The plant that pay me back the most is Norway Spruce. My neighbors spent over $6,000 for a fence. I spent less than $100 on tiny Norway spruce trees at $3.50 each. A decade later, they became 20 feet dense hedge, which tower over my neighbors' decaying wooden fences. Norway Spruce is the fastest growing and most tolerant of bad soil.

The roses that paid me back are the fragrant ones. A few sniff is enough to send me to heaven. How do Knock-outs pay me? I don't water them and they don't die on me. Besides that, their thorns are annoying. Burlington has some of the most beautiful and rare roses at $10.95 each, compared to the $15 each BORING Knock-out at the stores. I'm amazed at how Knock-outs invaded the land at that price.

If I had known about Burlington roses and their 30 thornless roses, I would not had bought Knock-outs.
It's pay-back time, folks. Which plant or rose pay you back the most for your time and money?

My best buy was the 60 cheap box plants we got 17 years ago. I am glad they were cheap as we are likely to lose them to box blight any time now, a disease that is creeping near us. Another dear plant is our pear tree, in part because we didn't expect much from it as this variety, Clara Frijs, is marginally hardy here. We had a glut of pears this summer, ate as many as possible and froze the rest in syrup.

Ingrid

Amaryllis would be the biggest bang for the buck as far as bulbs go. They go off like fireworks here no matter how badly they're treated.

For annuals, it would have to be larkspur. So gorgeous in the vase and return year after year.

But I love my roses! As much work as they are they are worth it. The trimming, training, days of hauling mulch and deadheading. Expensive foods and gallons of water. Galls and bugs and fungus on the leaves that drive me nuts. Flowers that ball, proliferate and fry in the sun or shatter in the wind.

Now who's my best rose? Maybe my Francois Rabelais. He's got the best spot and gets the best of everything. Always looks fine like George Clooney going down the red carpet on Oscar night. The most fuss-free roses I have are my Gruss an Aachen, Irene Watts ( we call her "once upon a watts" because of the ongoing debate about the name), a superfine row of pink rosette and a nice big bush of pink parfait that never quits until you cut it back. Another no fuss performer is my own root Johann Strauss. The most showy rose I have for the money is the climber peach silk from Heirloom. That rose looks like a catalog cover every spring and holds the flowers a long time and reblooms decently after that.

I bought a small division of the white iris "frequent flyer" which has prospered so well. No matter how I give it away, I always have enough left to make a show that repeats through the year.

I'm glad to hear from Neil, or cupshaped_roses. I enjoy Neil's post on Benjamin Britten (already ordered Ben for this spring). Thank you, Seil, Ingrid, floridaroses, Melissa, Marianne, and Campanula for all your feedbacks.

Fruits taste different on different soils. My soil is high in lime, and my peach tree gives sweeter fruits than the peaches that I picked from Michigan. In contrast, my pear trees' fruits are bad-tasting compared to my Mom's pear in Michigan. Pear tree lasts for more than 20 years, peach tree doesn't last that long.

The best pay-back are those appropriate for the soil. I never watered my Norway spruces, except for the first month. My white pines don't like my alkaline soil, and I wasted time watering them and they became more chlorotic (pale). This summer I tested my water and found the pH to be over 8, compared to the acidic pH of rainfall of 5.7 - so my watering white pines made them even more yellow.

Marianne, thanks for the info. about Norway Spruce as wind-breakers. I wished I had planted more of them, instead of native Heritage, and River Birch trees that poked my eyes as I trimmed them after a thunderstorm. With Spruce trees I never have to rake leaves, nor trim falling branches. Below is a link to info. about soil pH.

Sherry

But I have very high hopes for the apples as they mature, also the persimmon, the pomegranates, and the asparagus.

The roses are lovely, too

Rosefolly

Cath

My trees with the best return are my desert willows (chilopsis linearis). I have them in lavender, white, and burgundy. The burgundy is huge for a flowering tree; it flowers from April to September and is loved by hummingbirds.

The best (sub) shrub or perennial for me has been the salvia greggiis. Along with annual (and sometimes perennial) lantana, it's bullet proof in my climate.

My best bang for the buck in foliage plants has been the upright elephant ear (alocasia). Makes the garden more interesting and increases each year. Also love the various ornamental grasses especially the very small ones. I've divided them over the years so, yes, I'd say I got more than my money's worth.

