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10 Favorite Perennials for Fall Color
Fall blooming perennials are a great way to add color and interest to your garden year after year. Many fall perennials are hardy, low-maintenance growers that start to bloom when most of summer's flowers are fading. They also serve as a great source of pollen for pollinators through the fall.
Read about a few of our favorite fall-color perennials!
1. 'Little Joe' Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium dubium 'Little Joe'
Joe Pye Weed is a native plant that can make a beautiful backdrop border in your garden. This variety is half the height of others and will give you more options for planting in varied spaces. Dark green leaves adorn it, joined by bright purplish-pink blooms in late summer/early fall. Be sure to enjoy the light vanilla scent of the blooms!
Pros:
Attracts butterflies & hummingbirds, tolerant of moist soil, compact size, good for cut flowers, winter interest, deer & rabbit resistant
Why We Love It:
Joe Pye may be one of the absolute best nectar sources of all of the natives you can plant and is especially helpful for pollinators looking for food in late summer into fall, as there are less options at that time of year. Walking through our gardens this week, the Joe Pye was consistently covered with butterflies, bees and more! We like the Little Joe because while it is shorter than its naturally occurring parent, it is still a substantial plant with many large blooms and plenty of nectar!
USDA Growing Zones: 3-10
Sun Exposure: Full sun-part sun
Soil Needs: Normal, humus-y, moist, with better drought tolerance than the species
Water: Average to wet, do not allow soil to dry out (at least not in first few months)
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: Summer-early fall
Height: 3-4 feet (yes, the shorter cultivar is still quite large!)
Spread: 1-3 feet
Nativar
2. Rose Turtlehead
Chelone obliqua
This plant is named for its weeks-long blooms, which are shaped like yawning turtles' heads. Another great native plant that blooms into fall. Naturally found in wet woodlands and along streams, turtlehead is a great addition to a damp area in your garden or a rain garden!
Pros:
Supports Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly and other pollinators including bumblebees and ruby-throated hummingbirds
Why We Love It:
This is an especially fun native to find in nature—both the white and pink variations are relatively common along streams in WNC. Adding this to our water gardens and rain gardens provides really unique and lovely blooms as well as great ecological benefits, and it’s especially nice that it can handle part shade/dappled light and still bloom!
USDA Growing Zones: 5-9
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Needs: Rich, moist, well-draining
Water: Wet, Medium-Wet
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: Late summer to fall
Height: 2-3 feet
Spread: 1-2 feet
Native
3. 'Autumn Fire' Showy Stonecrop
Hylotelephium [Sedum]
Autumn Fire sedum is one of our favorite ways to add fall interest and happens to be excellent support for late-season pollinators. The blooms are truly lovely—starting green and slowly maturing to pink, and then a deep burgundy as cool weather approaches. A mature plant makes quite the statement when planted in groupings.
Pros:
Drought tolerant, evergreen, low maintenance, and an improved version of the popular Autumn Joy cultivar, with stronger stems, larger flowers, and a longer blooming period
Why We Love It:
This is a fabulous option for low maintenance and drought tolerant plants that are both beautiful and beneficial. We love the blooms because they are very long lasting and dry nicely (either on the plant or used in dried arrangements). And this variety of sedum is more sturdy, doesn't flop, and has stronger stems!
USDA Growing Zones: 3-9
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Sandy, well-draining (can also handle clay, though amending is helpful)
Water: Minimal
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: Summer-fall
Height: 2-3 feet
Spread: 1-2 feet
(Pssst....quick tip. This plant tends to sell fast! You can always check our Availability Lists to see what we have in stock.)
4. 'Salud Embers' Helenium
Helenium autumnale 'Salud Embers'
A compact variety valued for their late summer display of bright daisy-like flowers that arrive when most summer flowering perennials are on the decline, these also attract and support butterflies and other pollinators. A floriferous plant with beautiful bright red and yellow bi-colored blooms in the mid to late summer.
Pros:
Low maintenance, deer and rabbit resistant, attractive to butterflies and other pollinators, nice as cut flowers, mildew resistant, upright habit
Tip:
The plant likes cool feet and hot heads, meaning you should use mulch to keep the roots cool but plant it in full sun to keep the top of the plant warm. Butterflies are also absolutely crazy about this dynamic, late season nectar resource. Pair them with Cardinal Flower and Swamp Milkweed in low-lying parts of your landscape to create a haven for beneficial pollinators.
Why We Love It:
Simply beautiful blooms in a range of bright colors and highly floriferous! Butterflies are always visiting and it’s one of the best late summer-early fall pops of color for your perennial gardens! We also love the native straight species and frequently have it available at Painters during the spring seasons.
USDA Growing Zones: 4-9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Needs: Rich, moist, well-draining (can tolerate clay)
Water: Average-moist
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: Summer, fall
Height: 16-18 inches
Spread: 16-18 inches
Nativar
5. 'Gilt Edge' Toad lily
Tricyrtis formosana 'Gilt Edge'
People are often amazed to learn that this plant with exotic orchid-like flowers is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms in the heat of August through the fall and is a great addition to any shade garden. They're also a great source of late summer nectar for hummingbirds, butterflies and moths. They feature purple flowers with darker purple spotting and a yellow throat held above green leaves edged in golden yellow. Be sure to plant them in a place where you can admire their blooms up close!
Pros:
Relatively low maintenance, heavily shade tolerant, deer resistant.
