Low-Maintenance Perennials and Shrubs for Zone 2 Saskatchewan: Hardy List

A Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Zone 2) gardener with dry, clay soil, southern exposure, windy conditions, asked for colorful perennials/shrubs. Local chain stores sell unsuitable plants.

Recommended Plants

Tom listed Zone 2 hardy perennials: butterwort, columbines (Western, European, hybrids), grape hyacinth, monkshood, peony, summer phlox, Himalayan poppy, Oriental poppy, snow-in-summer, round-leaf sundew, moss pink/creeping phlox, windflower. Best for dry prairie: columbines, poppies, peonies, phlox, thrift. Shrubs: Rosa rugosa, wild roses, honeysuckle, bittersweet, rudbeckia, crane's bill, daylilies, rhododendron (check tags), bleeding heart, hollyhock, wild ginger, lady's slipper, delphinium, Iceland poppy, goldenrod, Shasta daisy, hosta, yarrow, Asiatic lily, lily-of-the-valley, Siberian iris, coral bells, trollius. Shrubs: golden forsythia, vernal witchhazel, French pussywillow, Northern Lights azalea (verify tag). Linked to Nature Hills nursery for Zone 2 shrubs. Southern exposure is ideal.

Zone 2 gardening requires extremely hardy, drought-tolerant selections.