near shorter plants which can support it.

Low Maintenance Plants

Plant Name: Rhamnus frangula ‘Ron Williams’ aka ‘Fine Line’

Overall Low Maintenance Rating:   5 Stars out of 5

Overview

Rhamnus frangula ‘Fine Line’, also known as buckthorn, was introduced in 2003 and is slowly gaining the recognition it deserves. I purchased a small specimen in 2006 at an end-of-season sale and it is now a gorgeous, 6 foot tall accent in an otherwise low height area of the garden. The foliage is a lovely, ferny texture and turns a bright yellow in the fall. The flowers are insignificant; I have to really be paying attention to notice them at all in the spring. It is hardy to -50 degrees (cold zone 2) and has had no problem handling temperatures in the high 90’s during the summer (heat zone 4).

This buckthorn is not fussy about soil type, but I have it planted in good soil and, considering its origins as an invader of wetlands, I doubt it would do well in sandy, dry soil without some amendments.

OK, enough with the statistics. This has quickly become my absolute favorite shrub. I like it so much, in fact, that I bought 4 more this spring, two of which I’ve even planted! This is what I call a genuine no-maintenance plant.



Ferny foliage of 'Fine Line'

Disease                                                                                5 Stars

I have never had a disease affect this small tree. I’ve read reports that the wild varieties can get stem cankers from certain fungus, but I’ve not seen it on my tree.

Pests – Insects                                                                  5 Stars

Japanese beetles can be a nuisance, but rarely more.



Japanese beetles rarely do serious damage to 'Fine Line'

Pests – Animal                                                                  5 Stars

None, unless you count birds pooping on it.

Invasiveness                                                                      5 Stars

Many varieties of Rhamnus are invasive pests. The wild varieties produce prodigious quantities of seed and can spread rapidly through wetlands. The linked report will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the invasiveness of buckthorn.

Fortunately, the cultivated variety ‘Fine Line’ has shown no inclination towards world domination. In my garden it rarely produces more than a very few fruits and, in 5 years, I’ve seen no seedlings at all.

General Maintenance – Water                                 5 Stars

Watering is among my least favorite garden chores and if a plant has survived here as long as this one has, you may assume it is not a water hog. Rhamnus is no exception. I have read that its water requirements are “medium” but mine gets by on whatever Mom Nature is pleased to send.

The usual caveat applies to newly planted greenery. All baby plants require extra care till they are established.

General Maintenance – Fertilizing                          5 Stars

I have never fertilized my Rhamnus tree (are you noticing a trend here? About the only things I have EVER fertilized are my roses!).

General Maintenance – Pruning/Cleaning          5 Stars

The form of this tree is vase-shaped and so far there have been no rogue branches needing correcting. I’m rather surprised as the wild varieties have a tendency to get weedy with age. As my tree is only 5 years old, I will withhold judgment until it is older. At this stage, I can say it has not required any extra care in the pruning department.

Low Maintenance Plants

Plant Name: Baptisia australis

Overall Low Maintenance Rating:                            5 Stars

Overview

My preference is for plants a little out of the ordinary, ones that not everybody may have seen, and one of my favorites is baptisia (Baptisia australis), also known as false indigo. Baptisia forms a huge mound of blue-green foliage topped with blue spires of pea-like flowers in the spring, looking a bit like a gigantic lupine. It can get 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide and is quite hardy in our area. Full sun is must as it can get sort of floppy in the shade.

While the common variety is blue, other selections have different flower colors. ‘Carolina Moonlight’ is a lovely pale yellow while another species, Baptisia alba, has white flowers. There is even one named ‘Screaming Yellow’ and the name is entirely apt! I added one this year called ‘Solar Flare Prairieblues’ which has bright yellow flowers that fade to orange. The Prairieblues line also includes some different shades of blue including a rich midnight blue named, appropriately, ‘Midnight Prairieblues’. I have not yet seen this one in person, but I’m told it looks like a large, bushy delphinium.

