Zone 6 Plants for Color, Structure, and Seasonal Interest

USDA Zone 6 gives gardeners plenty of options for building colorful, layered landscapes. The zone is defined by an average annual extreme minimum winter temperature of -10°F to 0°F, with Zone 6a covering -10°F to -5°F and Zone 6b covering -5°F to 0°F.

Garden Crossings offers Zone 6 plants suited to these winter conditions, including flowering shrubs, evergreens, and other landscape choices. The current collection includes plants for full sun, part shade, and full shade, making it easier to match your selections to the conditions in your yard.

Lavender Bubbles' Allium, an ornamental onion with round, vivid purple blooms, creates a striking display against green grass, adding bold color and interest with blurred grass in the background - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.
Dense green foliage with variegated leaves and clusters of pink, tubular flower buds make Vinho Verde® Weigela a vibrant and colorful variegated shrub for any garden - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.Close-up of Vinho Verde® Weigela's dense green leaves edged and veined in purple, offering a striking contrast creatomg vibrant, eye-catching foliage - Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners, Inc.

Vinho Verde® Weigela

$17.24
$22.99 $17.24

The 'Viva Polonia' Clematis features vibrant pink blooms with six large petals and dark red stamens at the center stands out amid green leaves and background potted plants - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC. A cluster of vibrant 'Viva Polonia' Clematis flowers, featuring white centers and green leaves, stands out against a dark background - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.

Viva Polonia' Clematis

$22.99
$22.99
Wanda Purple' Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum) showcases vibrant magenta blooms with lush green foliage—an ideal fall-blooming flower to enhance any garden. - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLCA close-up of 'Wanda Purple' Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum) shows dense clusters of vibrant blooms with layered petals and some unopened buds, highlighting the striking beauty of these fall-blooming flowers. - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC

Wanda Purple' Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum)

$11.99
$11.99
Close-up of vibrant red Wanda Red' Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum) in full bloom with some green buds, surrounded by dark green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLCA dense cluster of vibrant red Wanda Red' Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum) in full bloom, with green leaves peeking through beneath the flowers - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC

Wanda Red' Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum)

$11.99
$11.99

The Wanda™ Bronze Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum) features lush green leaves and abundant orange-red fall blooms, presented in a pot against a white background. - Photo Courtesy of Ball Horticulture

Wanda™ Bronze Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum)

$11.99
$11.99
A cluster of Wanda™ Lavender Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum) blooms, showcasing vibrant pink-lavender petals and rounded buds amid dark green foliage—a stunning fall-blooming perennial for your garden. - Photo Courtesy of Ball Horticulture

Wanda™ Lavender Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum)

$11.99
$11.99
A close-up of Wedding Party® 'Black Tie Affair' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) shows pale double petals edged in purple with dark veins, green leaves, and yellow stamens - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.A hand holds the Wedding Party® 'Black Tie Affair' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), a shade perennial with green leaves and two layered dark purple and white flowers featuring showy yellow stamens - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Black Tie Affair' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

A hand holds a Wedding Party® 'Blushing Bridesmaid' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) bloom, showing light pink petals edged in magenta with intricate veining and a center of pale green and white stamens - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.A hand holds a Wedding Party® 'Blushing Bridesmaid' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) with double white petals edged and veined in purple, pale yellow stamens, and lush green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.

Wedding Party® 'Blushing Bridesmaid' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

A close-up of Wedding Party® 'Childhood Sweetheart' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), a striking spring perennial with cream petals streaked with dark red and layered blooms, set against a backdrop of rich green leaves and red flowers - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Childhood Sweetheart' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$17.99
$17.99
A close-up of a hand gently holding a Wedding Party® 'Confetti Cake' Lenten Rose, a pale cream flower with dark purple speckles and layered petals, among green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.Close-up of Wedding Party® 'Confetti Cake' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), a shade perennial with layered white petals speckled dark purple near the center and pale yellow stamens, set against a softly blurred woodland garden backdrop - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Confetti Cake' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

A hand gently holds a blooming Wedding Party® 'Dark and Handsome' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), showcasing deep purple, double-layered petals, pale yellow stamens, and green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.Close-up of Wedding Party® 'Dark and Handsome' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), featuring deep purple-black layered petals, striking yellow stamens, and lush green foliage - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Dark and Handsome' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

Wedding Party® 'Dashing Groomsman' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) features dark purple double blooms and lush green leaves—some flowers open, others in bud - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.A close-up of Wedding Party® 'Dashing Groomsman' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) with double dark purple blooms and green leaves in a terracotta pot against a black background - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc. Decorative pot not included.

Wedding Party® 'Dashing Groomsman' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

A close-up of Wedding Party® 'Father of the Bride' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) displays pale yellow petals with maroon speckles at the center, surrounded by lush green leaves - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.Close-up of pale yellow Wedding Party® 'Father of the Bride' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) flowers with purple-speckled centers and green leaves, growing in a pot - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc. Decorative pot not included.

