Have you been thinking about filling your garden with colorful blossoms? Yet, you don’t know what flowers grow well in Michigan? Then, you’re in the right place!
Some flowers require lots of care, patience, and hard work to grow. So, it’s important to choose flowers suited for your growing conditions. You also have to consider how much effort and money you’re willing to invest in taking care of them.
This guide will go through some common flowers that can thrive in Michigan weather. I’ll also give you a few pointers on how to take care of them so you can enjoy a bright, cheery garden full of lush vegetation.
Let’s get started.
Best Flowers for Michigan
We understand that gardening in Michigan is challenging. With cold winters and warm summers, you have to choose mostly hardy perennials to fill your garden.
Perennials bloom year after year, dormant in the winter, then returning when the weather warms up. These tough plants come in different sizes and colors and will flourish in Michigan’s harsh environment.
The following are the most suitable and most manageable flowers to grow in Michigan’s harsh climate.
Wild Lupine
The wild lupine, also known as the native lupine, is a spectacular perennial that blooms from spring to late summer. This plant belongs to the pea family and is considered herbaceous perennials. It’s known for its slender, tall clusters of commonly deep blue, pea-like flowers.
The stunning blossoms are elevated high above the lush foliage of hand-like green leaves situated on upright stalks. They attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators because they have a good supply of nectar.
Within the flower, you’ll notice a cluster of hairy seed pods. In the summer, they open up and ripen to spread more flowers.
They’re also nitrogen fixers, which means they help enhance the soil they’re planted in. The wild lupine plants are best suited for hardiness zones 4 to 8.
Primrose
Primrose flowers bloom in the early spring and come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors. They work nicely in garden beds and borders, as well as in containers, where they make a bright addition to any garden.
Hybrid primroses are the most common primrose flowers found in house gardens. One explanation could be that they’re easy to care for, even for the least experienced gardeners.
They come in many different colors, from creamy-white and yellow to orange-red and pink. Some primroses contain multiple flowers on a single stalk, whereas others have only one bloom per stem.
Blooms usually last all summer and will continue through most of the fall. In addition, these tenacious plants will multiply year after year as long as their growing conditions are right.
The primrose plants are best suited for hardiness zones 3 to 8.
Four O’Clock
Four o’clock plants are known for their vivid colors and fragrant aroma. They have tubular-shaped flowers that come in various colors and patterns.
Some species bear two flowers on one stem, each with two different colors. Even more impressive is their ability to bloom multicolored or marbled-looking flowers.
The flowers fully open around 4 pm and stay that way until early the following day. This is actually how they got their iconic name.
Though seemingly shy, this plant spreads out quickly in the garden. So, make sure you prune it regularly.
It’s best suited for hardiness zones 6 to 7.
Iris
The iris plant, named after the Greek goddess who rode rainbows, is a tall, elegant flowering plant that comes in a rainbow of colors. Despite its delicate name and appearance, this lovely flower is as tough as they come. Luckily, it’s also simple to grow.
One iris species, known as the bearded iris, gets its name from the fuzzy hairs that run down the middle of its petals. Funny enough, there’s another type of iris called the crested, or beardless, iris. In this species, the hairs form ridges instead.
Irises bloom in late spring and will sometimes last until early summer. Some of them, particularly bearded hybrids, are repeat-flowering, which means they can bloom again later in the summer.
They won’t blossom well if the light is dim. Bearded irises need all the direct sunlight they can get. So try to plant them away from tall plants or shrubs that can hinder their growth. They can survive as little as half a day of sun, but no less than that.
They’re best suited for hardiness zones that range between 3 to 9.
Zinnias
Zinnias are native to hot regions, but they’re easy to grow in any garden. These evergreens prefer warm weather and tend to do just fine with little maintenance. They’re great for bringing a splash of color to a container.
Although zinnias are known for their bright, hot-palette hues, new varieties are introduced every year. There are tall, short, and spreading variations, all of which are quite easy to grow and can tolerate even the harshest growing environments.
You can plant zinnias in the early spring if you want to give them a head start. Nonetheless, they’re pretty resilient, so you can still easily plant them in the summer, and they’ll still be able to grow and bloom without any problems. The best thing is that zinnias will grow wherever you put them, including pots, window boxes, raised garden beds, and even infertile soil.
Overall, there are two main types. First, there are the zinnias that grow only up to 8 inches tall, but they’re less common. The traditional zinnias grow to be four feet in height. They usually take a couple of weeks to bloom, but they’ll flower from late spring to late fall once the weather warms up.
Zinnias are best suited for hardiness zones 2 to 8.
Purple Coneflowers
Coneflowers are a staple garden plant native to the eastern regions of North America. They’re robust, drought-tolerant, and long-blooming. Another advantage is that they come in a broad spectrum of colors.
It’s difficult to find a garden without at least one type of coneflower. They typically grow in three to four weeks and develop leaves three months after being planted in early spring. Though, it can take up to two years for them to fully bloom.
The purple coneflower is the more common species. Its fibrous root system makes it more resilient than other wild species, which helps when dividing the plant and replanting.
It has daisy-like blooms made up of layers of flowers, running from the biggest to the smallest. The smaller flowers have one main job: to attract insects to all the other fertile flowers in the main cone.
They’re best suited for hardiness zones 3 to 8.
Peonies
Peonies are one of the most fluffy and velvety-looking flowers. Yet, don’t be fooled by their daint appearance; they’re tougher than they look. Plus, they’re pretty low-maintenance and don’t require much upkeep.
Peonies love a bright and sunny location, so you should spend a little time choosing a good spot for them. An area where they can be safe from strong winds works best because their stems are relatively weak.
Nevertheless, they’re still quite hardy. As a matter of fact, experts say that some peonies can live for more than 100 years if you take care of them well.
Bear in mind that it’s unlikely for peonies to flower during their first year after planting. Yet, once they finally do, you can rest easy and let them do their thing.
Like humans, peonies like a little personal space. Hence, adding a 3-foot perimeter around the flower bed should do the trick.
They’re best suited for hardiness zones 2 to 8.
Wrap Up On What Flowers Grow Well in Michigan
If you’ve been neglecting your garden for a long time because you didn’t know what flowers grow well in Michigan, we hope this post has shed light on what you can and can’t grow. This way, you’ll find it easier to choose the perfect plants for your garden.
The best part is that many of these plants are ideal for beginner gardeners. So, take your pick, and then, as your confidence improves, you can expand your flower garden to include more exotic and alluring plants.
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