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Zone 6 Perennials

Our lifecycle filter returns 686 herbaceous-perennial or bulb records with a stored range including zone 6 (-10 to 0°F). Explicit annual/biennial records without a perennial or bulb lifecycle are excluded even when a broad type tag says perennial. This is a classification, not a survival forecast.

A perennial border along a stone wall, with alliums and helenium in flower — “Herbaceous Border Oxford Botanic Garden” by BVBurton · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and saved as WebP.

Not sure which zone you are in? Look it up by ZIP code

Zone 6a and zone 6b

Zone 6a represents -10 to -5°F and 6b -5 to 0°F in average annual extreme minimum temperature. Our records use whole-zone ranges, so this list cannot resolve borderline half-zone cultivar ratings. A zone does not supply first/last frost dates or a planting date; check local weather and extension calendars.

What actually kills perennials in zone 6

A winter range is only one condition. Check drainage, light, cultivar and establishment before buying. This catalogue filters recorded lifecycle fields; it does not measure the cause of plant loss or the probability of return at your site.

Showing 36 of 686, sorted to span the back, middle and front of a bed. Filter by light to narrow it.

Zone 6

Typical annual minimum: -10 to 0°F(-23 to -18°C)
Matching species in our library: 686

Design a zone 6 garden with AI →

Japanese Spikenard
Aralia cordata 'Sun King'
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
3–6 ft
Mature height
3–6 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Broadleaf Tickseed
Silphidium latifolium
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
3–5 ft
Mature height
2–4 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Calamint
Clinopodium nepeta
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
1–2 ft
Mature height
1–1.5 ft
Est. price
$8–20
American Bugbane
Actaea podocarpa
perennial
Zones
3–9
Spacing
2–4 ft
Mature height
3–8 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Blue False Indigo
Baptisia australis
perennial
Zones
3–9
Spacing
3–4 ft
Mature height
3–4 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Blunt-lobed Cliff Fern
Woodsia obtusa
perennial
Zones
1–10
Spacing
2–2.5 ft
Mature height
1–1.5 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Aster
Aster
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
1–3 ft
Mature height
0.5–8 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Autumn Goldenrod
Solidago sphacelata
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
1–1.5 ft
Mature height
1–6 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Aspen Fleabane
Erigeron speciosus
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
1–2 ft
Mature height
1–2 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Dog-Tooth Daisy.
Helenium
perennial
Zones
3–9
Spacing
1–2 ft
Mature height
2–15 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Bleeding Heart
Lamprocapnos spectabilis
perennial
Zones
3–9
Spacing
1–3 ft
Mature height
2–3 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Alpine Violet
Cyclamen
perennial
Zones
4–11
Spacing
0.67–1 ft
Mature height
0.33–1 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Hollow Joe Pye Weed
Eutrochium fistulosum
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
2–4 ft
Mature height
4–8 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Alecost
Tanacetum balsamita
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
1.33–3.5 ft
Mature height
0.67–6 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Hardy Gloxinia
Incarvillea
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
1.5–2 ft
Mature height
1.5–2 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia
perennial
Zones
4–10
Spacing
1–3 ft
Mature height
2–10 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Eastern Red Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
perennial
Zones
3–8
Spacing
1–1.5 ft
Mature height
2–3 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Lowland Brittle Fern
Cystopteris protrusa
perennial
Zones
2–9
Spacing
0.5–1.5 ft
Mature height
0.5–1.5 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Prairie-dock
Silphium terebinthinaceum
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
1–3 ft
Mature height
4–10 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Appalachian Blue Monkshood
Aconitum uncinatum
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
0–5 ft
Mature height
2–4 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Dwarf Dandelion
Krigia montana
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
0.5–1 ft
Mature height
0.67–1.67 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Common Nettle
Urtica dioica
perennial
Zones
4–10
Spacing
1–3 ft
Mature height
3–9 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Deutschland Astilbe
Astilbe japonica 'Deutschland'
perennial
Zones
4–9
Spacing
1.5–2 ft
Mature height
1.5–2 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Oxblood Lilies
Hypoxis
perennial
Zones
3–10
Spacing
0.5–1 ft
Mature height
0.33–1 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Green panda bamboo
Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda'
perennial
Zones
5–8
Spacing
6–10 ft
Mature height
6–10 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Baneberry
Actaea simplex
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
0–2 ft
Mature height
3–4 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Oconee Bells
Shortia galacifolia
perennial
Zones
5–7
Spacing
0.5–1 ft
Mature height
0.33–0.67 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Golden Crown
Anacis tripteris
perennial
Zones
3–8
Spacing
2–8 ft
Mature height
2–10 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Eastern Wood Fern
Dryopteris marginalis
perennial
Zones
3–8
Spacing
1.5–3 ft
Mature height
1.5–2 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Arnica
Melampodium leucanthum
perennial
Zones
4–11
Spacing
1–2 ft
Mature height
0.5–1 ft
Est. price
$8–20
American Spider Lily
Lilium superbum
perennial
Zones
5–8
Spacing
0.5–1 ft
Mature height
4–8 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
1.5–3 ft
Mature height
3–5 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Red Bugbane
Actaea rubra
perennial
Zones
4–8
Spacing
0.67–1 ft
Mature height
1–2 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Maximilian Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani
perennial
Zones
4–9
Spacing
2–4 ft
Mature height
2–10 ft
Est. price
$24–55
Blazing Star 'Kobold'
Liatris spicata 'Kobold'
perennial
Zones
3–8
Spacing
0.5–1 ft
Mature height
1.5–2.5 ft
Est. price
$8–20
Garlic Onion
Allium moly
perennial
Zones
3–9
Spacing
0.83–1 ft
Mature height
0.83–1.5 ft
Est. price
$8–20