Wedding Party® 'Father of the Bride' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$19.99
$19.99
Close-up if a single bloom of the Wedding Party® 'First Dance' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) features pale yellow blooms with ruffled petals lightly edged in pink, set against lush green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.A close-up of Wedding Party® 'First Dance' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) shows pale yellow and cream flowers with light green centers and purple-tinged edges, densely clustered - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'First Dance' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99
A hand holds four pale pink, ruffled double blooms of Wedding Party® 'Flower Girl' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) with greenish-white centers against green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.Close-up of the Wedding Party® 'Flower Girl' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) features pale pink double blooms amid green leaves, with additional softly blurred flowers and foliage in the background - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.

Wedding Party® 'Flower Girl' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

A hand gently holds a vibrant purple-pink double blooming perennial, Wedding Party® 'Maid of Honor' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), with ruffled petals and yellow stamens among green leaves and a blurred background - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.Close-up of Wedding Party® 'Maid of Honor' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) featuring ruffled pink and white double blooms with green leaves, intricate veining, and other Lenten Rose flowers and foliage in the background - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.

Wedding Party® 'Maid of Honor' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99
Close-up of Wedding Party® 'Mother of the Bride' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) in pale yellow with light pink edges, set among green leaves and other purple-tinged double blooms and buds - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.A close-up of the Wedding Party® 'Mother of the Bride' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), featuring its pale pink and yellow double blooms with layered petals and green leaves in the background - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Mother of the Bride' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

Two hands gently hold three Wedding Party® 'Shotgun Wedding' Lenten Rose flowers—purple and white with yellow centers—amid green leaves - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Shotgun Wedding' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99

Close-up of several cut Wedding Party® 'True Love' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) blooms showing dark purple-pink layered petals and pale yellow stamens, set against green foliage - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.A hand gently holds a deep burgundy, double-petaled Wedding Party® 'True Love' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) with pale yellow stamens in the center, surrounded by green leaves and more buds of this striking shade perennial - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.

Wedding Party® 'True Love' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99
A hand gently holds a snow white, multi-layered Wedding Party® 'Wedding Bells' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) with a green center and delicate petals, surrounded by green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.A close-up of Wedding Party® 'Wedding Bells' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) reveals delicate white petals and yellow-green centers, densely clustered and softly lit to highlight the beauty of this perennial shade flower - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Wedding Bells' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99
A close-up of the Wedding Party® 'Wedding Crasher' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), an early spring bloomer with multiple pink petals speckled with darker spots, yellow stamens at the center, and green foliage - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Wedding Crasher' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$18.99
$18.99
Close-up of Wedding Party® 'Whirlwind Romance' Lenten Rose (Helleborus) with double purple and white flowers, yellow stamens, and green leaves - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.A close-up of Wedding Party® 'Whirlwind Romance' Lenten Rose (Helleborus), a deer and rabbit-resistant perennial featuring double-layered purple and white blooms with yellow stamens and striking dark purple-edged petals - Photo Courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Wedding Party® 'Whirlwind Romance' Lenten Rose (Helleborus)

$20.99
$20.99

Close-up of a vibrant Wee Bit Giddy® Bigleaf Hydrangea in full bloom, featuring bright pink flowers surrounded by green leaves and small yellow-green buds - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.A close-up of a vibrant pink Wee Bit Giddy® Bigleaf Hydrangea flower cluster surrounded by dark green leaves - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC.

Wee Bit Giddy® Bigleaf Hydrangea

$22.99
$22.99

Two clusters of Wee Bit Grumpy® Bigleaf Hydrangea, one purple and one bright pink, are surrounded by large dark green leaves, with vibrant blooms and hints of reblooming hydrangeas visible in the background. - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLCA close-up of a vibrant Wee Bit Grumpy® Bigleaf Hydrangea flower cluster, surrounded by lush green leaves, with another reblooming hydrangea visible in the blurred background. - Photo Property of Garden Crossings LLC

Wee Bit Grumpy® Bigleaf Hydrangea

$22.99
$22.99

silver-green cotoneaster shrub adding texture to a Zone 6 garden

Choosing Zone 6 Flowers for Your Garden

When selecting zone 6 flowers, hardiness is only the starting point. Also consider sunlight, soil moisture, bloom time, mature size, and how each plant will fit into the surrounding landscape.

Perennials can help create a zone 6 flower garden that returns with fresh color and texture from year to year. Browse our perennial plants to compare options for beds, borders, and mixed plantings.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is designed to help gardeners estimate which perennial plants are most likely to survive winter in a given location, but individual growing requirements still matter.

Pink Yuki Cherry Blossom deutzia flowering in a Zone 6 garden

Add Long-Lasting Structure With Zone 6 Shrubs

Zone 6 shrubs can add height, screening, flowers, foliage color, and year-round structure. The live collection includes deciduous and evergreen choices, along with plants suited for borders, mass plantings, specimens, containers, and other landscape uses.

When planning a larger bed or foundation planting, explore our shrubs alongside other zone 6 plants. Look at mature height and width before planting so each shrub has enough room to develop naturally.

FAQs

Zone 6 is based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperatures from -10°F to 0°F. Individual varieties may differ in cold tolerance, so always check the listed hardiness range for the specific plant.

Many flowering perennials grow well in Zone 6. The best choices depend on your garden’s sunlight, moisture, bloom season, mature size, and the color or texture you want to add.

Many deciduous and evergreen shrubs are suitable for Zone 6. Choose varieties whose hardiness range includes your location, then match their sun, moisture, and mature-size requirements to your planting site.