25 “starter” plants for rock gardens in the Great Lakes region
List compiled by Tony Reznicek, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zone 5/6
Selection Criteria: These are plants for a “traditional” rock garden, i.e., sunny and with a free draining soil. They will not necessarily thrive in ordinary sunny borders, but will, in a rock garden setting, be relatively long-lived without special care beyond their placement in an appropriate setting (or re-establish by seed in an appropriate manner in the case of a few species). Other criteria are that plants must not be rapacious self-sowers or spread quickly into large, suffocating mats, but their form must be in character for a rock garden including small mats, buns, or tufts, mostly with showy flowers and also, in most cases, evergreen foliage attractive for most of the year. In addition, these are mostly available as plants from sources likely to be known to beginners. Ericaceous plants are not listed much of the region has calcareous soils, and also not listed are bulbs or plants suitable for a shady rock garden.
[Tip: Left-click the photos for an enlarged view in a separate window (or tab).]
Androsace sarmentosa
Perennial rosettes of slightly hairy leaves. Umbels of pink flowers with yellow eyes in late spring. 4-6 inches high, slowly spreads via strawberry-like runners to 2'. The overwintering form has tight, small rosettes. The variety 'Chumbyi' is densely tufted and hairy. Himalayas. Zones 2-8.
A compact plant with dark green leaves and large, rich purple flowers in May with incurved spurs on 3 inch stems. Southern Europe. Zones 3-8.
Arabis ×sturii
Neat dark green slow spreading mat composed of rosettes of small pointed glossy leaves. Large white flowers on 3-4 inch stems in spring. Sparser in bloom but better in foliage than most species. An easy but excellent hybrid of Southern Europe. Zones 4-8.
Armeria maritima 'Little Penny', A. caespitosa
Dense evergreen cushions of short rigid stems with narrow leaves topped with short stems each pink (or white) ball-shaped flower head. Spain (A. cespitosa) Zones 5-8. The widespread A. maritima is considerably larger and the dwarf forms like Little Penny are best for rock gardens. Zones 2-8.
Daphne ×hendersonii (various cultivars)
A compact, small-leaved evergreen shrub with heads of pink (or white) flowers. A hybrid of the legendary Daphne petraea with D. cneorum; the small forms of which are also suited for rock gardens. Zone 4-8.
Daphne arbuscula (various cultivars)
A low and very hardy evergreen shrub with heads of rather large pink flowers. A very local species of the Western Carpathians. Zones 4-8
Draba (most smaller yellow flowered species, especially D. bryoides)
Evergreen, tufted to mat-forming perennials, often making densely packed cushions producing small yellow crucifer flowers in early spring. Eurasia and North America. Zones 4-7.
A splendid and good-tempered rock plant with white, eight-petaled flowers one inch wide in early summer. Fluffy seed heads are decorative. 3-4 inches high, it forms dense mats of scalloped, evergreen oak-like leaves. Circumpolar. Zones 1-6.
Erigeron scopulinus
An absolutely prostrate map of tiny evergreen leaves with short stems bearing white daisies. Arizona and New Mexico. Zones 4-8
Erinus alpinus
Low, evergreen tufts with rosy purple flowers are in racemes on 4 inch stems in June. Partial shade, well-drained gritty soil or protected crevice. There are also good white and pink forms. Native of the southern European mountains rocks. Zones 4-8.
Eunomia (Aethionema) oppositifolia
A prostrate evergreen mat with small rounded, grey-green leaves and compact, short racemes of pink, fragrant flowers in very early spring. Turkey, Zone 4-8.
Prostrate creeping sub shrubs with evergreen leaves and gray-blue powder-puff flower heads on short stems in summer. Native to rocks and screes in southern Europe. Zones 5-8.
Helianthemum oelandicum
Prostrate evergreen sub shrubs forming a dense, green carpet with bright yellow flowers in late May. Other Helianthemum species are larger, but have show additional flower colors. Native of Europe. Zones 4-8.
Hutchinsia alpina
A small perennial mat 4 inches high with lacy, dark green basal leaves about 1 inch long. Heads of pure white flowers in late spring; long-flowering. Needs moist soil on cool bank. Native to limestone rocks and screes of Pyrenees, Alps, northern and central Apennines. Zones 5-7.
Penstemon hirsutus 'Pygmaeus'
A tufted plant no more than about 6 inches high with lance-shaped purplish leaves and violet-blue 1 inch long tubular flowers with white lip from June to August. Tennessee to Virginia and north into Canada. Zones 3-8.
Phlox subulata (dwarf and compact selections)
Compact or congested Phlox subulata cultivars, such as ‘Shneewittchen’ 'Betty,' 'Herbert,' 'Sileniflora,' or 'Tiny Bugles' are durable and easy plants that sport enchanting-but-small white or pink flowers on low mounds of needled foliage. Eastern North America. Zones 3-8.
Ptilotrichum spinosum 'Roseum'
An Alyssum relative, this twiggy low mounding shrub with small thorns at the stem tips is covered by pink flowers in early summer. A very easy plant for the sunny rockery. From mountains surrounding the Mediterranean in southern Europe. Zone 5-8.
Pulsatilla vernalis and other small Pulsatilla species
P. vernalis has evergreen, finely cut leaves and leaves, and flowers very early (April) with large white flowers only a few inches high; the entire plant is silky hairy. Later come ornamental, fuzzy seed heads. Other Pulsatilla species have deciduous leaves, and flowers varying from white to blue and red; some are substantially larger and smaller species should be selected. Pulsatilla vernalis is European; others are from throughout the North Temperate Zone. Zones 3-8.
The easiest of the Porophyllum saxifrages, forming small mats of tiny green rosettes with silvery flecking and yellow or white flowers very early (April). Best with shade from a rock for part of the day. Thought to be a hybrid of two Eurasian species Saxifraga marginata and S. sancta. Zones 4-8.
Saxifraga paniculata (several cultivars exist)
An encrusted saxifrage occurring in Europe and North America. The rosettes are composed of narrow spoon-shaped leaves about 1 inch long edged with forward-pointing teeth and rimmed with silvery white encrustations and white flowers, spotted with red or purple, on stems about 12 inches high, flowering in May. Leaf colors range from pale green to silver and silver-blue. The flowers vary from pure white in 'Alba', to yellow in 'Lutea', and bright pink in 'Rosea'. They do best with shade from a rock for part of the day. The flowering rosettes die, but are replaced by side rosettes. Zones 2-6.
Sedum sieboldii
From September to October, flat heads of pink flowers on 6-8 inch stems rise over mounds of succulent, gray-blue round leaves. Japan. Zones 3-9.
Sempervivum arachnoideum (several cultivars), and other small species
Low mat-forming succulent with cobweb-like threads covering the foliage. Bright red flowers are borne on 4 inch stems. Compact rosettes which will grow well in screes, crevices and between paving stones. In dry climates it prefers heavier soils and moisture. Flowering rosettes die, but are replaced quickly by new offsets. Other small species are also suitable. Mountains of Europe. Zones 4-8.
Silene schafta
Profusion of lavender-pink flowers on 6 inch stems in August and September over dense tufts of light green leaves. Caucasus. Zones 4-8.
Veronica spicata 'Nana'
Compact spikes of blue flowers from June to August on a low, mat forming plant, the typical species native to Northern Europe and Asia. Zones 3-8.
Vitaliana primuliflora
Small low mats of tiny, grey-green or silvery rosettes with sessile bright yellow flowers in early spring (late April–May) native to the European Alps and Pyrenees. Zones 4-8.
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