12 Perennial Vegetables For Zone 7

When it comes to hardiness zone 7, you have quite a selection of vegetables to grow easily within the long growing season. However, if you’re specifically looking for perennials that will stick around without manual planting each year, then you’re in the right place!

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
• 10 Perennial Vegetables You Can Plant Easily in Zone 8
• 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 12 perennial vegetables you can plant once and maintain over the years in zone 7:

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1. Arrowhead/Duck Potato (Sagittaria Latifolia)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight daily.
• Soil: Wet, sandy or loamy soil.
• Water: Daily to weekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: You can also grow this plant in shallow water of a garden pond, ensuring it is not connected to open waterways. They can be invasive so ensure they are restricted to a container or man-made structure.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? You may already have edible Arrowhead tubers growing in your local area. But try not to pick these wild crops as they may have grown in polluted waters. 

2. Cardoon (Cynara Cardunculus)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily.
• Soil: Well-draining soil with plenty of space for the plant to grow.
• Water: Weekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Cut older leaves that have started to flop over to maintain its upright, vase-like appearance.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? After harvesting the stems, leave some Cardoons untouched so they will flower and attract pollinators like bees. Apart from spreading pollen, these bugs help to keep your garden in tip-top shape, which you can learn about more in this ‘Beneficial Bugs’ article.

3. Collards (Brassica Oleracea)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight daily.
• Soil: Well-draining soil with plenty of space for the plant to grow.
• Water: Weekly watering or after the top 1-2 inches of soil dries out.
• Fertilizer: Monthly feeding in spring and summer using high-Nitrogen fertilizer.
• Special Care: Because this plant doesn’t take long to grow, plant them either in early spring or fall.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest Collards after 60 to 80 days of planting. You can either pick a couple of leaves at a time to make the plant last longer or cut it down completely and store in the fridge for about 2 weeks or so.

4. Common Camas (Camassia Quamash)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight daily.
• Soil: Well-draining soil filled with nutrients.
• Water: Weekly watering, but it can generally tolerate wet soil sometimes.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: None.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest Camas once the leaves have wilted in late fall. You can also choose to propagate and plant the bulbs elsewhere so it doesn’t get overcrowded.

5. Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of indirect sunlight daily.
• Soil: Well-draining soil filled with nutrients.
• Water: Every 5-7 days after the soil’s surface dries out.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Grow this plant in a container as it can quickly become weedy in your garden. But ensure to check whether it is allowed in your local area as it is illegal in some states like Colorado.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? 

• Every part of a Dandelion plant is edible but try to eat in moderation only. 
• Try to avoid picking wild Dandelions as they may have been chemically treated. 

6. Linden Tree/Basswood Tree (Tilia Americana)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight daily.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining soil filled with nutrients.
• Water: Weekly to biweekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Grow this plant far away from roads or busy, crowded areas. It doesn’t thrive well where there is air pollution.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the leaves and flowers of a Linden Tree after 3 years of planting. But after that, you can keep them small like a shrub as it will still grow from a stump. 

7. Ostrich Fern (Onoclea Struthiopteris) 

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of indirect sunlight daily with some shade.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining soil.
• Water: Weekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: None.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the fiddleheads that appear before they unfurl. 

8. Saltbush (Atriplex Halimus)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining soil.
• Water: Weekly watering but it is fairly drought-tolerant once it has established.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: You can grow this plant in a rain garden as it doesn’t mind growing in soggy soil. If you’re not sure what a rain garden is, this section in a landscaping article will tell you all about it. 

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? When harvesting the leaves, remove the bare branches as well as they won’t grow new foliage anymore.

9. Sweet Potato (Ipomoea Batatas)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining loamy or sandy soil.
• Water: Weekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Wait after the last frost has passed and the soil has warmed up to more than 65 °F before planting.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest Sweet Potatoes after 90 to 120 days of planting or before frost sets in, being careful not to damage the tubers’ skin.

10. Sylvetta Arugula (Diplotaxis Muralis & Diplotaxis Tenuifolia)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining soil.
• Water: Weekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Restrict the plant in a container as they can quickly become weedy in open gardens.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest Sylvetta Arugula while the leaves are still young and tender. Older leaves are still edible but more bitter which taste better when they are cooked out.

11. Taro/Cocoyam (Colocasia Esculenta)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct or indirect sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining, slightly acidic, and loamy or sandy with a pH of 4.2 to 7.5.
• Water: Weekly watering, after the soil’s surface dries out.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Propagate this plant by dividing the rhizomes over the years to prevent overcrowding.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? 

• Harvest Taro or Cocoyam once the leaves have withered.
• This vegetable is in the Colocasia genus. There are also many decorative plants in the Colocasia and Alocasia genera. If you’d like to learn more about the genera, take a look at this Colocasia vs. Alocasia article.

12. Tree Kale/Tree Collard (Brassica Oleracea)

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.
• Soil: Moist, well-draining soil filled with nutrients.
• Water: Weekly to biweekly watering.
• Fertilizer: Yearly application of compost around the plant.
• Special Care: Grow this plant from stem cuttings as it is difficult to acquire young treelings for purchase.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the leaves regularly or trim the foliage back to manage the tree’s growth.

References:

1. Apr 13, F. | H. 1322 | U., & Print, 2022 |. (n.d.). Sweetpotato. Home & Garden Information Center | Clemson University, South Carolina. https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/sweet-potato/
2. Camassia (Camas, Quamash, Wild Hyacinth) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/camassia/
3. Cardoon, Cynara cardunculus. (n.d.). Wisconsin Horticulture. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/cardoon-cynara-cardunculus/
4. Cocoyam | Diseases and Pests, Description, Uses, Propagation. (n.d.). Plantvillage.psu.edu. https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/cocoyam/infos
5. Diplotaxis tenuifolia. (n.d.). Ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=23133
6. Mahr, S. (n.d.). Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale. Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/dandelion-taraxacum-officinale/
7. Oct 28, F. | H. 1307 | R., & Print, 2020 |. (n.d.). Collards. Home & Garden Information Center | Clemson University, South Carolina. https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/collards/
8. Onoclea struthiopteris (Fiddlehead Fern, Ostrich-Feather Fern, Ostrich Fern, Shuttlecock Fern) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/onoclea-struthiopteris/
9. Sagittaria latifolia (Broad-leaved Arrowhead, Duck Potato) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Plants.ces.ncsu.edu. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sagittaria-latifolia/
10. Saltbush – Gardening Solutions – University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. (n.d.). Gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu. https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/shrubs/saltbush.html
11. Tilia americana – Plant Finder. (n.d.). Www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a917
12. Tree Collards: A Plant for the Lazy Gardener in You. (n.d.). ANR Blogs. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=20042