Perennials can brighten up your garden and provide your landscape with structure, as they’ll return year after year. However, often it’s a waiting game—some perennials, like shrubs, regrow on the same wood, so it will take longer for them to reach maturity.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of fast-growing perennials that can bring joy to your garden right away and in future seasons, too. Below, a few that can be planted in early spring.
Liatris
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We often think of annual flowers as the group that brings brilliant blooms, but there are definitely a few perennials that can do the same—like liatris.
These fuzzy pink blooms are very striking. “Seeds can be sown indoors, by winter sowing, or directly sown into garden beds,” says gardening coach Teri Speight. “They bloom throughout the summer and provide food for our pollinators.”
Size: About 2 to 4 feet tallCare Instructions: Full sun to partial shade, well-drained soil that isn’t too richZones: 3 to 9Time to Maturity: About two months to get blooms, though young plants may not bloom the first year
Catmint
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Catmint (Nepeta) makes a stunning addition to the garden, and it’s remarkably easy to grow. It’s a herbaceous perennial that will bring multitudes of pollinators to your garden.
If catmint likes its location, then it will promptly settle in and begin to spread. Speight notes that it can be planted by seed, plug, or plant.
Size: Up to 2 feet high and 2 feet wideCare Instructions: Full sun and well-drained soilZones: 3 to 8Time to Maturity: About 12 weeks
Coneflowers
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Coneflower (Echinacea) blooms come in a fantastic variety of colors, from rich oranges and purples to subtle pastels.
They’re related to daisies and share that basic flower shape, but the large bloom size and the delicately drooping petals of coneflowers make them stand out. They’re hardy flowers and do very well when cared for properly.
Size: Varies by type; about 2 to 3 feet tallCare Instructions: Full sun is best, well-drained soilZones: 3 to 9Time to Maturity: Some varieties won’t bloom the first year, but after that they will put out flowers in mid-summer
Daylilies
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Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are glorious perennials that faithfully regrow for decades. Their massive, colorful flowers will spruce up your garden and home’s exterior, and deer tend to leave them alone.
You can grow them from seed, but you’ll get quicker results when planting from divisions, or from bare-root plants that you can purchase from a nursery. Daylilies grow fast, early, and put on a lovely show.
Size: About 3 feet tallCare Instructions: Full sun, though some perform adequate in partial shade. Rich soil, well-drainedZones: 4 to 9Time to Maturity: Some daylilies bloom as early as June, while others wait until later in the summer
Bee Balm
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There’s a reason it has “bee” in the name—bee balm is a pollinator magnet and attracts all types of bees and hummingbirds. Plus, Monarda is fast-growing and livens up your landscape with brilliant color and interesting foliage.
Size: Pretty tall, about 4 feet highCare Instructions: Full sun, rich and moist soil, but still well-drainingZones: 3 to 9Time to Maturity: About three months
Black-Eyed Susans
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Wild black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia) are lovely on their own, but the cultivated varieties have larger blooms—and more of them. They’re hardy and fast-growing—perfect for adding color to your garden this year and for many years to come.
“Let the seed heads fall naturally where they are growing,” says Speight. “Minimize excessive overhead watering, and remove any diseased plants to avoid the spread of disease.”
Size: About 2 feet tallCare Instructions: Full sun, a little shade is okay. They actually grow well in soil that is inadequate for other plants. Zones: 3 to 10Time to Maturity: about 90 days
Chives
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Some herbs like chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are useful in the kitchen and bring colorful blooms to your garden.
These plants are rapid growers—in fact, you’ll need to watch for unwanted spreading—and they’re one of the first plants to flower in the spring. Chives are a hardy perennial and will come back year after year after year.
Size: About 2 feet tallCare Instructions: Full sun, well-drained soil Zones: 3 to 9Time to Maturity: About 60 days
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