If you're looking for low-maintenance outdoor plants for containers, there's one rule to keep in mind: Match the right plant with the right place. Placing a plant in its preferred growing conditions will lower effort on your part. This means keeping sun-loving container plants in a spot that gets direct sun for most of the day, and keeping shade plants for containers in indirect light. Here's a list of low-maintenance outdoor plants and herbs for both sun and shade—plus tips for simplifying care.
Low-Maintenance Outdoor Plants for Containers
Containers overflowing with gorgeous plants don't have to be high maintenance. Here are a few outdoor plants for sunny and shady spots to get you started.
Sun-Loving Plants for Containers
- Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is an ornamental grass with spiky, purple foliage that adds height and bulk a low-maintenance container garden. It is heat tolerant and gets quite tall in a garden bed but will be more subdued in a planter.
- Supertunias are heat-tolerant hybrids that don't need much maintenance beyond regular watering. Plant them with a controlled-release fertilizer, and they'll be happy. No deadheading is required, making these flowering powerhouses an easy choice. They're available in typical petunia colors, including white, pinks, purples, reds, yellows, and fun multi-colored patterns.
- Angelface, and other angelonia hybrids, are vertical stunners perfect for adding taller elements to a flowering container garden. They like the sunshine and tolerate both overwatering and a little neglect. The new angelonia hybrids will keep blooming until frost in fall and are self-cleaning, so no deadheading is required.
- Salvias
