The winner: Viburnum , 96/100. Runner-up: Yarrow at 82. Lowest upkeep of the qualifiers: Russian Sage at 81.
Between road salt, radiated heat and compacted tree pits, a city bed is a stress test. Every plant here carries a documented urban-tolerance record; salt and heat proof decide the top.
The picks
The flowers that won The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
96 96 WINNER WINNER YFG INDEX Shrugs off road salt: drought, heat, salt, black walnut, clay soil, wet soil, urban, wind · Takes pavement heat: drought, heat, salt, black walnut, clay soil, wet soil, urban, wind · Bloom over the sidewalk: 6 months
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
no flaw on record
Deer: seldom damaged (Rutgers B)
96 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, heat, salt, black walnut, clay soil, wet soil, urban, wind
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, salt, black walnut, clay soil, wet soil, urban, wind
Bloom over the sidewalk 26 / 30 6 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
81 81 LOW-EFFORT PICK LOW-EFFORT PICK YFG INDEX Shrugs off road salt: drought, salt, clay soil, sandy dry soil, urban, poor soil, air pollution · Takes pavement heat: drought, salt, clay soil, sandy dry soil, urban, poor soil, air pollution · Bloom over the sidewalk: 5 months
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
no vase data in the postharvest literature
Deer: rarely damaged (Rutgers A)
81 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, salt, clay soil, sandy dry soil, urban, poor soil, air pollution
Takes pavement heat 8 / 20 drought, salt, clay soil, sandy dry soil, urban, poor soil, air pollution
Bloom over the sidewalk 23 / 30 5 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
Also great Close behind on points. Neither beats the winner overall, but each is the better answer in a garden the winner would not suit.
82 82 ALSO GREAT ALSO GREAT YFG INDEX Shrugs off road salt: drought, heat, humidity, salt, air pollution, urban · Takes pavement heat: drought, heat, humidity, salt, air pollution, urban · Bloom over the sidewalk: 4 months
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
asks for some seasonal upkeep; toxic to cats
Deer: seldom damaged (Rutgers B) Not for cat households
82 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, heat, humidity, salt, air pollution, urban
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, humidity, salt, air pollution, urban
Bloom over the sidewalk 23 / 30 4 months
Care while it grows 14 / 25 medium
67 67 ALSO GREAT ALSO GREAT YFG INDEX Shrugs off road salt: drought, heat, salt, urban, wet soil, wind, clay soil · Takes pavement heat: drought, heat, salt, urban, wet soil, wind, clay soil · Bloom over the sidewalk: 2 months
Flaws, not dealbreakers:
asks for some seasonal upkeep; the show is short, about 2 months
67 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, heat, salt, urban, wet soil, wind, clay soil
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, salt, urban, wet soil, wind, clay soil
Bloom over the sidewalk 8 / 30 2 months
Care while it grows 14 / 25 medium
The protocol
How the score is built 4 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Shrugs off road salt 25 points salt tolerance documented 25; not documented 10 Read from: stress tolerances.
Takes pavement heat 20 points heat tolerance documented 20; not documented 8 Read from: stress tolerances.
Bloom over the sidewalk 30 points eight or more months 30; six to seven 26; four to five 23; three 15; two 8; one 3; no bloom data 8 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Care while it grows 25 points low upkeep 25; middling 14; demanding 4; sources disagree, we average the range; no rating 12 Read from: how much upkeep extension guides report.
Not ranked here: no extension source documents urban tolerance.
The full method ↗
The leaderboard
Every qualifier, ranked The 10 highest of 10 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
1 96 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, heat, salt, black walnut, clay soil, wet soil, urban, wind
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, salt, black walnut, clay soil, wet soil, urban, wind
Bloom over the sidewalk 26 / 30 6 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
2 82 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, heat, humidity, salt, air pollution, urban
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, humidity, salt, air pollution, urban
Bloom over the sidewalk 23 / 30 4 months
Care while it grows 14 / 25 medium
3 81 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, salt, clay soil, sandy dry soil, urban, poor soil, air pollution
Takes pavement heat 8 / 20 drought, salt, clay soil, sandy dry soil, urban, poor soil, air pollution
Bloom over the sidewalk 23 / 30 5 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
4 67 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, heat, salt, urban, wet soil, wind, clay soil
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, salt, urban, wet soil, wind, clay soil
Bloom over the sidewalk 8 / 30 2 months
Care while it grows 14 / 25 medium
4 67 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 10 / 25 drought, heat, urban, poor soil
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 drought, heat, urban, poor soil
Bloom over the sidewalk 23 / 30 5 months
Care while it grows 14 / 25 low, high (mean of range)
6 66 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 25 / 25 drought, salt, clay soil, black walnut, urban, poor soil, air pollution
Takes pavement heat 8 / 20 drought, salt, clay soil, black walnut, urban, poor soil, air pollution
Bloom over the sidewalk 8 / 30 2 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
6 66 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 10 / 25 drought, sandy dry soil, shallow rocky, urban
Takes pavement heat 8 / 20 drought, sandy dry soil, shallow rocky, urban
Bloom over the sidewalk 23 / 30 5 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
8 60 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 10 / 25 heat, clay soil, urban
Takes pavement heat 20 / 20 heat, clay soil, urban
Bloom over the sidewalk 26 / 30 6 months
Care while it grows 4 / 25 high
9 58 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 10 / 25 heavy shade, drought, urban, poor soil
Takes pavement heat 8 / 20 heavy shade, drought, urban, poor soil
Bloom over the sidewalk 15 / 30 3 months
Care while it grows 25 / 25 low
10 53 / 100 tap for the breakdown Shrugs off road salt 10 / 25 drought, shallow rocky, urban
Takes pavement heat 8 / 20 drought, shallow rocky, urban
Bloom over the sidewalk 15 / 30 3 months
Care while it grows 20 / 25 low, medium (mean of range)
Considered, not chosen Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this question is not theirs.
no extension source documents urban tolerance Tulips, Peonies, Sunflower and 72 more
The winner's badge Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Viburnum
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
96 96 BEST FLOWERS FOR TOUGH CITY CONDITIONS BEST FLOWERS FOR TOUGH CITY CONDITIONS YFG INDEX · WINNER How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit the question is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
shown. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
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