Baptisia 'Carolina Moonlight' with Iris 'Sultan's Palace'

There is also a dwarf form (Baptisia australis var. minor) which is a bit harder to find, but well worth it if you have limited space, as it only gets around 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. I’ve only seen it available in 2 places, both online – Well Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey and High Country Gardens in New Mexico. Both companies are ones I’ve ordered from in the past and been very happy with.

Baptisia australis var. minor

If I had to give baptisia any negative points it would have to be for permanence. The root system on baptisia is impressive. You’ve probably heard that they have a tap root (a single root reaching down anywhere from 2 feet to hell)? Well, these plants don’t have just one tap root, they have many that go to hell and part way back. And if you damage them, the plant will die. It makes them nearly impossible to transplant. Once it’s full grown, you’re pretty much stuck with it where you planted it so site it carefully.

Disease                                                                             5 Stars

I have never experienced or heard of a disease affecting baptisia.

Pests – Insects                                                                  5 Stars

Ditto

Pests – Animal                                                                  5 Stars

The only animal pests that have affected my baptisia have been voles and they don’t do any permanent damage. In the winter, the little varmints gnaw off the stems, sending the dried plant tumbling across the garden like a huge tumbleweed. I would have cut them off in the spring anyway and the plant always re-sprouts, so no harm is done.

Kind of weird seeing it roll across the snow in January, though.

Invasiveness                                                                     5 Stars

Baptisia is not invasive, but it can get large. Treat it as you would a medium sized shrub.

General Maintenance – Water                                       5 Stars

Baptisia has an extremely long and deep root system, allowing it to search near and far for water if none is forthcoming from the skies or the gardener.

The usual caveat applies to newly planted baptisias. All baby plants require extra care till they are established.

General Maintenance – Fertilizing                                  5 Stars

Another plant I would be afraid of fertilizing; baptisia does just fine on its own!

General Maintenance – Pruning/Cleaning                     5 Stars

Baptisias are actually better if you don’t mess with them. The flowers are self-cleaning, meaning the dead ones fall off without any help, and the seed pods it forms are quite attractive and last the rest of the season.

Low Maintenance Plants

Plant Name: Hemerocallis hybrida

Overall Low Maintenance Rating:                            4.5 Stars

Overview

One low maintenance perennial I couldn’t manage without is the Hemerocallis, or daylily. When they think of daylilies, many people think only of the bright orange ditch lilies found along every roadside or the interminable gold-colored ‘Stella D’Oro’, usually surrounded by a sea of red mulch. I have to admit that if these were the only choices available, I would banish them without ceremony from my garden. In the first instance, ditch lilies can actually become an invasive nuisance as they spread enthusiastically by root and seed. In the second instance, well, red mulch really SHOULD be banned; ‘Stella’ is OK but much overused.

Daylilies actually come in almost every color except blue and true black, and in a variety of sizes, from delicate dwarfs to towering giants. They can go years without division and are untouched by disease or pests in most areas. Bloom starts in late June and usually runs through July and into the early part of August. When not in bloom, they do a wonderful impression of a decorative grass.

Disease                                                                                4.5 Stars

In the Northeast, daylilies are relatively unaffected by disease. As you move south, however, daylily rust becomes an issue. Rust is a disfiguring fungus that has only recently been reported in the US. If you live in zone 7 or warmer, you may want to check out the information available at the American Hemerocallis Society’s (AHS) website on prevention and control. Rust looks like raised, orange bumps on the undersides of leaves and can result in the death of the leaf. While it does not seem to kill the plant outright, rust could weaken the plant and leave it susceptible to other problems.

Spring sickness is a disorder I have seen in my garden and, while it is disconcerting, my plants have always outgrown it and take no lasting damage. When the plants first start sprouting in the spring, the leaves can twist and turn brown on the edges. It looks a bit like your plant is trying to fold itself into a ball! There is no known cause, though some theorize it may have to do with changing temperatures. The AHS website also shows pictures of this disorder.