And then we come to roses. Tiffany is my favorite among modern roses. She just goes on and on with not much help from me and smells wonderful. I think she'll have competition for my affection from Belinda's Dream as the years go by. Among old roses, I think Mrs. Dudley Cross will take the cake with some competition from Mrs. B. R. Cant and Maggie (found).

But the plant that has garnered the most compliments from passers by has been the large grouping of canna Futurity Pink - dwarf with burgundy leaves. That one causes my doorbell to ring. However, last fall I took them all out because the coral tinted pink clashes with my blue-toned pink roses and oxalis. I'm looking for the perfect spot to put the cannas but haven't found it yet. I'm sure you know how cannas increase. May have to give some away. Lou

As for my raised beds with purchased soil, dahlias do the trick for cutting. The more you cut, the more they'll produce.

As for roses, my best as far as beauty of bloom, abundance, repeat and scent combined would have to be Louise Odier. Another beauty that almost has it all (the drawback being lack of scent) is Dublin Bay. I really like its red color that does not fade to magenta. Even petals on the ground stay red for a long time.

I will say that I have a lot of immature and very young roses and so if the same question is asked a few years from now, I reserve the right to change my answer.:)

Annabeth

Too bad about half of your irises dying-I'm sorry. Thanks for the interesting post.

Annabeth

Someone mentioned in this forum that alyssum is a pest deterrent for roses. So I plan on that as companion plant. I planted purple alyssum in the past and it was not invasive, but I don't know about white alyssum as shown in Dave and Deb's garden on HMF.

I wasted money on perennials like Iris and they died either through flash flood in the spring, or a harsh winter. Roses are much tougher - it looks like my Knock-outs will live forever - I hope the same for my Austins.

Thanks, Annabeth, for the info. about dahlias for cutting. My neighbor planted them and they are better-looking than Knock-outs. Here we have to dig dahlias up in the fall, otherwise they die through the winter. If only dahlias have fragrance like roses!

My pelargoniums are not the most elegant of flowering plants, but they are in bloom almost all year here and filling the garden with lavish color early spring through early winter, with absolutely no care other than to chop them back when they get too big. And the very best part about them - if I want color in a new spot I just cut a few stems and stick them in the ground where I want color, water and a few weeks later they are already blooming.

Planted my first 2 camellias last fall, trying to find something that would flower in a nice shady garden area I have. Both are starting to burst with blooms right now, and I have a feeling camellias will become a mainstay in my shade spots.

I started writing about the Dahilas because they are my favorite blooms outside the roses - but pay back - no, I work hard for those blooms - mostly against the snails that love them so.

But in the end, there is nothing at all that captures my heart like the roses. I still could have a garden with nothing but roses and be content.

Camellia japonica: 'Professor C. S. Sargent'. Exactly the same comments as above. Blooms are so evenly prolific it looks like a heavily red-decorated Christmas tree when in midseason. Hardier than most camellia japonicas. Wonderful foliage that works well in all sorts of bouquets. Runner up: Marie Bracey (aka Spellbound).

Camellia hiemalis (often sold as a sasanqua): 'Shishigashira'. Will bloom heavily in gorgeous little rose-like double flowers, whether planted in full bright shade or nearly full sun. Healthy, and blooms over a long period of time. Very hardy, and can extend its bloom season to several months' time. If it goes down into the low teen temperatures, it knows to hold onto those remaining buds... but then, in the first little temperature break, the buds start opening up again. Wonderful foliage and a perfect low evergreen landscape plant.

Daffodil 'Ice Follies'. We have maybe 15 different kinds of daffodils and I like them all. But Ice Follies will take a little more spring/summer shade than most, is perfect for naturalizing, and its crinkly wide cups are the most beautiful thing going. Other than planting with a little bone meal and allowing a nice leafy mulch to fall on their heads every year, we've never done anything at all to ours in the 30-40 years in all of our planting spots. They've multiplied and we've moved some.

Most of the Teas here give her a run for her money, but I have a [name-lost] mite-resistant, vining fuchsia that blooms throughout the year in swathes of color. We can't find the name to purchase another, so we have propagated it.

And -- Iris ARE a great combo with roses. The very best place to see this demonstrated is in the Sacramento City Cemetery, in springtime.

