When we think of fall, flowers are not the typical idea. Leaves turning colors are what most of thinks about. But there are a number of fall blooming flowers which can certainly add depth and color to the garden. Why talk about it in July though? Because if we are to have fall blooming flowers, then we need to think about adding them in now. And yes, you can plant in July, as long as you mulch and water them well.
In many parts of the country, there are a lot of flowers which seem weedy, and yet bloom from September to first frost. And some flowers bloom past the first frost and even a hard freeze. Many of our fall blooming flowers are natives, but some are not. What flowers are best additions to the landscape for fall, and how can they enhance the colors of the garden? Let us go over the many different fall blooming flowers for the garden.
Where to Plant Fall Blooming Flowers
Fall blooming flowers can be incorporated into the garden in various ways. Maybe you already have some of these. They can be put into perennial and shrub borders, used as short edging plants, or mixed into cottage and meadow gardens. One of our fall blooming flowers is a small tree. It can be used off the corner of a house or mixed into a bed of its own. Wherever you put these flowers, make sure they match with the existing plants of your landscape.
Some of these flowers are for shade and some for sun. Typically, most of our shade plants bloom in early spring before the trees have fully leafed out. The exceptions of course are generally nonnatives from Asia. Hostas for example, are from Japan and China and bloom from June to September, depending on species and cultivar. But a lot more of our fall blooming plants prefer full sun locations within the garden.
Fall Blooming Flowers for Sun
These plants fit into a variety of full sun areas of the garden. Some, such as the goldenrods and asters may fit better into the Meadow or Prairie garden because they are not typically used as garden plants. They might be more suited to a spot where they are held in check by grasses and other closely-knit plants. But there are always exceptions to the rule.
Natives
There are more North American native species blooming in the fall than you would think to find. Of course, many of them blend into the landscape, between the yellows of goldenrod, the whites and purples of asters, and the hidden blues of gentian. But by using them in the landscape, you can highlight some of the more interesting of the natives.
Yellow Flowering Plants
- Grass leaved goldenrod Euthamia gymnospermoides – a smaller plant for dry areas, it would be great as a border or mixed into the perennial border, or the cottage garden. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.
- Curly-cup gumweed Grindelia squarrosa – it does not sound like the best thing, but the bees love it. And the flowers are uniquely fixed with resinous “gum” on the base of the compound flowers. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.
- Willow Leaved sunflower ‘Autumn Gold’ – willowleaf sunflower is typically huge, but this cultivar grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide and blooms from September to October.
- Willow leaved sunflower ‘First Light’ – another dwarf cultivar of willowleaf sunflower. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall by 2 feet wide. In my garden, it is the second to last flower to bloom, in October.
- Wrinkle leaf goldenrod ‘Fireworks’ – one of the standards of goldenrods as landscape plants. It looks like yellow fireworks when blooming. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall and spreads outward by rhizomes to fill as 4 by 6 foot area.

White Flowering Plants
- Tall boneset Eupatorium altissimum – one of the nicer shaped natives for the garden, yet it is rarely used. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide in a clump. Put it into the cottage garden!
- Late boneset Eupatorium serotinum – another boneset, this one is less refined and should be mixed into the meadow garden. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide.
- Heath Aster Symphyotrichum ericoides – ‘Snow Flurry’ is a recent cultivar of this white-blooming aster. Put it into the garden where it can flow, as it is a prostrate form of the native. It grows 3 feet tall and wide.

Blue and Purple Flowering Plants
- Gentian ‘True Blue’ – if you have always wanted a gentian in the garden, then try ‘True Blue’. It has that deep gentian blue color and works best as an edge or border plant. It grows 6 to 10 inches tall and 12 inches wide.
- Blue lobelia Lobelia silphilitica – a water loving plant, blue lobelia belongs in the rain garden. It is also fairly drought tolerant, but is best used where rain may pool or settle, or in a bog garden. It grows 1 to 2 feet tall and wide.
- Aromatic aster Symphyotrichum oblongifolium – one of my favorite asters, this one begins to bloom in August or September, but does not stop until after a hard freeze – sometimes that does not even stop it. Usually, I find flowers on my ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ aster in early December. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide.
- New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae – another great aster; there are many cultivars available from this species. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall and wide and is great for fall butterflies and bees.
- Blue sage Salvia azurea – watch out where you put this! Blue sage is an aggressive grower, spreading by seed and rhizomes. It grows 3 to 5 feet tall and can get very wide. Plant it in the meadow or prairie garden. It makes a great cut flower.
- Ironweed ‘Iron Butterfly’ – a uniquely blooming ironweed cultivar which only grows 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. The leaves are grass-like, being very narrow. Bees and butterflies enjoy the flowers in September and October.

Lavender Flowering Natives
- Maypop Passiflora incarnata – the only fall blooming vine on my list, maypop begins to bloom in summer if you get it started soon enough. But in my garden it does not bloom until September. The flowers alone are worth growing it for, but do not forget the edible fruit.
- Button blazingstar Liatris aspera – This one gets kind of floppy. In my garden, button blazingstar grows 3 to 5 feet tall and just 1 foot wide, but the butterflies love it.
- Dotted blazingstar Liatris punctata – one of the last blazingstars to bloom. It has the stature of ‘Kobold’ but with more drought tolerance. Dotted blazingstar grows 1 to 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide.

Nonnative for Sun
Under the nonnatives section, you will find more shrubs, and our only tree, rather than perennials. But there are a few perennials which are fall blooming for the garden.
Trees and Shrubs
- Chaste tree Vitex agnus-castus – there are several new dwarfing cultivars of these fall blooming flowers. They really start blooming in the heat of August, but will continue on until first frost. Sizes range from 3 to 5 feet tall and wide to 15 feet tall and wide. The flowers are usually blue or pale blue.
- Seven son tree Heptacodium miconioides – one of my favorite small trees, the seven son grows 10 to 15 feet tall and wide, with white flowers in September. The flowers are followed by a show of red calyxes and the flowers are visited by many butterflies.
- Bluebeard Caryopteris x clandonensis – also known as blue mist shrub and blue spirea, this semi-woody perennial shows off its bright blue flowers in late summer and into fall. There are many cultivars, and the flowers can also be pink or white. It grows 2 to 8 feet tall and wide, depending on the cultivar.
- Shrub Rose Rosa hybrid – if you know anything about roses, then you have heard of Knockout and other shrub type roses which self clean (deadhead) and keep blooming on new wood through the fall. They grow 3 to 8 feet tall and wide.
- Crepe Myrtle Lagerstroemia indica – in the south, these can become large trees. But here in the Central Great Plains, crepe Myrtle grows 3 to 9 feet tall and spreads slowly through seed and rhizomes. Flowers can be red, white, mauve, purple, or pink.

Perennials
- Showy sedum Hylotelephium spectabile – also called tall sedum, this perennial boasts masses of brightly colored flowers which pollinators love, in autumn. The plants grow 1 to 2 feet tall and up to 3 feet wide.
- Calamint Calamintha nepeta – a white blooming perennial from the Mediterranean which grows 1 to 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide. It blooms continually from mid summer to first frost, being favored by wasps and bees.

Fall Blooming Flowers for Shade
While this list is fairly short, there are some great shade loving plants to add for fall color. With leaf color and texture being the more important aspect of the shade garden through the summer months, it can be a welcome change to add fall blooming flowers.
Natives
- Wingstem Verbesina alternifolia – while it can take either sun or shade, it is most commonly found growing along woodland edges and shady streambanks in Eastern Kansas and Nebraska. The bright yellow flowers resemble small sunflowers and the plant grows 3 to 5 feet tall by 2 to 3 feet wide.
- Maryland figwort Scrophularia marilandica – this dainty flower almost appears to be too tiny for the garden, but its uniqueness makes up for it. Small bees and wasps pollinate the flowers. The plants grow 5 to 7 feet tall by 2 to 4 feet wide.
- Drummond’s Aster Symphyotrichum drummondii – is not the only aster to grow well in part shade, but it is the most well behaved of the true native species. It grows 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide with blue or bluish-white flowers.
- Obedient plant Physostegia virginiana – can also take either sun or shade, but does very well in a slightly moist location in part shade. I have it growing in both my shade border and meadow garden, and it does equally well in both. It grows 3 to 6 feet tall and spreads into a clump by rhizomes. The flowers can be either pink or white.

Nonnatives
There are only 2 species on this list, but there may be more fall blooming flowers in your region.
- Toad lily Tricyrtis hirta – is an unassuming perennial during the summer which erupts in color in the fall. The flowers are showy and covered in what appears to be small, colored warts, hence its name. The flowers are lily shaped and can be white, purple, reddish, or pink. The plants grow 1 to 2 feet tall and wide.
- Japanese anemone Eriocapitella hupehensis – is a fall blooming perennial which has been widely bred for flower color and size. There are numerous cultivars available. ‘September Charm’ is an older variety which I grew in my shade garden until I found out that blister beetles love it. Because I have lots of grasshoppers, I have lots of blister beetles, whose larvae eat grasshopper eggs. But the anemones were a show in my garden for several years. They grow 1 to 4 feet tall and 1 to 6 feet wide in patches.

Companions for Fall Blooming Flowers
Anything that may already be in your garden could be a companion for fall blooming flowers. However, some plants are better at complimenting and showing off the colors of those plants blooming from September to November (and later). These of course include grasses, as well as anything with dark or burgundy colored leaves. Also, plants with unique textural or structural foliage is sure to enhance the garden at all times. Berry plants too, both ornamental and edible can compliment fall flowering plants.
- Switchgrass
- Indiangrass
- Big Bluestem
- Little Bluestem
- Maiden grass
- Prairie dropseed
- Lovegrass
- Bottlebrush grass
- Sea Oats
- Coralberry
- Snowberry
- Beautyberry
- Aronia
- Sea lavender
- Ninebark
- Weigela
- Hosta
- Ligularia
- Coral bells
- Foamy bells
- Iris
Conclusion
Fall blooming flowers are a boon to the garden, extending the show of color and texture to get us through the rest of the season before winter sets in. Besides the ever-changing scenery among the trees, it can be nice to have the added pops of colors throughout the garden. Add some fall blooming flowers to your garden as soon as you can.
Happy planting!
