Top 10 Fall Flowers to Plant | Fall Gardening Tips
Fall flower gardens can be some of the most vibrant and fascinating gardens to grow. They provide bold combinations of jewel-tone colored flowers and crunchy colorful foliage. Most people relate fall and the outdoors to dead leaves falling from trees and your beautiful summer garden plants entering their dormancy period; however, beautiful fall flowering gardens are extremely achievable to do!
When choosing your fall flowering plants, you must find flowering plants that have a late bloom season, and what are those flowers, you may ask? We put together a list of 10 of our favorite fall flowering plants that are must-haves in your garden! Watch your summer garden fade while bright, vibrant, and spectacular fall flowers bud their heads all through the season.
Aster
Asters bloom from August through October and blossom star-shaped, daisy-like flowers. We carry Aster perennials in purple, blue, pink, and multicolored. These flowers prefer at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun and moist, well-draining soil conditions to bloom their most vibrant flowers. Native to North America, these perennials are also pollinator-friendly and attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and more.
Aster plants (aster symphyotrichum) are frost-hardy and can withstand near-freezing temperatures for a short time. Because these plants thrive in cooler temperatures, they will last throughout winter and bloom again next year. If you are looking for easy-to-grow, early-fall blooming perennials for your fall garden, Aster plants are just what you need.
Heuchera
Heucheras are known for being shade-loving plants that thrive in any shade garden. These perennials are most known for their colored foliage and bell-shaped flowers. Heucheras are native to North America and span across the continent in multiple forms. These foliage plants vary in leaf shape, coloration, and size. However, most have distinct red veining throughout their leaves.
Your Heuchera's growing season is from early summer or mid-summer throughout fall. These plants are heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant, which makes them perfect summer plants that transition nicely throughout fall. Coral Bells love to be in full to part shade, so if you have a part of your garden or landscape that receives too much shade for your other flowering plants, your Heucheras will thrive best here.
Sedum Autumn Joy
Autumn Joy Sedum is an early summer blooming perennial that lasts until the first frost of the year. Their late growing season allows them to have some winter interest because their bloom time goes all fall into early winter. Sedum Autumn Joy thrives best in a wide range of living conditions from full sun to partial shade, well-draining soils, and hot growing zones because it is drought-tolerant.
If you have a rock garden, Sedum Autumn Joy looks beautiful and thrives in these kinds of gardens. These perennials blossom deep rose-colored flowers that are contrasted by bright green leaves. You can even use their flowers as decor by drying flower heads.
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) produces a profusion of robust flower clusters and large flower heads. These perennials are most known for their oakleaf-shaped foliage, hence their name Oakleaf Hydrangea. Their leaves turn a brilliant mahogany color in the fall as their growing season continues. One pest to look out for with Oakleaf Hydrangeas is spider mites. They will sneak up on your plants quickly and can cause damage if not caught early.
These plants grow tall and wide and are a stand-out addition to any garden with colorful double flowers and dark green foliage. These hydrangeas thrive in full sun to part shade but prefer to receive afternoon shade to rest from the hot midday sun. You will notice your Oakleaf Hydrangeas begin to bloom in early summer, and as long as you provide them with winter protection, they will last throughout the cooler months.
Burning Bush
Burning Bush is a compact, slow-growing deciduous shrub known for its brilliant red fall foliage. This dwarf shrub adds a pop of color to any landscape and can be in a wide range of gardens. Burning Bush shrubs are native to Asia and thrive in full sunlight, and are drought-tolerant.
Their bright red fall color makes them perfect fall garden plants that can be accent plants or privacy hedges. These shrubs can be invasive species in North America. However, with the proper care, they will not be invasive.
Black Eyed Susan
Black-Eyed Susan (rudbeckia flugida) plants are long-blooming perennials with beautiful golden yellow flowers. Their long-lasting blooms, strong stems, and deep green leaves make them ideal for cut flowers. This perennial plant is deer-resistant and pollinator-friendly. Their golden yellow petals are what seed-eating birds and butterflies attract towards.
Rudbeckia hirta is an easy-to-grow, low-maintenance perennial that thrives in full sun and is drought-tolerant. Black-Eyed Susan perennials are native to North America, particularly Maryland. This plant is perfect for fall planting because its bloom time begins in late summer and lasts throughout fall.
Rosemary
Rosemary plants (Rosmarinus Officinalis) are symbols of hospitality in many cultures and taste delicious in cooking! If you want to grow Rosemary, you will need to give it full sun, well-draining soil, and water only when its soil is completely dry. This evergreen shrub can be grown from seed in your garden or a pot with the proper potting soil. Your potted rosemary plant grows best in a potting mix that includes sandy soil and is well-draining to avoid any root rot or powdery mildew.
This shrub has thick gray-green leaves that emit a lemony scent and have an extremely pungent taste. Fresh Rosemary is a seasoning that many people use in cooking today. You can use either fresh or dried Rosemary when making a delicious meal that is sure to impress.
Marigold
At Garden Goods Direct, we offer Marigolds in vibrant yellow and orange colors that will add a pop of excitement to any garden. Vegetable gardeners love French Marigolds because they are known for pest-repelling qualities that are valuable to the health of your vegetables. These flowers are widely adaptable to many growing conditions and love to be in full sun.
If you are not planting your marigolds during the fall, we recommend that you plant in the spring once the danger of frost has passed. When you grow Marigolds in your garden, expect their double flowers to bloom beautifully from summer until frost. If you are looking for vibrant annuals that are easy to grow, Marigold plants are just for you.
Toad Lily
Toad Lily (tricyrtis formosana) plants are beautiful flowering plants that produce a heavy purple flower with purple spots atop unique arching stems. These shade-loving plants can handle some morning sun but like to thrive in full shade the majority of the day. If they are in full sun for too long, their beautiful dark purple and white flowers may burn.
Toad lily flowers thrive best in organically rich and well-draining soil conditions. Their blooming season starts early summer and will continue from early fall onward. Try using these as cut flowers in a flower arrangement to add a bit of uniqueness to any basic flower arrangement.
Clethra Hummingbird Summersweet
Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird' Sweetheart is a flowering shrub that produces beautiful fragrant white flowers. Their white flowers are surrounded by contrasting dark green foliage and look beautiful in cottage gardens. This deciduous shrub is pollinator-friendly and attracts butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and more.
Hummingbird Sweetheart plants produce beautiful summer blooms that begin mid to late summer and persist into winter. Their once green leaves turn into beautiful fall colors. They need moist acidic soil conditions and love it when they have wet soil, but not oversaturated. If their soil is oversaturated, they could get root rot disease which will damage their root system.
Fall Flowering Perennials for Sale Online at Garden Goods Direct
Find quality specimens from the comfort of your home by browsing Garden Goods Direct’s selection of Fall Flowering perennials for sale. As America’s number one online garden center, you can easily order your plants for delivery straight to your door, with the assurance you’re getting the best quality plants available.