64 of the 85 flowers in the table can be grown in zone 7: 53 perennials and shrubs that come through its winter, plus 11 annuals that are planted fresh each spring and are marked as such below. Six rankings are re-run on that shorter list, by the same rules as everywhere else.
Neighboring zones share most of their list; the real differences show up at the cold end, in zones 3 to 5.
What wins in zone 7
The same protocols as everywhere else, with every flower that cannot survive a zone 7 winter removed before scoring.
Best for shade
Hellebore95/100
Azaleas89/100
Hydrangea macrophylla76/100full ranking, all zones →
Easiest for beginners
Mexican Sunflowerannual96/100
Coreopsis95/100
Cosmosannual91/100full ranking, all zones →
Deer-resistant
Coreopsis100/100
Catmint95/100
Russian Sage95/100full ranking, all zones →
For hummingbirds
Mexican Sunflowerannual100/100
Daylily97/100
Marigoldsannual97/100full ranking, all zones →
Low-maintenance
Coreopsis97/100Russian Sage97/100
Coneflower94/100full ranking, all zones →
For containers
Catmint84/100
Sweet Alyssumannual82/100
Forget-me-nots76/100full ranking, all zones →
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 a job is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is named. Nothing here is sponsored, and no score can be bought. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself. The full method ↗