Low-maintenance plants: Options for busy homeowners

by Christine Ballew-Gonzales

SBJ Contributing Writer

For people who want outdoor plants but don't feel they have the time or expertise to keep them up, local nursery owners have many low-maintenance selections to offer.

Don Fesperman, owner of Maplewood Gardens, uses his 30 years of experience to help customers choose easy-to-care-for outdoor plants every day.

Fesperman recommended Perpurea nandina, a broad-leafed shrub. The shrub is a lime-green color during the growing season, then turns red during the winter.

Fesperman said the shrub isn't susceptible to bug damage or disease, and requires only water and fertilizer. In addition, this type of shrub rarely needs trimming.

Fesperman also suggested blue holly and China holly as easy-care outdoor plants. "They're a good evergreen with red berries," he said. "They only need a light, once-a-year trimming, and water and fertilizer."

Other good choices for low-maintenance outdoor foliage fall in the dwarf category dwarf bonanza, which is golden in color, and dwarf pygmy barberry, which is a burgundy-red bush. Fesperman also said that the new spiraea varieties make wonderful, low-care shrubs.

Dick Carson, president of Carson's Nurseries, said that he is often asked about outdoor plants that require minimal care.

"When people ask me for that, I suggest small evergreens," Carson said. Carson's recommendations include blue star junipers, bird's nest spruce, and dwarf Alberta spruce varieties. These selections do not require pruning and are fairly bug- and disease-resistant.

During a plant's first season, Carson said, he recommends that root stimulator fertilizer be used to help establish the plants. After that, only regular fertilizer applications are needed to maintain them.

Steve Dorrell, owner of Ozark Outdoors Nursery, said home gardeners should look for certain qualities in low-maintenance plants.

"We're going for plants that don't require a lot of trimming and don't have a lot of disease or bug problems," he said. "They'll have to spend some time on the plants initially, but once they're established, they won't require a lot of care."

Dorrell's picks for low-maintenance outdoor plants are perennials, such as dwarf shrubs, which offer a lot of color and require little upkeep.

There are also outdoor plant varieties that should definitely be avoided by those who don't wish to spend a lot of time caring for them, said Nikki Petitt, nursery manager at Wickman Gardens.

High-maintenance outdoor plants include roses, azaleas, rhododendrons and dogwood trees. Azaleas and rhododendrons need attention year-round, Petitt said, and dogwoods are difficult to establish and are prone to insect and fungus problems.

Good choices for low-upkeep outdoor plants are flowering trees, such as redbud and the amur maple. This type of maple tree is resilient and doesn't grow overly large. Easy-to-care-for flowering shrubs are forsythia, spirea, abelia and viburnum varieties. Evergreens are also excellent selections, Petitt said.

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