The Top 10 Flowers for Fall
Plant These Late Season and Reblooming Flowers for Amazing Fall Garden Color
Just because summer is winding down doesn’t mean that you have to give up your beautiful flowerbeds and blooming containers just yet. There are plenty of flowers for fall seed starting and plants that don’t start blooming until late summer and bloom into the cooler months of autumn. Depending on where you live, these plants may even be perennials, which means you’ll be able to enjoy these colorful, fall-loving plants even more.
Autumn Sedum
Sedum is beautiful perennial that originated in China. The plant gets its name from the beautiful blooms that emerge in late September and last until late October. Autumn Sedum is easy to care for and actually thrives in less than perfect growing conditions. This easy to care for plant has beautiful foliage that spreads up and out during the spring and summer.
Blooms can be either pink, white, yellow or red in color. For a true autumn look, plant the dark blooming varieties like “Surrender”, “Touchdown Teak” or “Wildfire” varieties in full sun.
Violas
Anyone that has browsed their local garden center in fall has seen violas on the shelves. Violas are an ideal fall flower. Violas don’t do well in the harsh summer heat, but they thrive in cold weather. In fact, violas will often continue blooming after a frost or even after being covered in a layer of snow! In Southern states, you can plant violas as perennials.
Plant them under deciduous trees to give them some protection from the intense summer sun. The purple, white, yellow and red flowers are also edible and can be added to salads or dishes as a fun garnish.
Pansies
Pansies are the vibrantly colored fall flowers that sport fun ‘faces’. They look similar to violas and are just as suitable to planting in fall gardens. Just like violas, gardeners in southern states can plant pansies as perennials.
They aren’t tolerant of heat like they are the cold. Pansies will survive a hard frost.
If your blooms start to wither from the cold, they’ll usually stay alive long enough to produce additional flowers. Pansies come in shades of purples, deep reds, yellow and white with black faces.
Sweet Alyssum
This delicate carpet of flowers is the perfect flower that you can plant in the summer and enjoy it well into the fall. Sweet alyssum is heat and drought tolerant. It can grow well into the fall but often can’t handle a hard frost. It’s a beautiful flower to plant along with other flowers.
Alyssum will creep along the ground and drape over the edges of containers and walls. The “Snow Crystals” and “Compacta” cultivars pair well with the deep autumn colors of other fall-blooming favorites.
Autumn Crocus
The autumn crocus is similar to the popular spring crocus, only it blooms in the fall rather than the spring. To plant autumn crocus, plant the corm in full sun at the end of summer.
These perennial bulb plants will expand year after year, bring with them a punch of fall color.
The blooms come in a variety of shades of purples, whites and yellow. Fun tip- the saffron crocus is where the spice saffron comes from. Grow some saffron crocus at home and harvest your own saffron to stock in your pantry!
Asters
Aster plants have gorgeous, deep green foliage and stunning daisy-like blooms. Asters are perennials that will bloom well into fall, until a hard frost.
Asters come in a big variety of colors. You can add pops of blue, white, yellow, orange, lavender or pink to your garden.
These abundant plants thrive in bright sun, well-maintained soil and will require being divided every few years.
Black Eyed Susan
The black-eyed Susan is a type of Rudbeckia. These unique flowers are very distinct with bright yellow petals and a dark center; hence the name ‘black-eyed’ Susan. Depending on the variety, Black-eyed Susans can be either annuals, perennials or biennials. They are native to North America and are therefore quite hardy.
Annual cultivars will die back with the first signs of frost, but the perennial varieties are hardier and will bloom up until they are hit with a hard frost. Perennial black-eyed Susans may not die back in southern climates and can serve as a source of shelter for wildlife. Black-eyed Susans are an attractive flower that pairs well with other autumn tones.
Marigolds
You may have grown some marigolds in your summer vegetable garden to help keep pests away. But, these hardy flowers are the perfect color to add to your fall garden. Marigolds come in shades of vibrant yellow, orange, red and a mixture of all three.
So why wouldn’t you add these plants to your fall garden? You can plant marigolds in late summer to have blooms that will last until the first hard frost.
Dianthus
You can find dianthus plants in nearly every garden center in the summer. These hardy little plants are perennials in places where the winter isn’t too harsh. Dianthus will start blooming in the summer and will continue to bloom until the first hard frost.
The plants are small and do equally well in containers or in the ground. If you want them to come back year after year though, plant them into the ground. Dianthus blooms come in white, dark red or pink, colors that pair well with rich, autumn colors.
Bonus Plants
There are a ton of plants that continue to bloom and have attractive foliage well into the fall. When you’re planning your next container or flowerbed for fall, consider adding purple fountain grass, ornamental peppers or dusty millers to keep the garden looking fresh.
Mix up your landscape by adding Japanese toad lilies and witch hazel trees to add some unique fall fun. Lastly, this wouldn’t be a complete list of fall flowers without mentioning the sunflower. Sunflowers make excellent cut flowers to add to fall arrangements and containers.
Who said gardening had to end with summer… What are you planting for your fall garden?
