This includes choices such as “Evergreen Tree” or “Deciduous Shrub” for woody plants, and “Hardy Perennial” or “Fern” for herbaceous plants.  Plant typing would also encompass size and life cycle categories including: Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Ground Covers, and Annuals.

Height and width of woody plants are shown in feet. Measurements indicate the expected mature size of the plant when informally pruned. Heights and widths of herbaceous plants are shown in inches, while widths indicated for herbaceous perennials refers to the width of a well-established plant, usually 3 to 4 years old.

Design use of plants defines the function of the plant in the landscape and include: key plants, accent plants, specimen plants, species/cultivar group and mass plants. Landscape use refers to the specific purpose of the plant in a landscape. Most plants are appropriate for a variety of different kinds of landscape purposes — edible, natural, pollinator-friendly, etc

Light indicates the best light conditions for each plant. In general, “full sun” means at least six hours of sunlight each day; “part sun” needs 3 to 6 hours of sun; “part shade” needs 3 to 6 hours of shade; “full shade” is at least six hours of shade each day; deep shade is almost no sun.

Zone refers to the range of USDA hardiness zones in which a plant will survive or thrive. All perennial plants in this database are hardy to USDA zone 4 without protection, unless otherwise noted. Find your zone here: USDA Hardiness Map

Soil lists conditions optimal for plant performance or that a plant will tolerate. Most plants can survive in a wide range of soil conditions with proper care and maintenance. “Prefer” indicates a plant will perform best in a particular soil type. “Tolerates” indicates a plant will grow, but its performance may be somewhat reduced.