Data from 114 species are used to analyse the widespread phenomenon of vegetative dormancy, in which herbaceous perennial plants remain belowground for ≥1 year. Most species displaying dormancy exhibit related life history costs, especially associated with sprouting. Mean annual proportions of dormant plants are higher in shorter-lived species, and decrease from holomycotrophs to mixotrophs to autotrophs. Maximum duration of dormancy differs between species and between populations within species, and neither it, nor mean proportions of dormant plants are similar in closely-related species, suggesting lability in the evolution of dormancy. Maximum duration of dormancy is greater in species exhibiting sprouting costs, and it varies with latitude, and this relationship differs between families. Loss of foliage in one year is a common driver of high future dormancy. Throughout the history of the land plants, including the common ancestors of the ferns and flowering plants, dormancy appears to have evolved repeatedly, probably reflecting different genetic contexts across phylogeny. This analysis reveals an urgent need for more long-term demographic studies to examine the role of temporally-varying factors, including weather and herbivory, on sprouting behaviour in plants.