Tough Plants for Sunny Traffic Islands

This list was prepared from plants suggested for traffic islands by Marylyn Benson, Cricket Vlass, and Sally Muspratt.

Images of these plants taken from the web and arranged in the following order can be seen at http://smmgardens.com/toughplants/toughplants.html. Click on thumbnails for larger images.

Annuals: Upright:

Argeranthemum ‘Butterfly’ Marguerite h. 1-2′. sp 1′
Angelonia angustifolia Angel Flower h. 1.5′, sp. 1′
Canna ‘Tropicanna’ Canna h 5-7′, sp. 2.5′
Capsicum annuum Ornamental Peppers variable
Cynara cardunculus Giant Cardoon h. 6′, sp. 2.5′
Cosmos ‘Sonata’ Cosmos h. 1-1.5′, sp. 15″
Gomphrena ‘Strawberry Fields’ Gomphrena h. 1.5′, sp. 1′
Helianthus annuus Sunflower h. 3-10′, sp. 1-2.5′
Nicotiana sylvestris Woodland Tobacco h. 3-5′, sp. 2.5′
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Toto Lemon’ Black-eyed Susan h. 8-10″, sp. 1′
Salvia ‘Victoria Blue’ Sage h. 1-2′, sp. 15″
Solenostemon scuttelaroides ‘Limelight’ Limelight coleus h. 12″, sp. 12″
Tagetes cultivars Marigold variable
Verbena bonariensis Verbena h. 3-4′, sp. 15″
Zinnia ‘Profusion’ & ‘Crystal’ Zinnia angustifolia h. 15″, sp. 1′

Annuals: Trailers or ground covers : All under 1′; sp.1′ unless noted

Ageratum ‘Blue Mink’ Cushion Flower h. 6-8″, sp. 9″
Bacopa ‘Giant Snwfl’, ‘Candy Floss Blue’ Bacopa (AKA Sutera)
Bidens ‘Peter’s Gold Carpet’ Bidens
Calibrachoa ‘Terra Cotta’ Million Bells
Diascia barberae ‘Coral Belles’ Diascia
Helichrysum petiolare Licorice Plant
Ipomea ‘Blackie’, ‘Terrace Lime’ Sweet Potato Vine
Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ Golden Creeping Jenny h. below 6″, sp. 2′
Petunia ‘Wave’, Surfinia Petunia ‘Wave’ mounds up
Plectranthus ‘Lemon Twist”Mona L Plectrantus h. 1-2′
Scaevola aemula ‘Blue Wonder’ Fan Flower h. 4-9″

Perennials:

Agastache ‘Firebird’ Firebird’ Agastache h. 2-3′, sp. 1′
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ Hyssop h. 3′, sp. 2′
Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta Calamintha h. 1′, sp. 15″
Chrysanthemum nipponicum Nippon Daisy h. 2.5′, sp. 2.5′
Chrysanthemem w. ‘White Bomb’ Dendranthemum? h. 1′, sp. 1′
Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ Moonbm. Coreopsis h. 1.5-2′, sp.1′
Coreopsis verticillata‘Crème Brulee’ Crème Brulee corep. h. 1.5-2′, sp. 1′
Echinaceae purpurea Purple Coneflower h. 1.5-4′, sp. 1.5′
Echinaceae p. ‘White Swan’ White Coneflowr. h. 1.5-4′, sp. 1.5′
Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’ Woodspurge h. 2′, sp. 1.5′
Hemerocallis ‘Happy Returns’, ‘Stella d’Oro’ Dayliliesh.1-2′, sp. 18″
Heuchera ‘Cascade Dawn’ Coralbells h. 8″, sp. 1′
Hosta ‘Golden Tiara’ Hosta h. 1′, sp. 16″;
Hosta ‘Krossa Regal’ Hosta h. 2.5′, sp. 3′
Irisa pallida albo variegata Variegated Iris h. 3′, sp. 18″
Iris siberica ‘Caesar’s Brother’ Caeser’s Brother Iris h. 3′, sp. 2′
Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’ Gayfeather h. 3-4′, sp. 1′
Lamiastrum g. ‘Florentinum’ VariegatedArchangel h. 1.5′, sp. 1.5′
Nepeta f. ‘Blue Wonder’ Catmint h. 1′, sp. 2′
Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Seashell’ Seashell Peony h. 1.5′, sp. 2′
Perovskia atripicifolia Russian Sage h. 3-4′, sp. 2′
Phlox paniculata ‘David’ Garden Phlox h. 3-3.5′, sp. 1.5′
Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ Black-eyed Susan h. 1.5-2′, sp. 1.5′
Salvia s. ‘Blue Hills’, ‘May Night’ Salvia h. 1.5′, sp. 1.5
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ Stonecrop h. 1.5′, sp. 1.5′
Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’ Lamb’s Ears h. 1′. sp. 1′
Yucca filamentosa Adam’s Needle h. 4-6′, sp. 2-3′
Yucca filamentosa ‘Gold Sword’ Variegated Adam’s Needle h. 4-6′, sp. 2-3′.

Grasses:

Calamagrostis a. ‘Stricta”Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass h. 3-6′, sp. 2.5′
Festuca ovina ‘Elijah Blue’ Blue Fescue h. 8-18″, sp. 1′
Helictotrichon sempervirens Blue Oat Grass h. 2′, sp. 1.5′-2′
Miscanthus sininsis ‘Gracillimus’ M.s. Gracillimus h. 7′, sp. 3′
Miscanthus sininsis ‘Morning Light’ M.s Morning Light h. 4-5′. sp. 3′
Miscanthus sininsis ‘Pupurascens’ Flame grass h. 4-5′, sp. 2.5′
Miscanthus sininsis ‘Zebrinus’ Zebra grass h. 6-8′, sp.4′
Panicum v. ‘Heavy Metal’ Switch Grass h. 4-5′, sp. 1.5-2′
Pennisetum alopecuroides Fountain Grass h. 2-3′, sp. 3.5′
Pennisetum a. ‘Hameln’ short fount,grass h. 1.5-2.5′, sp. 14″
Pennisetum s. ‘Rubrum’ (annual) Fountain Grass h. 3′, sp. 15″
Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Majesty’ Ornamental Millet h. 3-4′, sp. 1′
Stipa tenuissima (annual) Ponytail Grass h. 15-18″, sp. 18″

Shrubs:

Buddleia davidii cultivars Butterfly Bush h. 6-8′, sp. 6-8′
Caryopteris x c. ‘Worcester’s Gold’ Bluebeard h. 2-3′, sp. 2.5′
Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ & ‘Ivory Halo’ Variegated Redtwig Dogwood h.2-4′, sp. 2.5′
Fothergilla major ‘Mt. Airy’ Fothergilla h. 5-6′, sp. 4′
Ilex glabra ‘Shamrock’ Inkberry h. 3-5′. sp. 2.5′
Juniperus chinensis ‘Sargentii’ Green Sargent Juniper h. 1.5-2′, sp. ? 3-6′
Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’ Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper h. 8″, sp. ? 3-5′
Pinus mugo ‘Slowmound’ Dwarf Mugo Pin h. 3′. sp. 2.5′
Rosa hybrida ‘Carefree Beauty’ Carefree Beauty Rose h. 3-4′, sp. 2.5′
Spirea japonica ‘Little Princess’ Spirea’Little Princess’ h. 2.5, sp. 2.5′
Spirea japonica ‘Shirobami’ Spirea ‘Shirobami’ h. 3′, sp. 2.5′