The 10 Best Flowers For Fall
The best flowers for fall bring fresh color as summer blooms fade. Pansies and violas welcome cooler weather, asters and upright sedums come into their own late in the season, and established marigolds and sunflowers can carry summer color into autumn.
The right choice depends on what you want to do now. For flowers this fall, choose plants already growing or allow enough time for seeds to reach flowering size before frost. If you want to sow now for later blooms, visit our guide to annual flower seeds to plant in fall.
Choosing Flowers for Your Fall Garden
Start with your available sunlight, the space a mature plant will need, and your local weather. A plant that blooms through winter in a mild climate may finish much earlier in a colder garden. For perennials, check the variety's hardiness and bloom season; surviving winter does not mean the flowers will survive every freeze.
Think about how the planting will look together, too. Upright flowers can give a border height, while low-growing pansies, violas, and sweet alyssum soften its edges. For combinations suited to pots, see our fall container plant ideas.
10 Flowers for Fall Color
1. Autumn Sedum
Upright, fall-blooming sedums, often classified as Hylotelephium, bring broad clusters of flowers above fleshy foliage. Their sturdy shape makes a useful contrast to finer-textured plants, and some retain attractive dried flower heads after blooming.
Choose a variety described as flowering in late summer or fall. Give it plenty of sun and well-drained soil; a wet planting site is a bigger concern than soil that is not especially rich. Sedum includes many different plants, so check the individual variety rather than assuming every stonecrop blooms in autumn.
2. Violas
Small-flowered violas tuck neatly into the front of a bed, window box, or mixed container. Choose a bedding variety recommended for fall color, with the light requirements suited to your planting spot.
Keep the soil moist but well drained. Cool-season varieties can perform well as temperatures drop, although flowering and winter survival depend on the variety and local conditions. If you need a display soon, established plants offer a shorter route to flowers than a new sowing.
3. Pansies
Pansies offer larger blooms than many bedding violas, often with dark central markings that stand out in a pot or border. Their purples, yellows, reds, and whites give you plenty of ways to work with an autumn color scheme.
Plant in sun to part shade with fertile, well-drained soil that stays evenly moist. Remove spent flowers to encourage more blooms. In mild climates, fall-planted pansies may flower through winter; colder gardens can have a pause in flowering. Seeds need a head start, so follow the variety's sowing directions when planning a fall display.
4. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) adds fragrant clusters of tiny flowers along paths and over container edges. White varieties brighten darker plantings, while pink and purple selections blend with pansies and violas.
It grows in sun to part shade and needs good drainage. Many varieties flower less during summer heat and improve as conditions cool; do not assume every sweet alyssum is equally heat tolerant. Allow time for growth if starting from seed, and check local timing before sowing for fall flowers.
5. Autumn Crocus
Fall-flowering bulbs and corms can add a different shape to the garden, with blooms emerging close to the ground. Choose by botanical name: the common name "autumn crocus" is used for both Colchicum and fall-flowering species of Crocus.
These plants are not interchangeable. Colchicum is poisonous and is not a source of saffron. Culinary saffron comes specifically from Crocus sativus. Follow the planting depth, timing, and climate guidance for the identified species, and leave room for its foliage when it appears.
6. Fall-Blooming Asters
Perennial asters such as New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) produce daisy-like flowers in late summer and fall. They are a useful choice when you want late color and flowers that attract bees and butterflies.
Check mature size before planting: some varieties belong toward the back of a border, while compact selections fit smaller spaces. New England asters prefer sun and moist, well-drained soil. Annual China asters are a different plant, so check the botanical name and bloom season when choosing seeds or plants.
7. Black-Eyed Susans
Black-eyed Susans bring warm yellow, gold, and other variety-dependent colors to a late-season planting. Rudbeckia hirta selections can flower from summer into fall, particularly when spent blooms are removed.
The group includes plants grown as annuals, biennials, and perennials. Choose for the variety's actual life cycle, height, and flowering period. An established plant may still be blooming in autumn, but seeds sown then should not be expected to produce an immediate fall display.
8. Marigolds
The orange, yellow, and red flowers of marigolds (Tagetes) suit autumn plantings, especially when paired with purple flowers or contrasting foliage. Plants started earlier can continue flowering into fall if conditions remain suitable.
Marigolds are frost-sensitive annuals. Give them sun and well-drained soil, remove faded blooms, and plan around the time remaining before frost. A late sowing needs enough growing time to flower. These are different from pot marigold, or calendula, which has its own cool-season growing requirements.
