Gardening

Best Garden Plants For USDA Zone 7

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If you are a gardener or garden enthusiast residing in the USDA Zone 7, we consider you very lucky in terms of choosing a wide variety of plants for your garden. You can enjoy nature's wonderful gift by alternating on different Zone 7 plants.

In this article, we have got you covered in the aspect of the best plants for Zone 7 that you can grow in your garden giving just enough information for you to choose as per your preferences.

1. Amsonia

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Amsonia is a robust perennial plant with remarkably low maintenance and trouble-free attributes. It is found to prefer full sun to partial shade and grows into a drought-resistant plant, attracting beneficial bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

The bloom often lasts for about 3-4 weeks with unique five-petaled blossoms offering shades from pale to deep blue. Often known by its other name, Blue Star, Amsonia is an inherent drought-resistant plant that is found to thrive in a very hot and dry summer.

2. Anemone

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Anemone is a shade-tolerant perennial often referred to as a windflower or daughter of the wind. Having been found to grow robust in the USDA zone 7, anemone offers an impressive long blooming period, lasting more than two months.

Although the flowers come in various forms, colors, and stature, attracting butterflies and many other pollinators, all anemones are considered toxic if ingested. You need to make sure, your pets and kids stay away from this plant.

3. Artemisia

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If you are looking for a vibrant foliage plant in your garden, artemisia is certain to fulfill all your desires with shades of silver, grey, white, blue, or green. The bloom of artemisia usually lasts from summer to fall offering all sorts of yellow, white, or grey flowers.

Artemisia loves full sun and grows into a highly tolerable plant. If you are quite a lazy gardener like us, you can go for it, artemisia will not be a headache. It requires very little care and attention.

4. Aster

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You wouldn't want to miss a perennial plant, aster that thrives in cooler temperatures with full sun. Aster is certain to be a charm in your garden attracting different pollinators and offering beautiful blossoms.

Aster is found to bloom from late summer to early fall, growing pretty well in USDA Zone 7. It usually comes in purple, pink, blue, and white shades. Aster is actually, a name referring to the star according to the Ancient Greek perspective.

5. Azalea

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Azalea is a well-known spring-blooming flowering plant whose blooms are found to last for several weeks with shades of white, pink, and red. You must have known Rhododendron, well azalea falls in the same genus being a shade-tolerant plant.

Usually, it prefers living near or under trees in a moderate winter with partial shade and acidic soil. Gardening enthusiasts around the world often recommend azaleas as a must-have flowering plant in your garden.

6. Baptisia

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Baptisia is among the favorite Zone 7 plants, often known as false indigo or wild indigo. People can never get over its vibrant colored blossoms in the springtime. Besides that, if you want to have something that spreads a stunning aroma for about 3-4 weeks, baptisia is the name.

Apart from that, baptisia is significantly found to support local wildlife and biodiversity as well. However, its growth rate is typically slow and may take about 2-5 years to bloom reaching its final shrub stage.

7. Bee Balm

Source : finegardening

Bee balm belongs to the family of mint. It has been found to significantly promote wildlife attracting several pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. Your garden is certain to have visitors every day. How beautiful would it be?

Not only that, the seed heads of bee balm are further a good source of food for several wild birds during fall and winter. Mostly preferring full sun and moist soil, bee balm has the potential to be a valuable asset to your garden.

8. Black-Eyed Susan

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Black-eyed Susan is found to thrive in full sun and well-drained soil offering colorful blossoms in the shades of lemon-yellow, orange, and gold for several weeks with dark centers. Fortunately, this plant doesn't necessarily require extra care and attention.

If you are dreaming of flowers that project bright rays of sunshine everywhere in your garden, you should forget about everything and seek the Black-eyed Susan. When your dream comes true, well don't forget to thank us.

9. Bleeding Heart

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Give a minute and visualize beautiful flowers in the shape of hearts displaying soothing colors of pink, red, or white. Won't it melt your heart? Well, of course, it does. A bleeding heart is sure to melt your heart from late spring to early summer.

It prefers partial to full shade but has a decent sun tolerance level. Before planting a bleeding heart in your garden, you should know that this plant is considered toxic and can harm your stomach or sensitive skin.

10. Boxwood

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Boxwood is an evergreen shrub growing rather slowly in your garden. Also known by its other name Buxus, boxwood is mostly popular for evergreen foliage and green structures.

It is one of the best shrubs for zone 7 which are certain to provide greenery around your garden through their evergreen foliage all year. People often use boxwood for hedges and topiaries.

