Shopping-List Plants for the Midwest

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

To help you make the best choices, we’ve asked regional garden experts to tell us what plants are on their spring shopping lists. These plants serve a range of purposes in the garden, but all are region-specific stars. From out-of-this-world flowers to show-stopping foliage and everything in-between, discover fantastic plants that would be a welcome addition to any garden in the region.

Find great shopping-list plants for the Midwest below, and check out this comprehensive collection of articles to discover more springtime planting and planning inspiration.

Name: Hibiscus ‘Airbrush Effect’

Zones: 4–9

Size: 3½ to 4 feet tall and 4 to 4½ feet wide

Conditions: Full sun; average to moist soil

Native range: Hybrid of North American species

If you need something special to plant outside your kitchen window or you want flowers you can spot from across the yard, this exceptionally brilliant hibiscus is the one. Each 8-inch, ruffled, hot pink blossom has a white glow that emanates onto the petals from the small, deep red eye. Since so many flowers open at once, the whole canopy of dark green foliage becomes shrouded in vivid pink. It’s a breathtaking sight every year from midsummer into early fall. Because of its tropical look you might assume this is a tender perennial, but it is