Skip to main content

8 beautiful, fall-blooming perennials to add to your garden

From aster to sneezeweed, here are the best autumn flowers to grow

Blooming perennial flower garden along a walkway
Violetta Honkisz / Shutterstock

A beautiful year-round landscape is the result of planning for diversity. After all, plants come in a huge range of forms and types, from the tallest trees to the tiniest flowers. The appeal of each kind changes throughout the seasons, with some showing off early in the year and others displaying peak interest much later. Plenty of attention goes to the bright foliage of deciduous trees in autumn, but let’s not overlook the fall-blooming perennials.

Perennials are the herbaceous (non-woody) plants that grow back year after year. Although they typically offer a much shorter blooming season compared with annual flowers, perennials offer a variety of other benefits. These late bloomers look their best as the summer annuals begin to look ragged and worn. By blooming within a window of only a few short weeks, they add to the evolving seasonal interest of the landscape. Plus, many attract and support native wildlife, like butterflies, birds, and bees, by producing the nectar, pollen, and seeds they need for nourishment.

Recommended Videos

Below are eight beautiful types of perennials for you to consider planting in your garden.

Beautiful calico aster blooms
Lamberrto / Shutterstock

1. Aster, Symphyotrichum spp.

Asters include more than a half dozen species and many hybrids and cultivars that bloom between late summer and the end of fall. Most selections grow 1 to 3 feet tall and wide, usually in a mounding form. They produce an abundance of small, daisy-like purple, blue, pink, or white nectar-producing flowers that attract butterflies and bees.

Close up of a red ladybug on a stalk of goldenrod
Jean Landry / Shutterstock

2. Goldenrod, Solidago spp.

Native goldenrod grows as a large clump of erect stems with lance-shaped foliage throughout the summer season. At the end of summer, bright, golden-yellow spiked clusters of tiny flowers erupt to brighten fields, roadsides, and gardens, and to feed hungry pollinators. From more than 75 goldenrod species that are native to North America, plant developers have introduced just a handful of improved cultivars, mostly with more compact growth than the wild species. Look for ‘Fireworks,’ ‘Wichita Mountains,’ or ‘Golden Fleece’ at your local garden center.

autumn joy sedum with flowers
Mark Herreid / Shutterstock

3. Sedum, Hylotelephium spectabile

Sedum is a succulent perennial plant that grows in either a trailing or mounding form. The all-time favorite for fall gardens is ‘Autumn Joy,’ with its smooth blue-green foliage and large pink flower clusters that open in mid-August or September. This selection, along with the deeper red ‘Autumn Fire,’ and brilliant ‘Purple Emperor,’ provides a complementary texture and color when paired with black-eyed Susans and white-flowered asters.

Purple wildflower
Nguyen Hung / Pexels

4. Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium purpureum

Joe Pye Weed has been a part of American native herbal remedies since ancient times. It also looks great in fall gardens. Through the growing season, the stems gradually attain a height of 5 to 6 feet before bloom time, making it a perfect privacy perennial. The large pink flower heads make a bold statement at the back of the perennial border, interplanted with similarly sized goldenrods and ironweeds.

A field of black-eyed susans
Julianne Caust / Shutterstock

5. Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia fulgida

The bright, cheerful blooms of Black-eyed Susan typically begin to emerge around the time back-to-school ads begin. They are some of the most popular annual plants, partly for their massive displays of large flowers that last for two months or longer, but also because they retain a more compact size. This is an excellent choice for smaller landscapes, dry gardens, mass plantings, mixed perennial borders, and most other garden situations.

Scarecrow among fall flowers
Romiana Lee / Shutterstock

6. Ironweed, Veronia spp.

Ironweed is prized for its rich purple flowers, deep green foliage, and stiff, upright structure. It may grow as high as 8 feet or remain below 3 feet, depending on the species, cultivar, and growing conditions. It loves moist soil, making it an excellent choice for rain gardens, but also tolerates dry conditions. Ironweed may be difficult to find at the local garden center, but online retailers carry it.

Yellow sneezeweed
Elena Umyskova / Pexels

7. Sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale

Don’t let the name deter you. It’s called Sneezeweed because of an old medicinal use. Legend has it that the dried foliage was used to make snuff that would induce sneezing, and thereby rid the body of evil. It does not contribute to your typical seasonal allergies. Sneezeweed grows into an attractive 3- to 5-foot tall plant that covers itself in bright, green-tinted-yellow, daisy-like flowers each fall.

