One of my plant-buying pet peeves is when plants come with labels that do more harm than good. Most of the time, it’s just confusing or incomplete information. (Such as the blanket labeling of “ornamental shrub”. Ok, but what shrub?)
But every now and then, I see a plant label that overcomplicates plant care advice. The most common example, in my experience, being when you get advice along the lines of “fertilize twice a month” for a perennial that could happily live for years without a single drop of fertilizer. And not just survive, but thrive and bloom for weeks at a time.
I’ve put together a list of popular perennials that we don’t need to fertilize. In fact, some of them will even grow stronger if we don’t (save for the regular compost application in the spring).
You’ll notice that these plants fall within a few categories, with the most common being:
- Plants that originate from hot and dry climates, where they happily grow in poor soil;
- Plants that have shallow roots and succulent leaves;
- Plants that grow from bulbs or corms that provide them all the energy they need for the season.
1. Lavender
Let’s start with everyone’s sweetheart, lavender. I know for sure that it’s everyone’s sweetheart because my articles on lavender care – whether it’s spring or fall care – get a lot of love from our readers.
I’m sure one of the reasons why it’s so popular is because lavender is not a fussy plant. Despite the fact that we don’t need to fertilize it or give it any special treatments, it rewards us with a stunning display of long-lasting fragrant flowers.
Lavender is a Mediterranean plant, adapted to growing in well-draining soil, but not necessarily rich soil. So as long as it gets plenty of sun and doesn’t sit in a puddle, it will be a happy camper without any extra feeding.
2. Salvia
Whether we’re talking about the ornamental Salvia nemorosa or its more commonly used edible counterpart, Salvia officinalis (the common sage), they’re both plants that you just plop in the ground and proceed to forget about.
Just like lavender, Salvia officinalis is native to the Mediterranean region. Salvia nemorosa is a woodland variety that originates from central Europe and Western Asia. Both have naturalized in other parts of the world as well, including North American.
If you look closely, you’ll see that the thick leaves of the salvia plants retain a lot of moisture, to keep the plants going throughout long periods of drought. Salvias are very resilient plants that don’t need fertilizer (yes, in spite of what some labels might say).
3. Crocosmia (Monbretia)
Let’s dive into bulb territory with this stunning cormous herbaceous perennial. Monbretia, or crocosmia, whatever you’d like to call it, grows from corms. And we know that generally anything that grows from corms, bulbs or rhizomes won’t need much fertilizing.
Though I’ve noticed that even though they wouldn’t think about fertilizing spring bulbs (such as tulips, daffodils or hyacinths), some gardeners tend to forget that crocosmias are also bulbs. Perhaps because they are perennials and we only see the bulbs when we plant them or divide them.
Rest assured that crocosmias don’t need much fussing over once we get them in the ground and get them established. They love the sun, do well in part shade and can handle droughts like a champ. Not only do crocosmias not need fertilizer, but they’ll bloom profusely in shades of red and burgundy the more you neglect them.
4. Japanese anemone
Out of all the plants on this list, I truly think the Japanese anemone (previously Anemone hupehensis, now renamed as Eriocapitella hupehensis) is the most underrated perennial. I don’t know if it’s because it blooms at the tail end of the growing season, when gardening is kind of coming out of focus, or what. I get giddy every time I see this perennial in people’s gardens.
I wrote an entire guide to anemones, both spring and fall ones, so have a read here if you’d like to give them a chance. Japanese anemones don’t need fertilizer. They’ll be perfectly content in full sun or dappled shade, as long as you don’t let them completely dry out or get too soggy, especially when the temperatures dip in the fall.
5. Hardy ice plant
I’ve talked about the hardy ice plant (Delosperma) when I was showing you how I solved the problem of a very shallow garden. I bought a starter hardy ice plant and proceeded to plant it in what was probably a couple of inches of soil.
Yes, I had a hunch it would pull through after I spotted it planted by one of my neighbors on top of the protruding roots of a very large tree. It was getting shade, it was getting very little water and I can promise you that nobody was fertilizing it.
Just as it was thriving on top of that gnarly root system, it’s thriving in my shallow garden basically planted in decomposed bark mulch. I know it’s expected of succulents to not need much fertilizer, but the ice plant is so much more than a succulent. It survives below freezing temperatures and fills with blooms in the summer. All for minimal care.