How to narrow this list

149 of them take shade

Light is the filter that changes this list most, and it is the one most people get wrong: a plant rated for your zone still dies in the wrong light within a season. Use the light filter above to cut the list to what your site actually gets.

390 bloom across more than one season

A border that peaks for three weeks in June and goes quiet is the usual result of buying whatever is flowering at the nursery the day you visit. These carry bloom across at least two of spring, summer and autumn, which is the cheapest way to stop that happening.

373 of them deer tend to leave alone

Recorded by the authority as deer-tolerant, which is not the same as deer-proof — a hungry enough deer in a hard enough winter eats things this list says it will not. It is a strong preference, not a fence.

What a 10 × 4 ft bed costs

Budget from the measured area and mature spread of your selected plants. Container-size prices here are internal planning estimates, not a live nursery survey. Ask suppliers for current stock, sizes, quantities, delivery and installation costs.

A perennial-only border has no back row

The filter includes 25 records assigned to the back layer, compared with 1,017 across the complete zone 6 library. These are catalogue layout groups, not a rule requiring shrubs or a claim that perennial-only borders cannot work.

Put these in your own yard

Explore a planting concept from a photo, then compare the image and reference list with the real site. A zone match is not a survival or exact-species guarantee.

Design a garden for zone 6 AI Backyard Design for enclosed yards

Neighbouring zones

Zone 5 — one step colder Zone 7 — one step milder

Where these numbers come from

The ZIP lookup uses PRISM Climate Group’s 2023 hardiness data (40,502 ZIP records). The catalogue uses stored NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden records. A versioned public extract and filtering method are linked below; upstream lifecycle and plant-type tags can conflict.

Card prices are internal container-size budgeting estimates, not current nursery quotes or stock checks. Verify lifecycle, cultivar, local restrictions, soil, drainage and dimensions. This is not the official USDA map.

The lifecycle filter excludes 73 conflicting or known woody records. Missing lifecycle fields on the hand-curated set are retained; the public extract identifies them. Check exact cultivars and local conditions. Rebuild the counts when source classifications change.