A close-up of pink coneflower blooms
LapaiIrKrapai / Shutterstock

8. Coneflower, Echinacea

Coneflowers are hardy blooms in the daisy family that come in a wide variety of cheerful hues such as red, orange, yellow, white, pink, and purple. Available in single-, double-, and triple-petaled varieties, they can grow up to 3 feet tall, which makes them perfect for adding height to your flower borders. If you’re looking for an easy-going bloom, coneflowers are also relatively low maintenance, tolerating bouts of drought. Plus, they resist deer and attract pollinators such as birds and bees. Coneflowers are also easy to find at garden centers, so you can pick some up the next time you drop by your local nursery.

A small bowl shaped planter with autumn flowers, mainly light green, light pink, and dark pink.
Galina Grebenyuk / Shutterstock

How to grow fall blooming perennials

The best time to plant perennials is in the spring. That way, they can become established through the summer and provide their full impact in fall. However, the second best time to plant them is whenever they’re available to purchase. If you plant them in late summer or fall, when the selection tends to be best at local retailers, the plants will thrive with a moderate amount of care.

Plant perennials in average garden soil that has been amended with a 2-inch layer of compost. After planting, cover the root zone with a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch and water well. Water new plants daily for the first week or so, until they begin to produce new growth. Then, water two or three times per week, if it hasn’t rained. Monitor the plant’s progress, and increase or decrease the watering schedule when necessary.

After the growing season, allow the brown stems to stand in the garden through winter. In the spring, when the new foliage emerges, remove the prior year’s old, brown growth.

With these blooming perennials at the top of your mind this season, go forth and establish a lush, vibrant garden this autumn. With careful maintenance as the temperatures wind down, you’ll be able to enjoy these flowers in the coming spring.

Topics
Mark Wolfe
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mark Wolfe is a freelance writer who specializes in garden, landscaping, and home improvement. After two decades in the…
How to grow celosia and add vibrant color to your garden
These tips will help you keep your plants healthy
Pale orange celosia flowers

Does your home or garden need a burst of color and texture to liven it up? Celosia is the perfect plant! Celosia flowers come in many shades of orange, red, yellow, and pink. There are two primary shapes they come in -- one that is flame or feather-shaped plant and another that is folded in waves, typically called cock’s comb celosia. Both are beautiful and easy to grow, so why not pick your favorite and get started? Here’s everything you need to know to bring this gorgeous flower to your home or garden.
Planting celosia

Celosia is a tender perennial, meaning it is sensitive to the cold. Only plant it after the last frost of the year has passed, or start it indoors. Choose well-draining soil that's rich in organic matter. Celosia can tolerate most soil types, but mixing compost or leaf mulch into the soil before planting can help improve the drainage and nutritional value, keeping your celosia happy. Potted celosia can be planted in any well-draining potting soil.

Read more
What to know about climate zones before planting your garden
How to use the USDA hardiness zones when gardening
Peach tree

One of the most important aspects of gardening is learning what plants will grow successfully in your region. Climate zones - also referred to as plant hardiness zones or growing zones - provide general guidelines to let gardeners know what plants are hardy in their area. Wondering how these climate zones are divided, why they matter, and how to use that info in your own garden? Then this is the guide for you! We'll walk you through everything you need to know about climate zones for plants, so that you can go into the next gardening season as confident as possible.
What you need to know about climate zones

So, what is a climate zone? In the 1960s, the United States Department of Agriculture divided the country into different regions with the Plant Hardiness Zone Map. The gist is relatively straightforward: Scientists used temperature data to split the country into multiple zones based on average annual minimum temperatures. Each area is separated by a difference of 10 degrees Fahrenheit. And in case you were wondering, yes, an individual state can consist of several zones!

Read more
6 gorgeous mums to add color to your autumn garden 
How to find the perfect mums for your fall garden and properly care for them
A chrysanthemum plant with several round, reddish-pink flowers

Come early fall, you’ll find beautiful mums in virtually every color lining nursery display tables. They come in an array of gorgeous colors, sizes, and shapes, making mums one of the most popular autumn plants for gardens, patios, and homes. From deep oranges to sunny yellows, mums are an excellent way to add some cheer to your garden during a season when many other flowers are beginning to fade.

With so many options, it can be overwhelming to find just the right one for cozying up your garden — even if you're only keeping it for the fall season. If you’re wondering which mum best suits your landscape, keep reading to learn about the different types of autumn garden mums.
Are chrysanthemums and mums the same flower?

Read more