Add 5 Difficult Flowers to Your Landscaping Project Design for Pops of Color (2024)

Even though gardening is a rewarding hobby, it can also bring about a host of challenges, especially when it comes to growing specific types of flowers. Certain flower garden options have a reputation for being very challenging to grow, and they need specific environments and careful attention to thrive. They typically need particular types of soil, exact watering routines, and the perfect amount of sun. Even the smallest deviation from these requirements causes them to grow slowly or stop flowering.

If you’re on the fence and not sure if you’re up for the challenge, learning about the issues these plants are prone to and learning about their specific needs is key. It’s possible to successfully grow even the most dramatic and demanding plants in your flower bed ideas, and this will transform it into a stunning display of color and movement.

1 Gardenias are Delicate But Demanding

Gardenias are prone to pests and diseases

Close up of a white gardenia flower with dark foliage.

People adore gardenias and love adding them to their garden ideas due to their strong smell and pretty white blooms, but they present an array of challenges that will frustrate even dedicated green thumbs. One huge issue with these flowering evergreen shrubs is their susceptibility to pest issues, like white flies, aphids, and spider mites. They can easily cause a lot of damage if you don’t quickly control them. Also, gardenias have issues with fungal diseases like root rot and powdery mildew, which thrive at higher humidity levels. Unfortunately, gardenias also love humidity.

• These issues can result in stunted growth, yellowing leaves, and a plant health decline, making it difficult to keep them pretty or showcase them in your landscaping designs.

Another challenge is the environmental needs these flowers demand. They need acidic soil with a precise pH level, and deviating from it leads to poor growth. They demand consistent moisture levels, and they won’t tolerate water logging or drought. Also, they love stability with the temperatures, and you'll get bud and leaf drop if the temperature suddenly fluctuates in the areas where you implement your flower bed ideas.

2 Dahlias Are Vibrant But High Maintenance

They’re prone to rot and require meticulous care

Close up of pink dahlia

Although dahlias look wonderful in a flower garden or landscaping designs (like a Victorian garden), growing them takes patience. Their issues with rot, especially tuber rot, are one of the main problems. It happens when the soil is too damp.

• They need well-draining types of soil, and they’ll quickly die if you water them too much due to fungal infections. The soil has to stay damp without being saturated, and these flowers also have issues with powdery mildew, especially when the humidity is high.

The fact that these plants need specific conditions to thrive with continuous sunshine or you’ll end up with weak and lanky plants with fewer blooms is a hassle with planning your flower bed ideas. They respond very poorly to temperature swings, and they have a very limited tolerance to temperatures outside a set range. If they do have temperature fluctuations, the plant will stress out, resulting in decreased blooming and stunted growth. So, you have to baby them along to keep them looking nice in your landscaping designs.

3 Bearded Iris Offers Challenges

They can suffer from rhizome rot and borers

Close up of a bearded iris flowers.

These are popular with flower bed ideas due to the striking, sword-like foliage and vibrant blooms it produces. However, they’re notorious for being finicky due to issues with borers and rhizome rot. Rhizome rot is common, especially if the soil doesn’t drain well, or it's in overly wet environments. The rhizomes are where the plant stores nutrients, and it’s easy to waterlog it and cause rot, which will quickly kill the plant.

• Careful watering routines and well-draining soil are the keys to growing these flowers.

Pests like iris borers are also huge problems for the bearded iris, and they will wreak havoc on the plants in your flower garden. They lay eggs in the fall on the foliage, and their larvae burrow into the plant’s rhizomes in the spring to feed and make tunnels. These tunnels leave the rhizome wide open to fungal and bacterial infections.

• The pests may cause yellowing leaves, wilting, and rotten rhizomes if you don’t remove the affected foliage and apply insecticides right when you spot them scurrying around your garden ideas.

4 Hellebores are Stunning with Specific Needs

They require specific soil conditions and are sensitive to frost

Red hellebores bloom

Hellebores (lenten roses) produce stunning spring flowers, and they grow well in partially shaded flower garden spaces for a garden that blooms all season long. However, they do have unique challenges that make them hard to grow. The need for organically-rich, well-drained soil seems easy at first glance, but they’re finicky. If the soil is too wet, they will get fungal infections or root rot. You have to carefully amend the soil so it’s rich and retains some water without holding too much in your landscaping designs to keep it healthy.

These blooms are also very vulnerable to frost damage, and it will easily cause damage to the blooms and foliage. Even though they’re hardier perennials to mix into your garden ideas, drops in temperatures are stressful. You’ll have to take steps to shield them from any late-winter or early spring frosts, like putting them by a wall so they’re out of the breeze or covering them with frost cloth. Also, since they prefer part shade, you need to shield them from excessive sunshine as it will scorch the foliage.

5 Jade Vines are Difficult, Tropical Treasures

They need a controlled tropical environment to thrive

Jade vine flowers in bloom

Famous for producing vivid turquoise flowers, jade vines are a stunning addition to your landscaping project or flower bed ideas. However, because of their specific environmental needs, they’re a challenge. They demand a controlled, tropical environment, and this is a huge stumbling block for some people. Their ideal conditions are humid and warm, and they’re extremely sensitive to temperature changes. They actually need a consistent temperature to grow, and it makes them hard to cultivate in non-tropical regions without a greenhouse.

The soil is another issue with these plants in your flower garden. Jade vines can’t stand being wet because this leads to root rot or other issues. You need to work to keep the soil consistently moist while ensuring it drains after you water it. The roots need moisture, but they can’t get soaked, so it’s common to have problems with overwatering or putting them in poorly drained soil. The leaves will scorch in direct sun, and inadequate light will stunt their growth while reducing how many flowers they produce.

• It can be difficult to maintain the ideal levels of light, heat, and moisture for these exotic plants, but doing so is essential to their health and flowering.

Embracing the Challenge of Growing Difficult Flowers

For dedicated gardeners, cultivating challenging blooms to put in their landscaping or flower bed ideas is a rewarding experience. Every plant has unique requirements and problems, requiring a high level of care and attention.

However, if you take the time to learn what these plants need before using them in your garden ideas, they’ll produce stunning, distinct blooms that elevate your space’s appeal. Accepting the challenge will allow you to grow some of the most beautiful and difficult plants that nature has to offer, which will bring you satisfaction.