My definition of plants that are “overachievers”
- Surprises you in it’s development from its original condition. (When you bought it you didn’t realize it would be this good)
- Their “flourish” seems to come easy to them. (in other words easy to grow)
- Gives more than just a week or two of interest (not a “flash in the pan”)
In “Plants on Trial Speed Round” Stacey and Rick give their opinions on “Overachievers” in Episode 127 of the Gardening Simplified Show:
- Overachiever Foliage Shrub: Stacey: Midnight Sun Weigela. Rick: Midnight Sun Weigela (We agree!)
- Overachiever Flowering Shrub: Stacey: Double Play Doozie. Spirea Rick: Itea Fizzy Mizzy
- Overachiever Hydrangea: Stacey: Let’s Dance Sky View. Rick: Little Lime Punch Panicle Hydrangea
- Overachiever Rose: Stacey: At Last Rose. Rick: At Last Rose. (We agree!)
- Overachiever Native Shrub: Stacey: Gatsby Pink Oakleaf Hydrangea. Rick: Diervilla Kodiak Orange
- Overachiever Heat Tolerant Shrub: Stacey: Jazz Hands Bold Loropetalum. Rick: Sunny Boulevard St. John’s Wort Hypericum
- Overachiever Hardy Shrub: Stacey: Ginger Wine Ninebark. Rick: Tuff Stuff Top Fun reblooming Mountain Hydrangea
- Overachiever Shrub with Berries: Stacey: Proud Berry Coralberry. Rick: Pearl Glam Callicarpa
- Overachiever Fall Foliage Shrub: Stacey Brandywine Viburnum. Rick: Legend of the Fall Fothergilla
- Overachiever Evergreen: Stacey: Paisley Pup Leucothoe. Rick: Tie between Tater Tot Arborvitae and Full Speed a Hedge Arborvitae
- Overachiever Shrub for Winter Interest: Stacey: Arctic Fire Yellow and Red Twig Dogwood. Rick: Black Hat Rhododendron
Overachiever Perennials:
- Panicum Switchgrass Niagara Falls, Totem Pole, Cheyenne Sky, October Sky
- Want a grass for heat and drought? ‘Perfect Edging’ Festuca arundinacea
- ‘Dragon Slayer’ Yucca
- Touch of Blush False Sunflower Heliopsis (New this year and follows Tuscan Sun and Tuscan Gold)
- ‘Athena Gold’ and ‘Rays for Days’ False Sunflower
- ‘Treasure Trove’ Rudbeckia
- Spigelia marilandica ‘Orange Slices’
- Dolce Apple Twist Heuchera
- ‘Summerific’ Rose Mallow Perennial Hibiscus
- Pyromania Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker)
- Amazing Daisies Leucanthemum superbum Banana Cream II and Daisy May
- Decadence Baptisia
- Amsonia Storm Cloud
- Peruvian Lily Alstroemeria hybrid
- ‘Phenomenal’ English Lavandin Hybrid and Sweet Romance Lavender
- Rock n Grow and Rock n Round Sedum
- Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Weed
- Sun King Aralia cordata
- Lenten Rose Hellebores
- Cat’s Meow Nepeta
- Bergenia
- Guara Stratosphere™ White Oenothera lindheimeri
- Allium Serendipity and Bobblehead
- Firefly Yarrow Achillea
- Meant to Bee Agastache
More Overachiever Shrubs: (in addition to the ones mentioned above in the speed round)
- Steady Eddy Doublefile Viburnum
- Caryopteris Sweet Shrub ‘Red Zepplen
- Buddleia ‘Pugster’
- The “Rebloomers” like Let’s Dance Hydrangea or Sonic Bloom Weigela or Bloomerang Lilac
- Aronia ‘Low Scape Mound’ and BERRY SCAPE™ Aronia
- Rise Up Climbing Rose
- Oso Easy Roses
- Reminiscent Rose
- Happy Face Potentilla (hardy to zone 3, reblooming and very deer resistant!)
Annuals:
- Mystic Illusion Dahlia
- Senorita Rosalita Cleome
- SUPERLOPHUS™ Sunglow Oenothera
- Graceful Grasses ‘Sky Rocket’ Fountain Grass Pennisetum
- Mini Vista Supertunias (great in containers, hanging baskets or ground plantings as a groundcover)
- Verbena bonariensis ‘Meteor Shower’
- Diamond Frost Euphorbia
- Mojave Yellow Purslane https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/portulaca/mojave-yellow-purslane-portulaca-umbraticola-0
- ‘Vermillionaire’ Cuphea
- “Rockin’ series of Salvia
- Stardiva Scaevola
- Superbena Verbena hybrids
- Emerald Isle Alocasia
- Color Blaze Coleus series (many to choose from in the series!)
