Plants Common to Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland
Below you will find many of the landscape trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, grasses, ferns, and vine types commonly used in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Region. This list is neither comprehensive, nor will all of these species be available at all times. When working with you, we will help you choose the right plants that work for your space, depending on factors such as:
- What types of plants interest you
- The amount of space available
- The height and spread of the plant
- The quality of the soil
- How much sun the space receives
- Maintenance requirements for the plant
- Water requirements for the plant
- Types and colors of flowers, if any, and blooming season desired
Trees
No scientific definition exists to separate trees and shrubs, a useful definition for a tree is a woody plant having one erect perennial stem (trunk) at least three inches in diameter at a point 4-1/2 feet above the ground, a definitely formed crown of foliage, and a mature height of at least 13 feet. Some trees may have more than one stem and some other trees, and young trees, don't always meet the size criteria.
View items...Shrubs
A shrub is a woody perennial plant differing from a tree by its lower stature (usually less than 15' tall) and generally producing several basal stems instead of a single trunk. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience.
View items...Perennials
Perennials are herbaceous plants, a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level, that lives for more than two years. Perennials, especially small flowering plants, grow and bloom over the spring and summer and then die back every autumn and winter, then return in the spring from their root-stock rather than seeding themselves as an annual plant does.
View items...Annuals
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed. One seed-to-seed life cycle for an annual can occur in as little as a month in some species, though most last several months. Plants that would be perennials in their native climates can often be used as annuals in colder climates.
View items...Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants; their purpose is the enjoyment of gardeners and visitors. Their popularity relates both to their variety and to their three season contribution to the garden. Their long season is related to the lush new leaf growth in spring, and that the summer inflorescences, grass flowers and seed heads, are often dramatic and long lasting. Ornamental grasses can be brown, bluish, red, green, cream, and variegated, having differently colored zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems.
View items...Ferns
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants. Ferns do not have either seeds or flowers (they reproduce via spores). There are four particular types of habitats that ferns are found in: moist, shady forests; crevices in rock faces, especially when sheltered from the full sun; acid wetlands including bogs and swamps; and tropical trees, where many species grow on another species.
View items...Vines
A vine may use rock exposures, other plants, or other supports for growth rather than investing energy in a lot of supportive tissue, enabling the plant to reach sunlight with a minimum investment of energy. Gardeners can use the tendency of these climbing plants to grow quickly to their advantage by training them over walls, pergolas, fences, or other structures in just a few growing seasons. Many vines are flowering plants, and some can be used as groundcovers in addition to being used as climbing plants.
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