Tough Perennial Bloomers – Drought, Insect And Pest Resistant Flowers

by Paul Ciocoiu · October 7, 2015

Drought, excessive moisture, diseases, insects and other critters – flowers in our gardens have a lot to go through during a blooming season. Some of them make it, some don’t – a usual life cycle. And speaking of flower power, here are some tough perennial bloomers successfully coping with most of the hurdles mentioned above.

For a start, flowers such as cleome, impatiens, petunias, marigolds and zinnias are annuals that perform well everywhere regardless of the climate. Perennials that are guaranteed to bloom all over the country include ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum, coneflowers, coreopsis, rudbeckia and yarrow. Grow them without worrying about the temperatures outside.

Tough perennial bloomers – zinnias do well in any climate

Now, if you live close to a forest, you should know that rabbits avoid calendulas, chrysanthemums, columbines, four o’clocks, foxglove, gladiolas, hollyhocks, impatiens, iris, larkspur, morning glories, nicotiana, snapdragons, sweet peas and verbena. Deer steer clear of ageratum, begonias, chrysanthemums, columbines, coreopsis, cosmos, foxglove, iris, lavender, monarda, purple coneflower, rudbeckia, salvia, Shasta daisies, verbena, vinca, yarrow, zinnias.

Tough perennial bloomers – hollyhocks keep rabbits away

Speaking of calendula and zinnia, it is important to know you can plant flowers to attract predators that kill pests such as tomato horn-worms and aphids.

Another drought and insect resistant plant is the almost indestructible day-lily. It offers a wide range of colors and bicolors and delight us with their unrivaled scent from early, mid and late season, depending on the species.

Tough perennial bloomers – drought and insect resistant day-lily

Butterfly bush or Buddleja, an August-peaking flowering plant, is a large variety with arching branches, lance shaped leaves, and panicles of scented pale blue flowers. Nectar rich plants encourage beneficial wildlife into the garden by attracting pollinators. It is also a tough plant, dying back to the ground each fall, only to return bigger and better the following spring.

Tough perennial bloomers – the butterfly bush always comes back to life no matter what

Coreopsis is another bloomer which fights back drought in different colors, passing as one of the toughest perennials. It also does very well in dealing with insects and diseases.

Tough perennial bloomers – coreopsis

Hellebore, popularly known as winter rose or Christmas rose. It is a plant that grows in Romania at an over 500 meters altitude and has many healing properties, being used, for instance, in treating dormant forms of cancer. These resistant flowers burst into bloom early spring while winter is still roaming around.