- Lobularia Snow Princess
- Luscious Berry Blend Lantana
- Truffala Pink Gomphrena (Rick’s favorite annual overachiever)
- Vista Supertunias (it all started with Bubble Gum and now there are many varieties and colors)
Do you insist that they be “Native” plants? Nativars. Native Cultivars.
Many people who enjoy native plants also consider seedlings and cultivars of these plants to be native. You may have heard the term native cultivar (“nativar” for short) used to describe such plants. A native cultivar is a plant that results when native parent plants are used to create a new cultivar.
- Sugar Shack Buttonbush
- Cornus/arctic-fire-red osier-dogwood
- Diervilla Kodiak
- Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle http://kintzleys-ghost-honeysuckle/
- Smooth hydrangea, often called Annabelle hydrangea, is known botanically as Hydrangea arborescens
- Inkberry Holly
- Berry-Poppins-winterberry-ilex-verticillata
- Gatsby Oakleaf Hydrangeas Oakleaf Hydrangea
- Itea Sweetspire Itea/little-henry-sweetspire-itea-virginica
- Ninebark (Physocarpus) Ninebark
- Happy Face Potentilla (very cold hardy and deer resistant) Potentilla
- Lemony Lace Elderberry Lemony-lace-elderberry-sambucus-racemosa
- Glow Girl Birchleaf Spirea
- Arborvitae https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/how-plant/arborvitae
- Viburnum/brandywine-viburnum-nudum
- Arrowwood Viburnum Viburnum/all-glitters-arrowwood-viburnum-viburnum-dentatum
- Amsonia/storm-cloud-bluestar-amsonia
- Aruncus/chantilly-lace-goatsbeard
- Baptisia/decadence-lemon-meringue-false-indigo
- Baptisia/decadence-blueberry-sundae-false-indigo
- Echinacea/summersong-firefinch-coneflower
- Heliopsis/tuscan-sun-perennial-sunflower-heliopsis-helianthoides
- Heliopsis/touch-blush-false-sunflower-heliopsis-helianthoides
- Heuchera/dolce-appletini-coral-bells (Hummingbirds love them)
- Summerific Hibiscus
- Bee Balm Monarda
- Panicum Switchgrass (Totem Pole)
- Penstemon/midnight-masquerade-beardtongue-penstemon-hybrid
- Phlox/cloudburst-tall-cushion-phlox-phlox-hybrid
- Prairie-winds-blue-paradise-little-bluestem
- Tiarella/cutting-edge-foamflower
- Agastache is native to the southwest U.S. and Mexico. It is a magnet for pollinators. Agastache
- For more reference here the definition of a “nativar” https://www.provenwinners.com/Native
- https://www.provenwinners.com/perennials_native_roots
Can’t Miss Plants
Shrubs Can’t Miss
- Little Lime Punch panicle hydrangea (At the top of the list for a reason)
- Steady Eddy Doublefile Viburnum https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/steady-eddy-doublefile-viburnum/
- Sgt. Pepper Tatarian Dogwood (reminds me of Tri-Color Beech) https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/sgt-pepper-dogwood-tatarian/
- Simply “Scentsational” Sweetshrub Calycanthus https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/simply-scentsational-sweetshrub/
- Diervilla Kodiak Orange https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/kodiak-orange-bush-honeysuckle/
- Legend of the Fall Fothergilla https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/legend-of-the-fall-bottlebrush/
- Arctic Fire Yellow and Red Twig Dogwood. https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/arctic-fire-red-red-twig-dogwood/
- Landscape Roses ‘At Last’ and ‘Oso Easy’ series Roses https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/at-last-rose/
- Rose Rise Up Lilac Days https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/rise-up-lilac-days-climbing-rose/
- Sweet Summer Love Clematis https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/sweet-summer-love-clematis/
- Gatsby Pink Oakleaf Hydrangea. https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/gatsby-pink-oakleaf-hydrangea/
- Reminiscent Rose https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/reminiscentroses/
- Aronia Low Mound https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/low-scape-mound-chokeberry/#
- New! Kintzley’s Ghost honeysuckle (for something unique and easy to grow!)