9. Dianthus
For a lower-growing accent, look for dianthus varieties with a long flowering season or a stated ability to rebloom into fall. Fringed petals and shades of pink, red, and white work along bed edges or in containers.
Dianthus includes annuals, biennials, and perennials, so select a variety that fits your plans. A sunny site, good drainage, and room for air to circulate help it grow well. Follow the variety's care directions for removing spent flowers, and check hardiness if you hope to keep it for another year.
10. Sunflowers
Annual sunflowers can provide late-season height and flowers for cutting, with choices ranging from compact plants to tall border varieties. Gold, bronze, red, and bicolored selections offer more than the familiar yellow.
Plan their sowing earlier in the growing season, using the variety's days to bloom and your local frost timing. Annual sunflowers need sun and are not frost tolerant, so sowing in fall is not a reliable way to get flowers before winter. Choose a height suited to your space and give tall plants protection from strong winds.
How to Plan for Fall Flowers
Fall flowers reach their season in different ways. Some begin blooming in summer and continue into autumn. Others thrive in cooler weather or naturally flower late in the year. Use this guide to decide when to start seeds and when established plants are the better choice.
| Flower | Why it works for fall | When to start and how to grow for fall flowers |
|---|---|---|
| Marigolds | Warm-season annuals that can keep blooming from summer until frost. | Sow in spring or summer. Give plants full sun, water during dry weather, and remove spent blooms to encourage continued flowering. A fresh summer sowing can provide fall color if the variety has enough time to flower before frost. |
| Sunflowers | Earlier sowings can produce late-summer and fall flowers. Branching varieties provide multiple blooms over time. | Direct sow in spring and summer, using the variety’s days to flower to time a fall display. Sow successive batches of single-stem varieties; one plant will not keep producing flowers all season. Allow flowering time before frost. |
| Pansies | Cool-season flowers that perform well as autumn temperatures moderate. | Start seeds during summer, early enough to raise plants for your intended fall display. Keep germinating seeds out of excessive heat, provide strong light after emergence, and gradually acclimate seedlings before planting outdoors. Late sowings may flower in winter or spring rather than fall. |
| Violas | Cool-season flowers suited to autumn beds and containers. | Start seeds ahead of cool fall weather, following the variety’s schedule. Raise seedlings in suitable cool conditions, then transplant into sun to part shade and keep the soil evenly moist. Established plants provide quicker color if the seed-starting window has passed. |
| Sweet alyssum | Often flowers more strongly when cooler weather returns after summer heat. | Start earlier plants in spring, or sow a fresh crop far enough ahead of the desired fall display. Allow roughly 6–10 weeks, depending on variety and conditions. Lightly trim tired plants and water consistently to encourage renewed flowering. |
| Dianthus | Selected annual bedding varieties and reblooming perennials can carry flowers into fall. | Choose a variety specifically described as long-flowering or fall-reblooming. Start annual bedding types in spring or early summer; timing varies considerably. Give plants sun and good drainage, and remove faded flowers. |
| Black-eyed Susans | Earlier-established plants can flower through late summer and into fall. | Start first-year-flowering Rudbeckia hirta selections early, usually in spring, and maintain plants through summer. Remove spent blooms to encourage continued flowering. Perennial species have different schedules; use established plants for dependable color this fall. |
| Fall-blooming asters | Perennial varieties naturally flower in late summer or autumn. | Establish plants ahead of their flowering season, or plant budded nursery plants for this fall’s display. Annual China asters are different: start their seeds in spring or early summer according to the variety’s longer growing schedule. |
| Autumn sedum | Upright, fall-blooming varieties naturally develop flowers late in the season. | Grow from established plants for a predictable autumn display. Choose a sunny, well-drained location and avoid late trimming that removes flower buds. Starting seed in fall will not provide immediate flowers. |
| Autumn crocus | Fall-flowering species bloom according to their seasonal cycle. | Plant the correct fall-flowering corms promptly when supplied in late summer or early fall. Follow species-specific planting directions. Colchicum is poisonous and must not be confused with saffron crocus. |
For flowers grown from seed, plan backward from when you want flowering to begin, leaving time to enjoy the display before damaging cold. Use the variety’s seed-to-flower schedule rather than its germination time. If that starting window has passed, established plants can still help you create a fall garden.