Low-maintenance hardy plants for Winnipeg landscaping becoming ever more popular
With cold temperatures outside, it’s a reminder of how important is to know what plants are hardy enough to survive our frigid winters. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending money on landscaping and plants for your garden or patio space, only to have them not emerge the following spring. Learn some pro landscaping tips about the best perennials for Winnipeg. In terms of hardiness zone ratings, Winnipeg is a zone 3, or 3a, meaning anything planted in your yard should be cold hardy to -35/-40’C.
Learn about the best perennials for Manitoba
According to the Interactive Manitoba plant hardiness zone, Manitoba climates range across four to five different plant hardiness zones or planting zones. These zones include (0,1,2,3 and 4) depending on yearly temperature fluctuations.
ou may like the bright pink flowers for your garden bed but you might have to replace them every year. Many plants sold or featured at local landscape and garden centers are certainly attractive, but almost certainly destined to not survive (sooner or later). Some plants are grown in entirely different climates and then shipped here in bulk (like those $20 upright cedars at local big box stores), but don’t stand a chance come winter with -40 degree weather.
Whenever we plan a yard for a landscaping project, we’re sure to pick species that we know are hardy and will make for a long-lasting beautiful garden. We stand behind this with our plant warranty – not only do we provide a free replacement for a dead shrub or tree, we remove the old one and put the new one back in the ground as well.
Below are a few of our favourite hardy plants that are tried, tested, and proven in Winnipeg and regions in Manitoba. Be sure to check the hardiness zone in your area for better results.
Perennials
Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass: Almost everyone is looking for a low-maintenance landscape, and this tall ornamental grass is about as care-free as they come. Growing to 4’ or higher, it looks good from June through the remainder of the summer and fall. Plant them in masses for big curb appeal.
Daylily: Many people are familiar with them, but not everyone knows how diverse they are. Look for them in different colours and sizes. Some are even re-bloomers, meaning they’ll have bright colourful flowers throughout July and August, rather than just for a couple weeks. Our favorite is a low, yellow re-bloomer called “Stella D’oro” as it’s dependable and very showy.
May Night Salvia: Another low growing, mounding perennial (meaning the entire plant is attractive with nice scale, rather than just a tall, thin stalk producing a flower that needs to be buried within the garden to look good). Bright purple flowers show early (May-June) and the flowers will return if you dead-head them as they dry out.
Sun Loving Perennials are a great addition to your yard, along the fence or driveway. Once they have built strong roots you should have years of viewing enjoyment of them. They can be a garden staple for decades to come.
Herbaceous perennials are a great way to keep the yard clear in the winter knowing that each year they will grow from the ground roots annually but not leave the wood stems.
Popular perennials you might want to avoid: Heuchera (Coral Bells), Liatris, Fescue
Shrubs:
Annabelle Hydrangea: There are many kinds of hydrangea, but we’ve found the most successful to be “Annabelle”, which features large, white ball-like flowers mid-summer. Many people are drawn to try more colourful hydrangea (pink, blue, etc) but Annabelle gives you the best, most reliable show.
Ninebark: If you need some colour or contrast in the yard, try Ninebark. They’re larger shrubs (usually 5-8’) and are available in a range of colours (dark purple, copper, lime green, etc). They produce a small but attractive flower. Ninebark, especially in full sun, requires a bit of annual clipping or pruning as they’ll shoot up long stalks out of scale with the bulk of the plant.
Spirea: A low, mounding shrub that again can provide some nice contrast. There are several varieties, some of our favourites being “goldflame”, which turns from bright green and then darkens with some coppery orange leaf tips, or “goldmound”, a lime-green which stands out strongly against deeper green foliage or evergreen.
Popular shrubs you might want to avoid: Weigela, Barberry, Roses
Hawthorne (Toba or Snowbird): A perfect tree for a smaller space or yard, or for some low massing in front of bigger trees. It’s a no-mess tree with beautiful white or purple flowers in the spring time. It’s a great tree to have near the house or patio without worrying about branches hitting the roof or eaves as they don’t grow beyond about 15’ wide or tall.
Maple (Silver Maple, Manitoba Maple, Amur Maple): An attractive large shade tree with fairly quick growth. In this picture, a much smaller variety (Amur maple) flanks the front door and are nicely pruned. They’ll bring brilliant red fall colour.
Popular trees to potentially avoid: Paper birch, Schubert Chokecherry, Crabapples that bear fruit. These fruit trees can cause a mess if you do not have the time for fruit collection.
Generally, it is recommended to plant trees in the early fall to help them settle in before the harsh temperatures and winds of winter arrive.
Low Maintenance Landscaping Ideas For Your Winnipeg Garden
A Shade Plant is low maintenance and not a tall plant. These light green foliage are generally accustomed to partial sun, small amounts of sunshine, under taller tree coverage. Shade plants are great for covering the ground to reduce weed growth.
A Rock Garden are low maintenance and can save you on water if you plant drought resistant plants. A sun garden is a terrific way to have unique garden beds without the extra work. You can still have green leaves and plants but these can be variety of plants that need less water to maintain throughout the summer.
With it comes to landscaping in Winnipeg, our landscape designers are ready to assist with backyard landscaping tasks, building beautiful flower bed and feature plant arrangements that add curb appeal and ambience to your yard. We can help you build organize a beautiful landscape of early spring flowers, to full sun plants and trees arrangements with lovely blooms, to late summer fall flowering plants. Call us our local team of experienced landscapers to help you with your landscaping vision!