Pests – Insects                                                                  4.5 Stars

Insects generally leave daylilies alone or at least don’t do lasting damage. There are, however, bugs which do cosmetic damage to the flowers. Thrips cause white splotches and streaks on daylily flowers. Good luck spotting them as they are all but microscopic. Dark colored daylily flowers, reds and purples, show the damage the worst. I don’t find the damage sufficient to resort to sprays, but I’m told they can be controlled by products containing spinosad. 



'Startle' showing thrip damage



'Startle' undamaged



There are other insects which can affect daylilies, but I cannot comment on them as I have not had problems with them (knock wood).

Pests – Animal                                                                  5 Stars

The only animal pests that have affected my daylilies have been voles. Horrible critters. Voles generally eat the roots of any garden plant you currently love. For some reason, though, they don’t like daylily roots. Instead, they undermine the plant and make little vole living rooms under them. The whole center of the plant will die since its roots are not touching soil. If you notice this happening, dig the plant up, destroy the tunnels and replant it, packing the dirt down firmly.

Also, get a cat. They help a lot.

I'm not as lazy as I look!

Invasiveness                                                                       5 Stars

Domesticated daylilies are not invasive. The clumps expand politely and usually only need division every 3 to 4 years. The wild orange ditch lilies (hemerocallis fulva), on the other hand, can become quite the nuisance. They seed readily and expand wildly.

General Maintenance – Water                                         5 Stars

I’m about as lazy as it gets about watering. Unless a plant is in a pot and gasping its last breath, I am not likely to break out the hose. The daylilies absolutely don’t care. During the 3 weeks without rain and temps in the 90s, they were about the only plants which shrugged it off. This was during peak bloom time, too.

Please note that does not include newly planted daylilies; or any other baby plants, for that matter. Newly planted greenery should always be treated with extra care which includes making sure they never dry out. Once they’re established, they’re on their own.

General Maintenance – Fertilizing                                  5 Stars

Not once in the years I’ve been growing daylilies have I fertilized them. In theory, they might do better if I did, but I can’t see how!

General Maintenance – Pruning/Cleaning                     4 Stars

Daylilies do require a little clean up on a regular basis to look their best, especially when they are flowering. Each flower only lasts one day and nothing is more disgusting than daylily flowers the day AFTER they flower. They turn to mush and then dry up and stick to the buds waiting to open. Picking the spent flowers off keeps it looking neat and the remains can be added to the compost heap. It’s not absolutely necessary, though, especially if you have lots of them!

Here are some of my favorites:

Armenian Haberdashery



Wild Horses



Frans Hall



Monterey Jack



Scatterbrain



Tenacious Tip Tuesday - Use Low Maintenance Plants

The first year I grew bee balm (Monarda didyma), a variety called ‘Raspberry Wine’, it was a fantastic success. The tiny, little plant I started with expanded politely to about a foot and a half across and stood 3 feet tall, with many lovely flowers. The leaves had a minty, spicy scent and not a speck of disease. It was a hummingbird magnet, too; every evening we could count on watching a couple of the little birds squabbling for control of the flowers.

The following year, the polite expansion continued, a little less politely. By the end of that season, the patch was four feet across and barreling over a rose and 2 daylilies. The flower stalks had grown to 4 feet tall and the nightly battle among the hummingbirds had taken on tones of a World War 2 dogfight. Scrappy little critters, those hummingbirds.

The third year began my annual battle to keep bee balm under control. After a few experiments, I decided the only way to control it was to lift the entire patch every other year first thing in the spring, cut out the old, woody growth and replant a piece from the expanding edge. This got to be a somewhat brutal affair as there was a great deal of viable plant material left at the end. I tried giving the pieces away for a while but people began to avoid me; you’d have thought I was giving away excess summer squash. I wouldn’t get around to that till August.

What I couldn’t give away got composted or at least hit the pile. There’s now a lovely patch of bee balm surrounding the compost bins and Brian mows it down when it gets too rowdy.

Every gardener has their own way of dealing with thugs. Some enjoy their rampancy, giving them their own space to pillage, some limit them to pots, and others refuse to grow them at all. A lot depends on the particular plant, too. Is it worth the effort to accommodate? Is it a major thug or just a minor hooligan? If you do let it loose in the garden, can you get it out again without high explosives?