- Fothergilla intermedia ‘Legend of the Fall’ https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/legend-of-the-fall-bottlebrush/
- Tuff Stuff Top Fun Reblooming Mountain Hydrangea https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/tuff-stuff-top-fun-mountain-hydrangea/
- Let’s Dance Sky View Reblooming Hydrangea https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/lets-dance-sky-view-reblooming-hydrangea/
- Buddleia Miss Molly, Miss Violet, Miss Pearl https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/miss-molly-butterfly-bush/
- Buddleia Pugster https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/pugsterbutterflybush/
- Spirea Double Play Doozie or Double Play Candy Corn https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/double-play-dolly-spirea/
- El Nino Chitalpa or El Nino Desert Orchid It’s an intergeneric hybrid –Those two genera are catalpa, the same as the beautiful catalpa trees that we have here in Michigan (also known as cigar trees or bean trees) and chilopsis, a Southwest native known as desert willow. https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/el-nino-desert-orchid/
- Vinho Verde, Sonic Bloom, Czechmark Trilogy and Midnight Sun Weigela https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/product/midnight-sun-weigela/
Perennials Can’t Miss
- Switchgrass (Panicum) Ornamental Grass ‘Prairie Winds ‘Niagra Falls’ or ‘Totem Pole’ or ‘Cheyenne Sky’. October Sky. There is also a cultivar I like called ‘Lightning Bolt’. New introduction: Prairie Winds ‘Blue Spear’ Switchgrass
- Prairie Winds Lemon Squeeze Fountain Grass Pennisetum
- Miscanthus ‘Oktoberfest’ and ‘Morning Light’
- Amsonia Storm Cloud
- Nepeta Lemon Purrfection
- Amazing Daisies Leucanthemum superbum Banana Cream II and Daisy May
- Decadence Baptisia
- Firefly Yarrow Achillea
- Meant to Bee Agastache
- Hakonechloa
- Allium Serendipity or Bobblehead
- Sun King Aralia
- Bergenia
- ‘Jack of Diamonds’ brunnera
- ‘Cat’s Meow’ catmint (Nepeta × faassenii)
- Lemon Purrfection Nepeta
- Rock N’ Round Sedum or Rock N’ Low Yellow Brick Road Sedum
- Summerific Hibiscus
- ‘Tuscan Sun’ Perennial Sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides
- Rainbow Rhythm Daylily series
- Touch of Blush False Sunflower Heliopsis (follows Tuscan Sun and Tuscan Gold)
Annuals Can’t Miss
- Dahlia Mystic Illusion https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/dahlia/mystic-illusion-dahlia
- Rockin Playin the Blues, Fuchsia, Rockin Deep Purple, Rockin Blue Suede Shoes Salvia
- https://www.provenwinners.com/search/content/rockin%20salvia
- Mojave Yellow Purslane https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/portulaca/mojave-yellow-purslane-portulaca-umbraticola-0
- Senorita Rosalita Cleome
- Verbena bonariensis ‘Meteor Shower’
- ‘Vermillionaire’ Cuphea
- ‘Stardiva’ Scaevola
- Superbena Verbena hybrids
- Estrellita Little Star Bouvardia Firecracker Bush
- Color Blaze Coleus series
- Lobularia ‘Snow Princess’
- Luscious Berry Blend Lantana
- Truffala Pink Gomphrena (Rick’s favorite annual overachiever)
- Supertunia Petunia hybrids (I especially like the Mini Vista Supertunias-very floriferous and versatile)
- Hyacinth Bean Vine
- Sky Rocket Graceful Grasses (sterile)
- Vertigo Graceful Grasses
- Any Mini Vista Supertunia
- Canna Lily ‘Toucan’ series
- Caladium HEART TO HEART
- Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’
- ‘Whirlwind’ Scaevola
- Suncredible Yellow Sunflower
- Lemon Coral Sedum
- Space Age Rex Begonias
- Totally Tempted Cuphea
- Improved Angelonia ‘Angelface’
- COLORBLAZE® Coleus (so many varieties! Grow in full sun!)
WHAT ABOUT DEER RESISTANCE?
Rick’s Top Deer Resistant Plants
- Allium ‘Serendipity’ and ‘Globemaster’ as well as Schubertii and Christophii
- Any of the Ornamental grasses! I consider them bullet proof! Miscanthus sinensis, Switch grass (Panicum) like ‘Totem Pole’ or Feather-reed grass Calamagrostis, Pennisetum, Hakonechloa and even the “sedges” like Carex. Lemon Squeeze Pennisetum.
- Lavender Sweet Romance and ‘Phenomenal’
- Luscious Lantana
- Happy Face Potentilla
- Buddleia ‘Lo and Behold’ and ‘Pugster’
- Nepeta Catmint ‘Cat’s Meow’ or ‘Cat’s Pajamas’
- Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’
- False Indigo Baptisia ‘Decadence’ series
- ‘Rockin’ Series of annual Salvia
- Stachys byzantina Lamb’s ears
- Evergreens: Juniper ‘Tortuga’ and ‘Aquavita’ as well as Microbiota Siberian Cypress Celtic Pride
- Chaenomeles Double Take Quince
Stacey’s Top Deer Resistant Plants
- Sprinter boxwood
- Sweet Romance lavender
- Silphium perfoliatum, aka cup plant
- Decadence baptisia
- ‘Blue Fortune’ Agastache
- Laced Up elderberry
- Simply Scentsational calycanthus
- Milkweed – all types
- Pycnanthemum muticum, mountain mint
- Ruby Anniversary abelia