14 Giant Perennials That Will Make a Big Impact in Your Garden

It may look like a tender tropical plant, but perennial hibiscus is hardy enough to withstand freezing winters. This giant plant produces 12-inch-wide flowers in stunning shades of red, pink, and white on stems that can tower over your garden. It's slow to emerge in spring, but once it does it grows quickly.

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in moist, well-drained soil (hibiscus plants don't like drying out)

Size: Up to 7 feet tall

Zones: 5-10

Buy It: Hibiscus 'Airbrush Effect,' $20.00, Plant Delights Nursery

Grow oriental lilies for a colorful and fragrant living screen. These hardy beauties reach 4 to 6 feet tall (or more) and produce huge flowers in red, pink, and white. The cut flowers will also make bouquets more dramatic and eye-catching thanks to their enormous, intricate blooms.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil that's rich in organic matter

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Buy It: 12 Giant Stargazer Oriental Lily Bulbs, $17.32, Walmart

Attract butterflies to your garden with Joe Pye weed. It's a tough-as-nails perennial that will quickly spring up in your garden. In late summer, the plant produces waves of nectar-rich pink flowers that butterflies love.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in consistently moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 8 feet tall

Zones: 3-10

Buy It: Joe Pye Weed, $8.95, Grower's Exchange

Make stunning cut-flower arrangements with delphiniums. This summer-garden classic bears spikes of intensely colored blossoms in shades of blue, purple, white, and pink. The biggest varieties can reach 6 feet tall, though you can also find dwarf selections if you have a small garden. Cut down spent blossoms to coax another flush of blooms.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in rich, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 3-7

Buy It: 1000 Mixed Delphinium Seeds, $14.95, Walmart

Heat- and drought-resistant, easy-care 'Herbstonne' black-eyed Susan will add a burst of yellow to the back of the border. This perennial soars to 6 feet tall and produces bright blooms from midsummer to early fall.

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: 'Herbstonne' Black-Eyed Susan, $55.95, Nature Hills

Lend old-fashioned charm to your perennial border with hollyhock. Known for its tall spires of colorful blooms, hollyhock is the perfect back-of-the-border plant. Just take note: If you live in a windy area, you may need to stake these plants to keep them standing upright.

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 8 feet tall

Zones: 3-8

Buy It: Double Pink Hollyhock, $14.99, The Home Depot

Try edging your back fence with stunning boltonia. This underused North American native plant looks like a 6-foot-tall aster. It puts on a big fall show when covered in starry white or pink flowers.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Buy It: Boltonia 'Snowbank,' $12.95, Bluestone Perennials

Create color and interest in hard-to-landscape shady spots with goatsbeard. This fun plant looks like a giant astilbe with its finely divided foliage and early-summer plumes of creamy-white flowers.

Light: Shade or part sun

Water: Plant in consistently moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 3-7

Buy It: 'Chantilly Lace' Goatsbeard, $17.99, Proven Winners

Wow your friends with this amazing bulb. In summer, giant lily (Cardiocrinum giganteum) produces spikes of up to 20 big white flowers with maroon stripes and a rich scent. The plant itself can easily reach towering heights and thrives in part shade.

Light: Part shade

Water: Plant in moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 9 feet tall

Zones: 7-9

Buy It: Giant Himalayan Lily, $18.00, Plant Delights Nursery

Give your garden a festive appearance with queen of the prairie's fluffy, cotton-candylike heads of fragrant pink flowers. Also called meadowsweet, this easy-growing wildflower has toothed, dark-green foliage that's a great accent to the blooms and a striking backdrop for other perennials.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 8 feet tall

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: Queen of the Prairie Seeds, $3.95, American Meadows

A perfect perennial if you have a lot of space and want to make a big statement, plume poppy produces airy clusters of flowers over big, tropical-looking leaves. One note: It's a fast spreader and needs lots of room to grow.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in moist, well-drained soil

Size: Up to 7 feet tall

Zones: 3-8

Buy It: Plume Poppy, $10.95, Heritage Flower Farm

Give your garden a touch of the exotic with gunnera. Everything about this perennial seems prehistoric, from its 6-foot-wide leaves to its weird flowers and spiny stems. Get an established specimen going in your garden and it might seem like a dinosaur could be hiding behind the 8-foot-tall mound.

Light: Part sun

Water: Plant in consistently moist, fertile soil

Size: Up to 10 feet tall

Zones: 7-10

Buy It: Gunnera manicata, $19.95, White Flower Farm

Add garden drama with cannas. Their big leaves and brilliantly colored blooms in shades of yellow, orange, red, and pink will instantly lend your garden a tropical feel. You can also find varieties with variegated leaves that make an even bigger statement. Dwarf cannas may only grow 3 feet tall, while others can soar much higher.

Light: Full sun or part sun

Water: Plant in consistently moist soil

Size: Up to 8 feet tall

Zones: 7-10; in colder areas you can dig and store the tubers in a frost-free place for the winter

Buy It: 5 Giant Canna Bulbs, $29.99, The Home Depot

Standing tall over the prairies of North America (or your garden), cup plant produces golden daisies on sturdy 8-foot-tall stems from midsummer to early fall. Wondering where its name comes from? The upper leaves attach and clasp the stem, creating a "cup" that holds water for birds and other critters.

Light: Full sun

Water: Plant in well-drained, consistently moist soil

Size: Up to 8 feet tall

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: 150 Cup Plant Seeds, $2.50, Walmart