10 Perennial Vegetables For Zone 8

Most vegetables are easy to grow in hardiness zone 8. But if you’re looking for something new to spruce up your garden, the following perennials may just be the one for you.

If this isn’t your hardiness zone, here are some related articles that may interest you:

• The Top 10 Easy Perennial Vegetables to Plant
• 10 Best Perennial Vegetables That Will Thrive in Zone 3
• 10 Hardy Perennial Vegetables to Easily Grow in Zone 4
• 20 Best Perennial Vegetables to Grow in Zone 5 Easily
• 12 Best Perennial Vegetables to Plant in Zone 6
• 12 Perennial Vegetables To Grow Easily in Zone 7
• 10 Unique Perennial Vegetables to Grow in Zone 9
• 10 Fascinating Perennial Vegetables to Grow in Zone 10
• 9 Perennial Vegetables You Need to Grow in Zone 11
• 9 Perennial Vegetables to Grow Easily in Zone 12
• 9 Best Perennial Vegetables to Plant in Zone 13

Here are 10 perennial vegetables you can try growing in zone 8: 

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1. Achira/Arrowroot (Canna Edulis/Indica)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining and slightly acidic soil with pH 6 to 8.
• Water: Weekly to biweekly watering, allowing the soil’s surface to dry out first.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Remove or deadhead spent flowers off the plant to encourage continuous blooming.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable?

• Don’t harvest all the tuberous roots; leave some behind so they’ll grow again next year. 
• Check within your local area whether it’s alright to plant Achira in your garden. Otherwise, you can just grow them in a container instead to be safe. Surprisingly, this plant is considered invasive in some countries like South Africa.

2. Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of indirect sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining and slightly acidic soil with pH 6 to 7.
• Water: Weekly watering, allowing the soil’s surface to dry out first.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Do a weekly check around the plant to pull out any weeds growing.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest cabbage once the head feels firm. Slowly twist it off the outer leaves or cut the roots off to prevent splitting.

3. Chili/Sweet Peppers (Capsicum Annuum)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining soil filled with nutrients.
• Water: Weekly watering, allowing the soil’s surface to dry out first.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Do a weekly pest check around the plant as some pests like aphids and whiteflies may infest it. You can refer to this ‘Common Pest & Disease’ article for more information. Birds also are a problem and may pick the fruits of your labor before you can harvest any.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? If you want to keep the plant growth small, pinch off growing shoots often or trim them off.

4. Chufa (Cyperus Esculentus var. sativa)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining, slightly acidic soil with pH 5 to 7.5.
• Water: Weekly watering, allowing the soil’s surface to dry out first.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Apply mulch around the plant to suppress weeds and prevent nutrient competition.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Ensure to get this ‘sativa’ cultivar of Chufa as it is the non-invasive type, unlike all the other varieties. 

5. Edible Hibiscus/Sunset Muskmallow (Abelmoschus Manihot)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining, loamy soil.
• Water: Weekly watering, allowing the soil’s surface to dry out first.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Prune the plant to the ground just before winter. Don’t worry, it will grow back again in spring.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the edible leaves of this plant and eat it like you would lettuce on a sandwich. 

6. Nopales Cactus (Opuntia spp.)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining, loamy soil.
• Water: Biweekly watering, ensuring the soil dries out completely first. During the first planting, avoid watering for a month until the roots have grown.
• Fertilizer: Feed twice in a year using a high-Nitrogen fertilizer.
• Special Care: 
  • Grow the plant from pad cuttings at least 6 months old. 
  • Use rocks to keep the pad upright as it develops.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the pads after more than 7 to 8 months of planting, either in the mid-morning or afternoon.

7. Plantain (Musa × paradisiaca)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining, nutrient-rich, slightly acidic soil with pH 5.5 to 7.
• Water: Weekly watering, after the surface’s soil dries out.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Pull out weeds frequently, at least once a week, to prevent nutrient competition as the plant slowly develops.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? None.

8. Scarlet Runner Beans (Phaseolus Coccineus)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining, soil filled with nutrients.
• Water: Weekly watering, after the surface’s soil dries out.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: 
  • Place trellis supports like a pole or stake during the initial planting to encourage the plant to climb up.
  • Wait for the last frost to pass and the soil has completely warmed up before planting the seeds.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the flowers and green pods as these are edible. It’s also advisable to remove the pods frequently to encourage more blooms.

9. Spinach (Spinacia Oleracea)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of indirect sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining, loamy, slightly acidic soil with pH 6.4 to 6.8.
• Water: Every 7-10 days, after the surface’s soil dries out.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: None.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest Spinach once the leaves are large enough.

10. Spurge Nettle/Bull Nettle (Cnidoscolus Stimulosus)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining soil.
• Water: Weekly watering, after the soil’s surface dries out.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: None.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the edible tuberous roots, taking care to use gloves when removing the stinging foliage.

If you’d like to grow more perennial vegetables, the following articles contains a list of plants that can grow in hardiness zone 8 too (zone 8 is warmer than most):

• The Top 10 Easy Perennial Vegetables to Plant
• 10 Hardy Perennial Vegetables to Easily Grow in Zone 4
• 20 Best Perennial Vegetables to Grow in Zone 5 Easily
• 12 Best Perennial Vegetables to Plant in Zone 6
• 12 Perennial Vegetables To Grow Easily in Zone 7

References:

1. Abelmoschus manihot (Hibiscus Manihot, Muskmallow, Sunset Huskmallow, Tropic Jewel Hibiscus) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/abelmoschus-manihot/
2. Canna indica (Achira, African Arrowroot, Arrowroot, Canna, Edible Canna, Indian Shot, Purple Arrowroot, Queensland Arrowroot, Sierra Leone Arrowroot, Tous-les-mois, Wild Canna Lily) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Plants.ces.ncsu.edu. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/canna-indica/
3. Capsicum annuum (Cayenne Pepper, Cayenne Peppers, Chili Pepper, Chili Peppers, Christmas Pepper, Christmas Peppers, Ornamental Pepper, Ornamental Peppers, Red Pepper, Red Peppers, Sweet Pepper, Sweet Peppers) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Plants.ces.ncsu.edu. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/capsicum-annuum/
4. Growing cabbage in home gardens. (n.d.). Extension.umn.edu. https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-cabbage
5. Growing Chufa for Wild Turkeys. (n.d.). Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/forestry-wildlife/growing-chufa-for-wild-turkeys/
6. HB003/HB003: Stinging Nettles of Florida: Cnidoscolus. (n.d.). Edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HB003
7. Nopales are healthful and easy to grow at home. (n.d.). ANR Blogs. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=6858
8. Plantain | Diseases and Pests, Description, Uses, Propagation. (n.d.). Plantvillage.psu.edu. https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/plantain/infos
9. Scarlet Runner Bean, Phaseolus coccineus. (n.d.). Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/scarlet-runner-bean-phaseolus-coccineus/
10. Spinach | Diseases and Pests, Description, Uses, Propagation. (2010). Psu.edu. https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/spinach/infos