Spiderwort (Tradescantia)
Zones: 4-9
Bloom Span: Three to four months
Growing Conditions: Prefers cool and moist soil combined with full sun. Will also grow in partial shade.
Spiderwort
Care: Tradescantia can be a bit of an aggressive plant, therefore you may need to control new plant growth by weeding out young plants as they form. Or, you can crowd them in with other plants. The leaves look a bit like grass containing flower heads with three petals.
Each flower actually lasts for just one day, but the plant has so many buds that it blooms for a long period of time.
Good Species Choices: Carmine Glow (Tradescantia) and Snowcap (also Trandescantia)
Spike Speedwell (Veronica spicata)
Zones: 3-9
Bloom Span: Three to four months, from spring to frost
Growing Conditions: Well-drained soil and drought tolerant
Care: The plant is low growing and contains dense foliage, from which narrow spikes of reds, blues, whites, pinks, and purples grow.
Deadheading will help these plants bloom throughout the summer.
Good Species Choices: Sunny Border Blue (Veronica)
Stonecrop (Sedum)
Zones: 3-9
Bloom Span: Two to three months
Growing Conditions: Prefer well drained soil coupled with full sun.
Care: Taller sedum plants are excellent performers that will continue to look great for at least four growing seasons. The flower buds are an attractive addition to the garden well before they actually bloom and continue to be attractive after they have gone to seed, making it unnecessary to deadhead. For those plants that start to look floppy, however, you should shear them back in the early summer. This will form a sturdier plant with a bushier appearance. These plants can go for several years without needing to be divided, but should be divided once the plant begins to thin in the center. They can be propagated through stem cuttings.
Good Species Choices: Autumn Joy (Sedum), Bertram Anderson (also Sedum), Brilliant (also Sedum) Madrona (also Sedum)
Tickseed (Coreopsis)
Zones: 3-9
Bloom Span: Three or more months
Growing Conditions: Will grow in nearly any soil, prefers a sunny location.
Care: The plant itself does not live very long, only about two to three years. Allow the plant to self-seed or divide it every two to three years in order to replant its newer sections, which are on the outside. Deadheading is a chore with this plant because its flowers bloom all along its stem. Instead, sheer the entire plant back by 1/3 after it has completed blooming in order to encourage new flower buds.
Best Species Choices: Early Sunrise (Coreopsis grandiflora) and Zagreb (Coreopsis verticallata)
Yarrow (Achillea)
Zones: 2-9
Bloom Span: Three or more months, depending on the species
Growing Conditions: Nearly any type of soil will do, though it prefers soil that is dry and lean. In fact, the plant can become a bit floppy if the soil is too moist or rich.
Care: Deadhead spent blooms for repeat blooming. Cut back the plant to new growth after the second bloom in order to rejuvenate the plant. Divide every three years or so, as it has a tendency to die out in the center.
Best Species Choices: Coronation Gold (Achillea), Fire King (Achillea millefolium), and Summer Pastels (also Achillea millefolium)
