10 MUST HAVE Perennials For Zone 5 (PART 1)

Alright I’ve been making lists for weeks now of plants I want. I’ve ordered some but am holding back still on others. Why? Well because … money. Buying plants is expensive and on top of that it’s a hell of a lot of work to get all of them in the ground! I’ve already got something like 30 holes to dig and amend without these orders added. But I want them really bad. So here’s a list of the plants I’m pining for.

(I am currently not affiliated with anyone so these sites are all getting free advertising because I just want to share with my followers. But I’d love to make money to buy these plants so if anyone wants to be my affiliate contact me!)

Persicaria polymorpha (Giant fleeceflower) (Z 4-9)
Like a giant Astilbe it’s 5’x5’ with fluffy cream colored plumes from June to August. I’ve scoured the internet for this plant and have only found it in one place, Heritage Flower Farm in Wisconsin as a bareroot. I have a place for this one and the next two.

Deutschland Astilbe (Z 3-9)
It’s odd to me that so many places sell the red and pink Astilbe’s but it’s a bit harder to find the white ones. I plan to plant these with the Giant Fleece Flower (above). It’s a similar looking plant but is shorter, only 18-20 inches tall and blooms mid to late summer so there should be bloom cross over here. This plant is on my list at AmericanMeadows.com (and I borrowed their picture)

Aruncus Dioecus (Goatsbeard) (Z 3-7)
The third plant I want to grow together in this triad is a white Goatsbeard. It grows between 4 and 6 feet high so larger, around the range of the Fleeceflower but has earlier blooms from April to May. It’s flower plumes look very similar to the Astilbe and Fleeceflower. I also found it’s bareroot at Heritage Flower Farm so they’ve got the market on these too (although you can find them elsewhere).

Alright moving on from that corner of the garden along the neighbors fence on the east side of my driveway, we can visit the other plants I want. They don’t all have a place in the garden yet but I’ll find room when I end up getting them.

Agave Havardiana (Z 5a-9b)
I found that PlantDelights.com has a very good selection of hardy succulents and cacti that will even grow in zone 5. Growing up in Southern California means I miss the Blue Agave’s and colorful cacti and succulents my mother used to grow in her garden (especially that bougainvillea that I’ll never get to grow here!) So to find an Agave that I can grow here really cheers me up! They are such beautiful structural plants that really make a statement. The thing about them is that I don’t see many people growing them here in Colorado so I’m a little unsure about how to pair them in the garden. So I’ll experiment!

Yucca Rostrata Sapphire Skies (Z 5b-10b)
You do see yucca growing wild here in Colorado. I’ve actually seen them on my folks new property out here and they give that desert feel and have those beautiful fragrant blooms. I grew up visiting Joshua Tree National Park as a kid and thought wouldn’t that be grand to grow one?! But to my avail they just aren’t hardy enough to grow here in zone 5. Next best bet? This yucca! Also available at PlantDelights.com, it’s a trunked version growing to 4 feet tall in 10 years. I’ll take 3! Haha but seriously what a statement! Especially because you never see these around in my area. I’m just imagining how awesome they look in the snow.

Beaked Blue Yucca (Z 5a-10b)
Another cultivar of the Yucca Rostrata. It gets a bit taller and branches off after about 10 years is what they say. Gimmie one!!!

AmericanMeadows.com has a shopping cart full of stuff waiting for me to say, “Okay take my money!” On that list are:

Gracillimus Miscanthus Grass (Z 5-9)
I can get this in a ton of places so I’m still shopping around but it’s a gorgeous grass that a lot of the “best” garden designers are using. 5-8ft tall and 3-5ft wide I first saw this plant on a Pinterest post and fell in love with it. And so it’s on the list. It makes a great hedge, grows fast, and creates winter interest. What’s not to love? It may be a spreader mattering on your area.

Cardinal Flower Queen Victoria (Z 5-9)
The dark burgundy foliage is what really gets me psyched on this plant. I mean it’s striking. Similar coloring to the Midnight Marvel Hibiscus that I ordered the other day. I’m really hoping for hummingbirds. We have them around here but I rarely got them at my old place and with nothing here at all when we moved in there really wasn’t a hope… but after I get a couple of these placed around the garden, well I hope I attract some.

Rocket Gold Ray (Z 4-8)
Yes, I love the yellow flowers but it’s really the foliage I want on these plants. It likes wet clay soil and shade! Colorado is a pretty day place but with water rights, a well, and a gangster watering system designed by my techy husband, I’m prepared to give them the moisture they need. Can’t wait for this big bushy beauty to happily call my yard it’s home.

Arrow Leaf Ginger (Z 2-9)
This is not the kind of plant I think you’d find in a typical Colorado garden. In fact I’m really unsure if this guy’ll make it but it’s unique enough it’s another, “gotta try” variety for me. I have this one area with lots of shade that’s constantly wet and very woody by a grove of elm trees and there are a lot of plants destined to that testing ground. This is one.

Keep an eye out for Part II of this post, the next is about grasses.