Gardening is so rewarding, but it does come with some challenges. Sometimes greedy deer make a buffet of your borders or swarms of Japanese beetles chew up plants. Or bad soil and juglone-producing walnut trees can inhibit plant growth. If you struggle with any of these problems, we’ve rounded up some plants that tolerate them and still thrive so you can enjoy the garden you’ve been dreaming about.
Tall sedum
Hylotelephium hybrids
When you want all-season interest without any holes chewed or edges munched by Japanese beetles, tall sedum is a great choice. This tough perennial can take heat and drought, is super cold hardy, and the only maintenance it needs is to have the dead stems cut back in early spring. Most tall sedums have rust-red blooms that age to brown by late fall and plain green foliage. But there is some variety: Autumn Charm™ at far right has gray-green leaves edged in yellow or cream. The pale pink summer blooms age to rust-red in fall. Plants grow 14 to 18 inches tall and wide in USDA zones 4 to 9. ‘Chocolate Drop’ in the inset has deep chocolate-brown foliage with pink blooms and grows 6 to 12 inches tall and 12 to 14 inches wide.
Perennial Blooms: Pink, red, white, burgundy, brown or yellow from summer to fall Light: Full sun to part shade Soil: Well drained Size: 9 to 36 in. tall, 12 to 36 in. wide Cold hardy: USDA zones 3 to 10 Source: Local garden centers
JAPANESE BEETLE-RESISTANT PLANTS
Impatiens
Impatiens hybrids
There aren’t many plants that provide as much color in shade as impatiens. Even better, Japanese beetles pass them by. Give plants regular moisture through the driest part of summer and you’ll have nonstop color for the border—no deadheading needed!
Downy mildew has really been a problem in recent years for bedding impatiens—so much so that it was difficult to find them at the garden center