Why We Love It:
This may be the most unique and most admired bloom in our gardens, and each plant will simply be covered with the flowers. A patch of Toad Lily will not only brighten your shade gardens with stunning blooms, but they also attract and feed lovely day-flying moths by the dozens. While not native plants, they are quite beneficial in this regard—we rely on moths for 45% of the pollination that occurs!
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
Sun Exposure: Shade/partial shade
Soil Needs: Moist, rich soil
Water: Consistent watering
Care: Low Maintenance
Bloom Time: August to September
Height: 1-2 feet
Spread: 1-2 feet
Other Varieties We Love: Samurai and Sinonome
6. 'Golden Baby' Goldenrod
Solidago hybrid 'Golden Baby'
Goldenrod is one of the last flowers to bloom in the fall, with its bloom period generally stretching from August to October. There are more than 100 species in the goldenrod family, and we’ve chosen to feature a shorter hybrid selection that makes a great addition to pollinator gardens of any size. Goldenrod serves as a crucial nectar source when most pollinator plants are no longer in bloom.
Pros:
Attracts bees & butterflies
Why We Love It:
Goldenrod is a close tie with Joe Pye as our favorite late summer and early fall native plant for pollinators. You may have grown up thinking of them as weeds, but there are so many varied bloom shapes and shades of yellow, and they’re all truly lovely—we recommend planting a variety of goldenrod species so that you and the pollinators can enjoy a range of textures, heights and bloom times!
USDA Growing Zones: 4-8
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
Water: Medium moisture
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: August-September
Blooms: Yellow
Height: 12-24 inches
Spread: 12 inches
7. New York Ironweed
Vernonia noveboracencis
Supporting pollinators, birds, and stem-nesting bees, this adaptable straight species native shines from summer through fall with fluffy purple blooms. Its late-season nectar makes it an unbeatable addition to butterfly gardens!
Pros:
Good butterfly nectar source, deer resistant
Why We Love It:
You simply must plant ironweed with your goldenrod—while Joe Pye is also a great plant pairing, the brilliant purple of Ironweed is the perfect accent to make your goldenrod pop! Another must for the pollinator garden and for late summer to fall color!
USDA Growing Zones: 5-9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Needs: Prefers moist to wet well draining soil, silty/sandy
Water: Low-average
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: August-September
Height: 4-7 feet
Spread: 3-4 feet
Native
Other Varieties We Love: Veronia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly'
8. 'Believer Purple' New York Aster
Symphyotrichum novi-belgii 'Believer Purple'
This plant—great for borders, containers, and along walkways, produces beautiful daisy like flowers with lavender-purple petals surrounding a bright, sunny yellow center. These quick growing perennials are loved by people and pollinators alike—this plant will impress for years to come!
Pros:
Deer Resistant, Attracts Birds, Butterflies & Bees, Easy To Grow, Native, Great Cut Flowers
Pinching back the stems in the early summer can turn these plants into dense mounds with dozens of flower buds.
Why We Love It:
We are a bit obsessed with fall blooming asters—growing a wide variety of species and cultivars… but this tidy heavy-blooming cultivar is definitely a favorite! Use it in groupings with a range of other native asters to create large pollinator habitats and vivid swaths of early fall color!
USDA Growing Zones: 3-8
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Needs: Well draining
Water: Average
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: Late summer-first frost
Height: 12-18 inches
Spread: 12-18 inches
Nativar
9. Coral Bells
Heuchera
This includes all varieties of heuchera as there are simply too many to choose from. Coming in a variety of reds, purple, silvers, and greens, you are certain to find the perfect option for accentuating your border, combo pot, or walkway. This plant is evergreen in our region and will provide year-round interest in your garden.
Pros:
Deer Resistant, Easy To Grow, Great For Containers, Evergreen, Attracts Hummingbirds, Great Cut Flowers
Why We Love It:
There are SO many colors and leaf shapes!! You truly can’t beat the versatility of this plant—we love them in containers, we love them in shade gardens needing bright foliage to make up for lack of blooming plants (part shade is best as they stretch in full shade and don't offer as intense color), and we love them as border/edging due to their lower stature and tidy mounding habits. They also have dainty summer blooms.
USDA Growing Zones: 4a-9a
Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
Soil Needs: Rich but well-drained
Water: Medium—keep soil consistently moist
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: spring-summer
Height: 8-18 inches
Spread: 12-24 inches
10. 'Hillside Sheffield Pink' Hardy Mum
Crysanthemum 'Hillside Sheffield Pink'
With a beautiful mounding habit and providing blooms from late summer through fall, this is a tried and true favorite. The flowers are apricot pink with golden centers and are sure to attract butterflies. This variety is said to have been rescued from an old garden in Sheffield, MA, and re-named after the town as the original name was lost.
Pros:
Heat & drought tolerant, great for pollinators, good for cut flowers
Tip:
Cut plants back to 6” after flowering and mulch (e.g., straw or evergreen boughs) for winter. Divide every 2-3 years in spring.
Why We Love It:
This plant has been known to make people pull over and knock on stranger’s doors—it simply is breathtaking and incredibly impressive. A single plant can form a massive mound and be covered so thickly in blooms that you can barely see the foliage. We are excited to carry the close cultivar Cambodian Queen as well—that way you can combine both a peachy pink and a purply-pink cultivar. Pollinators love it as well as people!
USDA Growing Zones: 5-9
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Needs: humusy, fertile, consistently moist, well-drained
Water: Medium
Care: Easy
Bloom Time: September-first frost
Height: 2-3 feet
Spread: 2-3 feet
Other Varieties We Love: 'Cambodian Queen', 'Campfire Glow'
As always, find curent quantities, prices, and sizes on our website:
