Fall Blooming Plants (11 Plants That Bloom In Fall)

Nature changes. The same meadow doesn’t look the same in the spring as it does in the summer as it does in the fall. But we often design our gardens to look the same regardless of the season. And while there’s a place for long-lasting blooms, adding a few of these fall-blooming plants will add new color and interest to your garden so you can fully appreciate the season (with or without pumpkin spice everything).

However, you won’t find long-blooming flowers like pansies, violets, and sunflowers on this list. They may bloom into the fall, but this list focuses on flowers that only bloom in the fall, with a few exceptions of flowers that bloom from summer until frost. These flowers will bring new life to your garden just when you’re tired from a long season of gardening.

While this list is about flowers (in no particular order), trees and shrubs can also bring a look to your garden with vivid fall foliage. While maple trees immediately spring to mind, there are also a ton of native trees and shrubs with striking foliage for every growing zone.

Ready? Let’s begin.

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Fall Blooming Plants

#1 Chrysanthemum/Hardy Mums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium, C. rubellum)

Type: Perennial
Geographic Origin: Japan
USDA Zone: 5 – 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun, Part Sun
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Mature Size: Up to 3 ft

You can’t walk into a garden center or grocery store in the fall without tripping over Chrysanthemum, also known as Mums. They’re the most well-known fall-blooming flower and they’re often bought in pots to decorate front porches. Each bloom actually comprises many tiny flowers called florets, and you can get them in a wide range of colors from orange and red to pink and purple.

Mums are technically perennial, if you can overwinter them (if your zone is colder, dig them up and overwinter them in containers in a cool area). However, if you bought a container of mums as a fall decoration, then treat those as annuals as they’re not meant to be hardy. If you live in the South where there’s only a mild winter, they’ll bloom twice a year – once in the spring and once in the fall.

Plant in well-drained soil (too much moisture and their roots will rot) and add plenty of compost too! Chrysanthemums are heavy feeders. While they bloom in the fall, you need to plant them in early spring or start indoors. Pinch back the stems after the stems reach 3 inches to create bushier growth, and keep pinching them every 2 to 3 weeks until the buds develop. At that point, stop fertilizing.

#2 Asters (Aster spp., Symphyotrichum spp.)

Type: Perennial
Geographic Origin: Aster: Europe and Asia, Symphyotrichum: North America
USDA Zone: 3 to 8
Light Requirement: Full Sun, Part Sun
Water Requirement: Moderate to Medium (Moist)
Maintenance: Low
Mature Size: 1 to 6 feet

Chrysanthemums may be the most popular fall-blooming flower, but if you’re looking for flowers in a variety of colors that’s more cold hardy, then Asters are for you. They’re known for their unique star-shaped flower heads (thus the name Aster, the Latin word for star). While hybrids give you more showy colors, choosing a native species to your area will provide food for pollinators and be lower maintenance.

Two genus names are now used for Asters. If the genus name is Aster, then it originated in Europe or Asia. If it’s Symphyotrichum, then it originated in North America.

Asters prefer cool, moist summers and cool nights. If you live in a warmer climate, plant where the Asters will get shade through the hot midday sun. If you live in a dry climate, check to see if there’s a local native variety that’s better adapted to dryness.

#3 Surprise Lily (Lycoris squamigera)

Type: Bulb
Geographic Origin: Japan
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun To Part Shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Mature Size:

Also known as Resurrection or Magic Lily, Surprise Lily gets its common name because when its leaves die back in summer, you might think that it died off, only for its pink-tinged flowers to shoot up in late summer and fall. Each lily bursts forth with 4 to 7 blooms that have an amazing fragrance.

Surprise Lily is best used in borders, containers, or in woodland/meadow gardens. It grows best in rich, moist, well-drained soils. In the time between the leaves dying back and the flowers emerging, it needs less water. It’s the most cold hardy flower of the Lycoris genus.

#4 Fringe Leaf Tickseed (Coreopsis integrifolia)

Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Geographic Origin: Southeastern United States
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water Requirement: Medium to Wet
Maintenance: Medium
Mature Size: 1.5 ft to 2.5 ft

If you get frequent downpours, a rain garden, or wet soil, the Fringe Leaf Tickseed is for you. While its name might be a bit off-putting (it got its common name because its seeds are small and black like ticks), Fringe Leaf Tickseed is a beautiful perennial flower with rays of yellow that survives in boggy places where nothing else will thrive.

coreopsis tickseed — Fringe Leaf Tickseed

This plant loves wet soil, heat, and humidity. It’s great for a rain garden or native garden, and may even self-seed.

Fringe Leaf Tickseed is listed as endangered by the Florida Department of Agriculture, and critically imperiled by both the US federal and Florida State governments. However, you can find this flower in some nurseries – but before you buy, find out how they got a hold of this flower, as rare plants may be unethically removed and the ecosystem damaged. If you grow this flower, save some seeds and pass them on to other gardeners to help its survival.

#5 Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale)

Type: Bulb (Corm)
Native Range: Europe
USDA Zone: 4 to 8
Light Requirement: Full Sun To Part Shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Mature Size: 0.5 to 0.75 feet

While it may be called a Crocus, Autumn Crocus isn’t actually a true Crocus. The Autumn Crocus produces leaves in the spring, but as the weather warms up, the leaves will die back. When cooler temperatures return in the fall, it’ll produce 2 to 3 inch light pink blooms for up to 2 weeks.

