Which perennials stay green in the winter?

Perennials are extremely popular. Entire gardens are planted with perennials, often combined with ornamental grasses. Perennials add a lot of color and come in many shapes, colors, and heights. Most perennials die back above ground in the winter, leaving your borders bare. However, there are certainly evergreen perennials as well.

Which perennials are evergreen?

Although many perennials die back above ground in the winter, there are also plants that remain green during the winter. Below is a list of evergreen perennials for your garden or flower bed.

• Mugwort (Artemisia)
• Oak Fern (Polypodium)
• Yellow Iris (Iris)
• Geranium (Geranium marcrorrhizum; semi-evergreen)
• Gouda Strawberry (Waldsteinia)
• Ironleaf (Cyrtomium)
• Sweet Flag (Acorus)
• Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger)
• Bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana; semi-evergreen)
• Creeping bugle (Ajuga reptans)
• Lilyturf (Liriope)
• Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
• Mansoor (Asarum)
• Wallflower (Erysimum)
• Needle ferns (Polystichum)
• Avens (Geum; semi-evergreen)
• Hellebore (Helleborus)
• Rockcress (Arabis)
• Pachysandra
• Shade Saxifrage (Saxifraga)
• Candleflower (Iberis)
• Turtle Flower (Penstemon)
• Bergenia
• Spiny Nut (Acaena; semi-evergreen)
• Marsh Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)
• Stonecrop (Sedum)
• Blazing Star (Kniphofia)
• Spurge (Euphorbia)

Learn more about Perennials

Good groundcover plants

Many evergreen perennials are ideal for groundcover. These low-growing plants ensure that the ground is covered and that weeds don’t stand a chance. However, a continuous layer of these plants is required. Examples include bugleweed (Ajuga), wild ginger (Asarum), bergenia (Bergenia), bellflower (Campanula), ivy (Hedera), liriope (Liriope), Japanese spurge (Pachysandra), stonecrop (Sedum), periwinkle (Vinca), and golden strawberry (Waldsteinia).

See all the best groundcover plants