11. Butterfly Bush

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If you want a fast-growing plant in your garden, you can go for a popular Zone 7 gardening plant butterfly bush. Quite commonly seen these days around Europe and North America, butterfly bush falls under the favorite of many gardeners.

Butterfly bushes bloom throughout the summer projecting their cone-shaped clusters of purple, pink, or white flowers. These plants love full sun and develop as drought-tolerant shrubs, attracting pollinators. You might want to give it a try once.

12. Camellia

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Well, camellia is popular for its various uses and comes among the top Zone 7 plants for your garden. If you want to add a valuable asset to your garden, camellia being an evergreen shrub is all at your service. Go for it!

This plant is quite popular and has a rich history associated with human civilization for centuries. People have been using camellia for tea, ornamental, and oil extraction purposes. Camellia has a rapid growth rate that thrives in acidic soil.

13. Campanula

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Campanula is another flowering plant that rewards your garden with zone 7 flowers, particularly informing, bell-shaped flowers, or simply bellflowers in the shades of purple, blue, pink, or white typically from late spring to early fall.

It blends perfectly with any of your garden designs such as in the rock gardens, woodland borders, and many more, thriving in full to partial shade, offering a versatile rendition of your gardening ability.

14. Catmint

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Here comes the catmint, a popular flowering plant commonly known as Nepeta. Maybe because of the effects such as the euphoria this plant produces on house cats, catmint has got its name, people often like to see catmint this way.

This plant offers soft gray-green foliage and clusters of lavender-blue flowers, blooming from late spring to fall and growing deer-resistant and drought-tolerant. Catmint is found to thrive in full sun so, it can be a perfect choice for Zone 7 gardening.

15. Coneflower

If you want to have excellent Zone 7 perennials in your garden, you can go with a sturdy, daisy-like blossoming flowering plant, coneflower. It offers blooms in shades of purple, pink, or white but is mostly popular for its purple-colored coneflowers.

Adding more details to its stunning flowers, they bloom with a powder-puff center and shuttlecock horizontal ruffs, lasting for several months attracting birds and pollinating insects. Coneflower can develop into a heat and drought-resistant plant.

16. Coreopsis

Coreopsis, also known as tickseed, is another remarkable Zone 7 perennial that offers bright yellow or red flowers. If you as a garden enthusiast are looking for a resilient plant with low maintenance, you ought to think about coreopsis.

This plant adores exposure to the full sun and blooms usually in the summer with showy flower heads. People often point to flat, small, and dry fruits of coreopsis as insects. Overall, this plant will reward your garden with blooms all summer.

17. Daylily

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If you are thinking about planting Zone 7 in your garden or yard, daylily shouldn't be missed. Daylily is a perennial flowering plant that is found to possess high tolerance and resilience levels, often living a longer life.

Don't confuse yourself with the name Daylily, it has no relation with the true lilies. It usually grows from fleshy roots offering attractive flowers but the blooms only last for a day. Daylily is found to prefer full sun and well-drained soil to thrive upon.

18. Dianthus

Dianthus is a small perennial plant that is found to bloom in almost every sort of color ranging from white to black spectrum. The blossoms of the dianthus play a great deal of role in attracting pollinating insects and birds such as butterflies and hummingbirds.

You can make use of dianthus in border displays, rockeries, containers, and cutting gardens. This plant often thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, perfectly suited for borders and rock gardens, as suggested by many concerned professionals.

19. Dogwood

Dogwood is a common name given to Cornus, a genus of woody plants in the family Cornaceae. People often grow this tree in their yard and garden to receive spring blooms of white or pink flowers. Dogwood can be an excellent asset to your garden with distinctive blossoms, berries, and bark.

People majorly cultivate dogwood for the horticulture aspect but some species of the woody plant are found to be used in making cutting boards and fine turnings using the fine-grained and beautiful wood, dogwood offers.

20. Eastern Redbud

Source : gardeningknowhow

Eastern redbud can be your other pick for Zone 7 gardening which is a small deciduous tree displaying a horizontal branching pattern. People often remark on the first sight of a full-blooming redbud with such amusement, they can never forget it.

This tree which prefers partial shade to full sun, is found to display pink or purple flowers blooming directly on its branches usually in the early spring. Plant eastern redbud and get ready to lost in the natural architecture!