Their foliage isn’t the most attractive heading into summer, as it yellows and withers, so they’re best planted among other blooms that steal the show during the spring to summer period. They do best when they get Full Sun when they still have their leaves (sun doesn’t when it’s blooming), although they can grow in part shade. They like rich, medium moist, well-draining soil.

There are crocuses that bloom in the fall, instead of the spring, like the Saffron Crocus, which, true to its name, produces the expensive spice saffron.

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#6 Hardy Cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium)

Type: Herbaceous Perennial (Corms)
Native Range: Western Asia, Southern Europe
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Water Requirement: Dry to Medium
Maintenance: Medium (Drought Tolerant)
Mature Size: 4 to 6 inches

Whether it’s heart-shaped, silver-patterned foliage or its delicate pink flowers, Hardy Cyclamen (also known as Persian Violet) has it all. It flowers in the late summer, with the foliage following shortly after. In its zones, the foliage can last through the winter before going dormant in late spring. While it grows slowly, it is perennial, and the longer it lives, the more flowers it produces. A young plant may only produce a few flowers, but established plants may have up to 500 blooms. Patience pays off!

Hardy Cyclamen likes average, dry to medium moist, well-draining soil, and its best to plant it some place where the shade protects it during the hot afternoon sun. Make sure it’s placed in well-draining soil, as the corms may rot if they get too much water. It works well in a rock garden or in front of larger plants. You may have to fend off mice and squirrels from eating the corms.

#7 Autumn Daffodil (Sternbergia lutea)

Type: Perennial Bulb
Geographic Origin: Southern Europe, Western Temperate Asia
USDA Zone: 6 to 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Dry to Medium (Drought Tolerant)
Maintenance: Medium
Mature Size: 0.25 to 0.5 feet

While they don’t really look like Daffodils (although they’re from the same family), the Autumn Daffodil’s blooms are a bright, cheerful yellow. Daffodil yellow, you could say. Their thin, lance-shaped foliage pops up at the same time as their flowers in the fall. While the blooms may fall away, the foliage can last throughout the winter, especially in warmer climates.

They work well in borders, rock gardens, containers, and along sidewalks or foundations. They are drought tolerant (although they do like medium water if they can get it), and prefer hot and dry summers. Left alone, they’ll slowly increase over time and may even self-seed.

#8 Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus)

Type: Annual
Geographic Origin: South America
USDA Zone: 2 to 11
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Mature Size: 2 to 4 ft

Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth gets its evocative common name from the tiny blood-red flowers that bloom in tassels, almost like blood flowing. They look especially amazing in hanging baskets. At the end of the season, cut and dry the flowers for amazing dried flowers throughout the winter. Unlike some other flowers that lose their luster when dried, Amaranth looks the same.

Amaranth likes moist, well-draining soils, and a bit of protection from the afternoon sun in hotter climates. Flowers won’t appear until 3 months after sowing seed, so plan ahead. The seeds are edible and you can save seed for next year’s garden.

#9 Feather Celosia (Plumosa) (Celosia argentea)

Type: Annual
USDA Zone: 2 to 11
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Medium (Drought Tolerant)
Maintenance: Low
Mature Size: 12 to 18 inches

If you love the look of Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth, but need blooms that add height to your garden, then look at Feather Celosia. Their 4 to 10 inch plume-like flower heads bloom with vivid orange, red, purple, yellow, or cream throughout summer and last until frost.

While Feather Celosia is drought-tolerant, it prefers consistently moist, well-drained soils and humidity. You may need to stake thin stems and shelter taller cultivars from strong winds. The flowers are great for fresh flower arrangements or when dried. Use in garden beds, borders, or cutting gardens.

#10 Zinnia (Zinnia spp.)

Type: Annuals
Geographic Origin: Southeastern US, Mexico
USDA Zone: 2 to 11
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Mature Size: 6 to 48 inches

Zinnias are a garden favorite for a reason – their large, intricate, and daisy-like blooms appear from June to frost, and they make amazing cut flowers. You can even plant them under Black Walnut trees. But there are a couple different Zinnia species you might consider.

Common Zinnias (Zinnia elegans) are the most popular, with a ton of different cultivars available with different flower forms (single, semi-double, and double) in just about every color you could want, and at every size, from 6 inch dwarfs to 4 foot giants. If you’re planning a cutting garden, Common Zinnias is what you want.

Creeping Zinnias (Zinnia angustifolia) may be less jaw-dropping than Common Zinnias, with daisy-like flowers in a range of colors and bicolors, but they are still very showy. They’re drought tolerant. They’re great for edging and making profuse garden beds.

#11 Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Geographic Origin: North America
USDA Zone: 3 to 8
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Medium to Wet (Intolerant of Dry Soil)
Maintenance: Medium
Mature Size: 3 to 5 feet

Don’t judge a flower by its name. Sneezeweed won’t actually make you sneeze. Its name refers to the past when it was dried as snuff. It blooms clusters of bright yellow daisy-like flowers from the late summer to the fall.

Sneezeweed prefers to grow in wet soils, so it makes a great addition for rain gardens or alongside ponds, streams, or ditches. Be sparing in fertilization, as overfertilization causes it to grow too tall and leggy. Cut Sneezeweed back in the late spring to encourage shorter growth and more branching stems, so you get a profusion of blooms.

Conclusion

Planting fall-blooming plants is a great way to refresh the look of your garden and help you enjoy the beauty of the season, especially when paired with shrubs and trees with vivid fall foliage.

You can also find winter blooming plants here.

Looking for more inspiration? Check these out:

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