Low-Maintenance Plants for Landscaping

Everyone loves a yard full of bright, vibrant flowers, shrubs and trees. However, plants need to be maintained, some more and others less. You can ensure an ideal landscape in your garden or lawn by choosing low-maintenance plants for landscaping. This way, you can enhance the curb appeal and aesthetics of your home without having to sweat for hours on end. 

Let’s take a detailed look at what makes these the perfect low-maintenance plants for landscaping:

1.  Boxwood shrubs

Boxwood shrubs are evergreen and can grow between 2 to 12 feet tall, depending on the specific type. You can use them as foundation plants, pathway borders, living fences and focal pieces. 

Boxwood plants are deer-resistant and only need to be watered twice a week. They also need to be pruned only once a year. For best results, you should choose a boxwood plant variety that is naturally resistant to pests and diseases.

2. Hydrangeas 

Hydrangeas are also ideal low-maintenance plants for landscaping. They grow easily in partial shade and need to be planted in well-draining soil with the right amount of water. Depending on the pH level of the soil, hydrangeas produce blue, pink or white flowers. Different types of flowering plants require different types of care. However, you can generally prune these once a year and these plants only require watering once a week, making them truly excellent low-maintenance plants for landscaping.

3. Daylilies

Daylilies are best-known for their trumpet-like flowers. This is a low-maintenance plant that flourishes in the full sun and can grow in almost any type of soil. Once it takes root, this plant only needs to be fertilized once a year. Natural rainfall is sufficient for these plants, except during drought conditions where you may need to water these plants only once a week.

4. Sedge

Sedge is another evergreen plant on our list of the best low-maintenance plants for landscaping. This plant is an ideal choice as groundcover or ornamental grass. You can find sedge plants in more than 100 varieties. This plant only needs to be watered a few times in a month and does not need to be fertilized too often. 

However, you will need to be careful when cutting sedge as it may not recover. Instead of this, you should consult landscaping experts, such as Eden who can suggest combing through the plant with gloved hands to find and remove dead leaves. 

5. Hostas

Hostas are perennials that produce vibrant blue-green or golden foliage. This plant grows well in a mix of partial sun and partial shade. Hostas can survive on occasional deep watering and need only to be surrounded by mulch to help them retain water. Landscaping experts at Eden recommend deadheading hostas before their flowers mature or after the blooms have faded. You will need to prune hostas only when you notice damage, dead flowers or discoloration.

6. Spirea

Spirea is another excellent choice of low-maintenance plant for landscaping. This is a drought-tolerant flowering shrub which grows well and quick in full sun and well-drained soil. According to the type of spirea, the shrub can bloom in the spring or summer. Annual maintenance is the only thing that this shrub requires to flourish.

Once this plant takes root, it will need little water, yearly fertilization and pruning only once a year. You can deadhead these shrubs any time after the blossoms have fallen off. 

7. Creeping sedum

Creeping sedum is another good choice of low-maintenance plants for landscaping. This plant is able to grow well in partial shade and partial sun. It can easily flourish in different types of soil, such as sandy or rocky soil. It is considered to be one of the most practical choices for groundcover by landscaping experts at Eden. This plant is usually found in rock gardens or used to add texture between paving stones on a pathway. 

This is one of the best drought-resistant succulents out there. It needs very little care and attracts pollinators, such as butterflies and hummingbirds in droves. 

8. Black-eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susan is highly recommended for backyard landscaping. This plant blooms all summer long and well into early fall. These are usually planted to border the back fence or patio, or to create a container garden. This plant is a native of Maryland and is commonly found growing in the central and eastern states of the United States. 

This plant can easily grow in full sun and flourishes in different types of soils, including rocky and sandy soil. You must have noticed these plants growing wild, usually along roadsides. These are highly drought-resistant plants but you may need to provide extra water during dry spells for the plant to bloom. Apart from this, the plant only requires occasional deadheading and fertilization twice a year. 

9. Fescue

Fescue is another recommended low-maintenance plant for landscaping. You can replace turf grass with fescue. This means that you will only require mowing the fescue lawn once every two weeks. You can use fescue as ornamental grass to highlight colorful blossoms. Fescue grows in clumps and does not need much water. You will only need to fertilize fescue once every fall.

10. Liriope

Most landscaping experts agree that Liriope is the ideal border plant that helps to accentuate the backyard landscape. This plant grows and spreads fast, producing dark green leaves. It blooms in the late summer and produces vibrant pink, purple or white flowers. According to landscaping experts, you can plant Liriope as a groundcover below trees and shrubs as well as along slopes. 

This is a tough plant and thrives in both full sun and shade gardens. It can grow in almost any type of soil, making it one of the best low-maintenance plants for landscaping. 

Conclusion

Boxwood shrubs, hydrangeas, daylilies, sedge, hostas, spirea, creeping sedum, black-eyed Susan, fescue and lirope are considered to be among the best low-maintenance plants for landscaping. Besides this, you can also grow dianthus or coreopsis, according to landscaping experts at Eden.