21. Elderberry

If you are looking for a deciduous shrub in your garden with purple-colored berries hanging along with attractive foliage and flowers, you can always go for elderberry. This might be the time to introduce nature's absolute gift to your garden.

There's no doubt the green, black, or yellow foliage with white, pink, or gold flowers of elderberry bringing amusing beauty to your garden. Besides that, this shrub is found to provide shelter to different pollinating insects and birds. But be careful with the toxic unripened or raw berries of elderberry.

22. Flowering Quince

Flowering quince is not only prized for its Zone 7 flowers, but its five-carpel fruit is also widely celebrated around parts of Europe and North America. Although it is considered to be native to Southeast Asia, this deciduous spiny shrub has gained popularity worldwide.

Being a gardener, you want to consider adding this late winter to early spring blooming ornamental shrubs to your beautiful garden. The blooms usually lasts for several weeks with bright orange, red, white, or pink.

23. Forsythia

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Forsythia is found to showcase its beautiful blossoms in the early spring. Because of this reason, it is often regarded as the first sign of spring season. This flowering shrub is definitely going to mesmerize your eyes with its bright yellow flowers.

Growing sturdy and robust, forsythia is found to thrive in various climatic conditions around most parts of the world. This plant is not difficult to maintain and care for if you can provide full sun and well-drained soil.

24. Gardenia

Gardenia could be your other pick for Zone 7 perennials. Belonging to a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, it is an evergreen shrub but is sometimes considered a small tree having green foliage with a cluster of beautiful flowers.

The blossoms of gardenia range from white, or pale yellow coloration with petals, blooming about mid-spring to mid-summer. Many species of gardenia are found to possess a strong odor, preferring acidic soil with decent drainage system.

25. Hawthorn

If you have a desire to grow Northern Hemisphere native plants, you can go for Hawthorn. Hawthorn is a common name given to a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae. It is a deciduous plant found to grow well in the USDA Zone 7.

Often preferring full sun, hawthorn is typically grown for its four-season ornamental ability, hardy nature, and high tolerance to varying conditions. The flowers of hawthorn are white or pink with five petals blooming from mid to late spring.

Additional Garden Plants For Zone 7

Source : lotsofplants

1. Hydrangea

Hydrangea is a very popular garden shrub these days. We are pretty sure, there are hardly a few people who wouldn't get attracted by the colorful cluster of hydrangea flowers. It adores partial shade and well-drained soil of Zone 7.

2. Iris

If you want to add some uniqueness to your garden, you can try growing Iris. This unique plant can shower amazing blooms taking support of sword-like leaves. Iris adores full sun and well-drained soil.

3. Japanese Maple

Why not go for a small tree with delicate leaves in one corner of your garden? Japanese maple is all at your service with beautiful and vibrant shades projecting leaves. The red and orange coloration in the fall will amaze you, we guarantee it.

Source : fast-growing-trees

4. Lavender

Lavender, we are sure you are already familiar with this flavorful plant. Usually, it thrives in full sun displaying aromatic purple flowers and silvery-green foliage. From attracting pollinators to being useful for culinary purposes, it is a must-have garden plant.

5. Magnolia

Magnolia, a state flower of Mississippi, is an evergreen or deciduous tree or shrub having distinctive large aromatic flowers in the shape of a bowl or star. The blooms are often in shades of white, pink, purple, green, or yellow.

6. Milkweed

Being native to North America, milkweed is not a weed instead it is a genus of perennial flowering plants. As its name, milkweed consists of a milky substance rather toxic to humans. But this plant is a primary feeder to monarch butterflies.

7. Ninebark

Ninebark is a North American native deciduous shrub that prefers to thrive in the cold climate with bell-shaped flowers and white or pink petals. Ninebark won't disappoint you if you let it grow in your Zone 7 garden.

Source : bhg

8. Peony

Peony is another popular Zone 7 gardening plant that rewards the gardener with almost all sorts of colors. Yes, indeed, white, pink, red, coral, maroon, and yellow-colored blossoms will turn your garden into a dreamy heaven.

9. Russian Sage

Russian sage is widely popular for its flowers that are closely spaced displaying lavender-blue to violet coloration. Although its grayish-green leaves are considered toxic if ingested, Russian sage could be an excellent choice for your Zone 7 gardens.

10. Smoke Bush

Smoke bush is usually grown to add a touch of drama to your garden. It bears large and showy flowers in the summer that are found to create a smoky effect. Being a deciduous shrub, smoke bush can be grown to meet your multi-seasonal interest.