6. Ornamental alliums
We find ourselves once again in the realm of bulbs. And for the sake of clarity and conciseness, I’ll lump all ornamental alliums in one category of plants that we don’t need to fertilize. The bulb itself (sometimes a really large one) stores enough energy to feed and power the plant all throughout the growing season.
The one thing we need to be careful with alliums is planting them in a spot that drains well. They thrive in full sun and can handle droughts, but they cannot overcome being covered up in damp and heavy soil.
7. Rose campion
Speaking of underrated garden perennials that don’t need feeding, allow me to add rose campion (Silene coronaria, previously Lychnis coronaria) to this worthy list. It’s the kind of perennial that, once I’ve planted in my flower beds, I wondered why I hadn’t brought it in sooner.
There’s something about the combination of fuchsia-pink flowers and silver leaves that makes it stand out amidst a sea of warm colors in the summer.
I got my first rose campion courtesy of a little free plant library in our neighborhood. I had not grown it before, so I got to researching it as soon as I got home. It turns out it couldn’t be easier to take care of. Since it’s another native of Southern Europe, West Asia and North Africa, it can survive hot, dry summers and can handle poor soil. Plus, it has a long blooming season and has no trouble self-seeding on the spot.
8. Sweet William
I associate Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) with a sense of nostalgia. Whenever their fragrance wafts my way (which is often because I planted them close to the deck), my memory takes me back to childhood and my great-aunt’s bountiful garden in the countryside. Some say that Sweet William is an old-fashioned flower, but I think it’s making a comeback as one of the staples of cottage gardens in the age of Instagram.
Once you get Sweet William established (and it might take a few seasons, since they are biennials), they require very little care and no extra feeding. If the petals get a bit droopy, it means they’re thirsty. So a little water will help restore them to their vigor. No need to reach for the fertilizer.
9. Helenium
I have never called Helenium by its popular name (sneezeweed) because it’s neither a weed nor does it make one sneeze. (Although it’s believed the name comes from its former use as one of the snuff herbs that wealthy people would smoke.) And rest assured, its nickname has nothing to do with allergies either.
Based on what I see for sale at the nurseries around me, the most common type of Helenium in home gardens must be Helenium autumnale, which is native to North America.
It comes in a variety of cultivars in different shades of red, yellow and orange. You don’t have to fertilize Helenium, but it does enjoy some soil moisture. So planting it in an area that stays wetter or in a meadow setting might work best.
10. Scutellaria
Skullcap (Scutellaria) is another gorgeous ornamental plant with a nickname that doesn’t do it justice. Although its moniker does match its appearance, with every flower resembling a tiny skull. I know I’m not selling it very well right now, but believe me when I say that once you plant a scutellaria in your garden, you’ll see why I lobbied for it.
As a lesser known member of the mint family, scutellaria grows very robust roots and pretty, indigo flowers. And just like its mint big brother, it needs virtually no care, including no fertilizer. (Who in their right mind would fertilize mint?)
There are several scutellaria native to North America, such as Scutellaria californica, Scutellaria floridana, Scutellaria incana and Scutellaria serrata. But keep in mind that what you find in garden stores will likely be a hybrid between some of these, just to make the plant more showy and flamboyant for the home garden.
11. Sea holly
Sea holly (Eryngium) was an impulse purchase at the gardening store for me. What is this alien-esque flower that’s a glimmering electric blue? It was perhaps the most fortuitous impulse purchase because I ended up letting it spread in several spots in the garden.
It sends down an impressively long tap root that looks more like a parsnip than a normal root structure. Which means that, in addition to doing well in poor soil, it’s able to access moisture deep underground and stays vigorous without too much water.
12. Ornamental grasses
Gardening with ornamental grasses has been at the top of my mind lately. Not just because I can see their tall golden spears from my desk, as I’m typing this, but because I recently wrote an entire guide on my easy trick to prune and prepare them for a new gardening season.
And as the laid back gardener that I am, I count low-maintenance as a good enough reason to plant an ornamental.
We’ve adopted the grasses that we use in gardening nowadays from meadows, steppes and fields. In their evolution, they’ve adapted to tolerate drought, heat and humidity; and they’ve certainly adapted to grow well without fertilizer.
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