Jeri

I decided to think about this question in relation to roses, though earlier I answered this question about plants in general. For me, in my particular climate, the single most rewarding rose is simple old Marie Pavie. It cycles in and out of bloom about ten months of the year. Further more in my dry summer climate it is amazingly healthy.

And it wafts. Is there anything more wonderful than wafting fragrance?

Rosefolly

I grow 'Festiva Maxima' peonies in my California garden today.

Rosefolly

Also santa barbara daisies, I know some find them invasive, but I love them and they don't spread so fast that it's problem. In fact, they pop up in various spots and I'm happy!

daffodils. got them for like 30 for a $1 at Lowes past season. Shoved them in the ground unceremoniously, I do nothing for them, they come back every year. glorious. The best comebacks so far for me are the normal cheapo daffs and the erlicheer narcissus. :)

similarly, tall bearded reblooming irises. Rosalie Figge and Total Recall did really well for me this year actually getting rebloom! and they are so painfully gorgeous when they bloom. My yard is still a beginner yard, but when my neighbors compliment my yard, it's usually the irises they are talking about!

Here's this past spring with the irises around the roses

My roses in general are really rewarding. A few have been PICKY, but most of them seem to love it here while other plants fade and die.
My favorite roses for pure ease of growth and give back so far/lately are:
Eden cl
MAC
Archduke Charles,
The Faun
Lyda Rose
James Galway
Mme Berard
La France cl.
Bermuda's Kathleen
Gruss an Aachen

sadly I have killed two SDLM, so I think I've given up on that one despite that everyone else loves her! :\

Hoping my Grandmother's Hat will start to take off this year! I think I'm going to finally get her in the ground this spring. Similarly, waiting for my daylilies to start to come into their own. :)

I'd like to add a vesuvius plum tree this year... and maybe a small citrus tree to keep in a pot. :)

and I'd like to shove way more poppies and alyssum in there to fill in some gaps.

and I'd like to add some boxwood for some evergreen green shapes.

and I really hope my clematis finally start to take off...!

If you like poppies as I do, my local botanic garden's native plant nurseries usually have them (in all sorts of colors and both perennials and annuals). One is in Westwood and the other in Claremont. I don't know if you are close to either one, but as for me I usually learn something new at every visit (and also discover some nifty looking plant I've never seen before that I think will look nice in my garden).

Melissa

Those two mid-blue irises are stunning (and I don't usually care that much for bearded irises). Would you please name them for us?

Cath

My two apricot trees, bear so much fruit, we can supply the whole village with it's bounty.

As for the roses, the one that blooms the longest and always smells sweet, no matter how cold or manky the weather is, has to be Colombian Climber.

Daisy

My sister in California had an apricot tree and she froze the fruits (they tasted bland). Another person chopped them up withh some sugar and froze them in orange juice (that's yummier).

Aimee: those Iris & roses are really nice. I have the same iris here, but won't grow anymore since my climate is too wet. I put Austin Rose "Happy Child" in my spring order since it can be grown in partial shade and tolerates wet feet. Thank you for listing the roses that do well for your area.

It's important to grow roses suitable for one's climate. I understand why the East coast likes Kordes and disease-resistant - I lived in Connecticut for a year and there was very little wind, and more humid than my present Chicagoland: windy, less humid, more rain and colder winter. We get less sun, but less rose diseases with winter-die back and strong wind.

Thanks for posting - I'll have my eyes out for Gazanias to add to the garden.

Cath, I'm not at home right this minute, I'll have to check for you! But I'm like 80% sure that one of those irises is "Breakers", which is pretty well loved by most. :)

Cath

Every spring, summer and fall evening I sit and read, drink tea or watch my dog play while sitting on my swing and smelling the roses :D Even when they are not in bloom, I feel cozy and shaded :)

Also: the 365 daffodil bulbs I planted last year. I hope they will multiply and give me a carpet of gold every Spring!

The best plant-payback in terms of beneficial insects here is dill. My Mom gave me dill seeds ten years ago. I sprinkled them near trees' roots - they sprout and host beneficial creatures like ladybugs, toad, and praying mantis. Dill is not invasive since I can kill them in 10 minutes - versus digging up heavy clumps of invasive garlic chives (tested effective against aphids and spider mites).