Angel&#x27;s fishing rod

Eastern Australian temperate forests

Fynbos shrubland

New Zealand North Island temperate forests

Edwards Plateau savanna

Piney Woods

Puget lowland forests

Willamette Valley oak savanna

Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'

Plant this, not that

Better fit for this place

For Chicago, IL, these are replacement suggestions: similar plants with a stronger hardiness fit now and/or in 2050.

Autumn-joy stonecrop

A clump-forming herbaceous perennial grown for its showy late-season flower heads: masses of tiny star-like flowers borne in flattened cymes 3 to 6 inches across that emerge rosy pink, deepen to rose-red, and fade to coppery-rust as they die. Gray-green, fleshy, succulent-like leaves form upright clumps to about 24 inches. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies, and its foliage and dead inflorescences persist into winter for added interest.

The classic white-and-yellow garden daisy - a clump-forming herbaceous perennial bearing showy single flower heads of white ray florets around a yellow central disc from midsummer into fall. A garden hybrid bred by Luther Burbank in the 1890s near snow-covered Mt. Shasta in northern California, it grows 2 to 3 feet tall and is a mainstay of the perennial border, cottage garden, and cutting garden. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant, attracts butterflies, and is resistant to deer and rabbit browsing.

Better fit now and in 2050

Now: well-suited

2050: well-suited

Leucanthemum × superbum

Shasta daisy

A tall, bold warm-season annual from Mexico and Guatemala (the "African" name is a misnomer of its European garden history) grown for large, fully double, pompon-like flowerheads in saturated yellow, gold, and orange over strongly aromatic, finely divided foliage. Plants reach 1 to 4 feet and bloom from early summer to frost in full sun. The petals are edible and used as a culinary garnish and natural dye, and the flowers are the iconic "flor de muerto" of Mexican Day of the Dead. Despite the wide listed zone range it is frost-tender and grown for a single warm season.

Better fit now and in 2050

Now: well-suited

2050: well-suited

Tagetes erecta

African marigold

Annual

A native upright perennial of east-central NA wet meadows producing dense purple flower spikes that bloom top-down in late summer - among the most reliable monarch-migration nectar plants in the eastern flora. NC State documents goldfinches feeding on the seeds with enthusiasm, plus two specialist moth larvae (Liatris flower moth Schinia sanguinea and Liatris borer moth Carmenta anthracipennis). Native stem-nesting bees use the dead winter stems.

Better fit now and in 2050

Now: well-suited

2050: well-suited

Liatris spicata

Dense blazing star

Better fit now and in 2050

Now: well-suited

2050: well-suited

Similar plants

Browse lateral options with similar roles, light needs, size, or native-range overlap; these are not filtered for a better climate fit.

Agapanthus praecox

African lily

A bold, clump-forming evergreen perennial from South Africa, grown for big rounded umbels of trumpet-shaped blue (or white) flowers held on tall bare stalks above arching, strap-shaped leaves in mid-to-late summer. It is widely sold as "lily of the Nile," but that is a misnomer - the plant is South African (the Cape provinces and KwaZulu-Natal), not from the Nile. Spectacular and easy in warm climates, this evergreen Agapanthus is frost-tender, so in cold-winter areas it is grown in a container and overwintered under cover. The RHS has given several Agapanthus praecox forms its Award of Garden Merit and rates this evergreen species half-hardy (H3 - needs winter protection).

Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'

Autumn-joy stonecrop

A clump-forming herbaceous perennial grown for its showy late-season flower heads: masses of tiny star-like flowers borne in flattened cymes 3 to 6 inches across that emerge rosy pink, deepen to rose-red, and fade to coppery-rust as they die. Gray-green, fleshy, succulent-like leaves form upright clumps to about 24 inches. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies, and its foliage and dead inflorescences persist into winter for added interest.

Amaryllis belladonna, the belladonna lily (also Jersey lily, naked-lady, or March lily), is a bulbous perennial geophyte from the Western Cape of South Africa. It is grown for its dramatic autumn display: leafless stems carry umbels of 6-12 fragrant, funnel-shaped pink to rose flowers that appear before the strap-shaped leaves emerge (a hysteranthous "naked lady" habit). It suits the front-to-mid border, gravel and Mediterranean-style plantings, and large containers in a hot, sheltered, sun-baked spot. Be plain about two cautions: the bulb is only modestly frost-hardy (roughly USDA 8/9-11; RHS H4) and is best given the warmest, driest position available in cooler areas, and ALL parts of the plant are TOXIC, containing lycorine and related Amaryllidaceae alkaloids that cause vomiting and diarrhea if eaten by people or pets. It also naturalizes readily in mild Mediterranean climates, so site it where self-sown spread is welcome.

A tuberous-rooted member of the aster family native to Mexico and Central America, grown for showy summer-to-fall blooms in nearly every color except blue. Hybrids in commerce span ten flower-form groups (single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous) and range from 1 to 6 feet tall. Winter-hardy only to USDA Zones 7-10; in colder regions the tubers are lifted in fall and stored frost-free, so most North American gardeners grow it as a summer annual.

Eucomis comosa, the pineapple lily or wine eucomis, is a deciduous summer-growing bulb in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), endemic to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. From a large, often purple bulb it sends up a basal rosette of strap-shaped leaves and a stout flower spike packed with white-to-purple star flowers, crowned by a tuft of leafy bracts that gives it a pineapple-like silhouette in mid-to-late summer. It is a striking focal-point and container subject for borders, prized for its long-lasting bloom. Hardiness is the load-bearing caution: it is frost-tender to only borderline-hardy (RHS H4, roughly USDA 8–10, surviving brief dips near 23 to 14°F in well-drained, sheltered ground), so in colder climates it is grown in pots and lifted or moved under cover for winter, and it resents winter wet. The bulb and foliage contain saponins and can cause mild mouth irritation, drooling, and stomach upset if eaten, so keep it away from pets and children.

Leucanthemum × superbum

Shasta daisy

The classic white-and-yellow garden daisy - a clump-forming herbaceous perennial bearing showy single flower heads of white ray florets around a yellow central disc from midsummer into fall. A garden hybrid bred by Luther Burbank in the 1890s near snow-covered Mt. Shasta in northern California, it grows 2 to 3 feet tall and is a mainstay of the perennial border, cottage garden, and cutting garden. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant, attracts butterflies, and is resistant to deer and rabbit browsing.