Five favourites: late flowering plants
The days are getting shorter, leaves are falling from the trees and gardens are getting ready for the dormant months of Winter. This is the time of year when colour typically starts to fade from a garden as the last flowers fall and plants die back beneath the ground. But if you’re not ready for the browns and greys of Winter quite yet, there are some plants which flower late into the year and will keep going right up until October or November, whenever the first frosts arrive.
If you want to hold onto flowers and colour for as long as you possibly can, then these favourites of ours are invaluable for late season joy.
1. Dahlias
Probably the most spectacular of all the late Autumn flowering plants, dahlias will keep on going with their stunning, huge flowers until the very first frosts. Keep cutting flowers back and new ones will grow to replace them!
Dahlias come in a huge range of colours and different flower shapes, so there is something to suit everyone’s tastes. They are relatively easy to grow and don’t take a huge amount of care once they get going. However, the plant can’t survive extended frosts, so the tubers need to be lifted and taken inside during the Winter months. We love them so much and find them absolutely invaluable for their impressive flowers and long flowering time, that we think they’re worth the extra faff!
See more on how to grow them in our dahlia plant guide.
Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’
Salvia viridis ‘Blue Monday’
2. Salvias
Salvias are one of those plants that take hardly any care, but keep on looking great no matter what. From the small silver leaved cooking sage, to the huge back-of-border varieties such as Salvia ‘Black and Blue,’ there is an absolutely huge selection to choose from.
Put them in a spot where they’re happy (good sunlight and well-drained soil) and you’ll hardly need to do anything else but enjoy the gorgeous flowers!
See more on growing salvias, as well as our favourite varieties in our salvia plant guide.
3. Geraniums
Not all geraniums flower right up until Autumn, but there are some varieties that keep going for months on end. The ever-popular Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (voted plant of the centenary in 2013) is one that will start flowering in June and keep going right up until October or November, depending on the weather conditions.
It’s got a lovely blue-purple flower and will quickly spread to provide excellent ground cover. Perfect for the front of borders.
See more on growing geraniums in our geranium plant guide.
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
Erigeron karvinskianus tumbling down the side of a pot
4. Erigeron
You probably know by now that we have a perennial soft spot for Erigeron karvinskianus, also known as Mexican fleabane. This small plant with daisy-like flowers must win the award for longest flowering time of any plant. It starts flowering around February and will keep going right up until November or even December.
It’s perfect in pots under bigger plants, at the front of beds, lining paths or growing out of cracks in walls. It’s a cheerful self-seeder, so once you have it in the garden, expect to see it popping up in unexpected places (part of the reason we love it so much!)
Easy to grow from seed, buy a packet one year and you’ll never need to buy it again… See more on growing Mexican fleabane in our erigeron plant guide.
5. Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas might not still be putting out fresh flowers in Autumn time, but their Summer flowers stay on the plant and dry out beautifully in situ.
Our favourite hydrangea for dry flower heads is the beautiful Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ whose petals start white, but dry out to a glorious pinky-green colour. Leave them on the plant in the garden throughout the Winter for structure, or cut them and bring them inside to admire up close…
For more on growing hydrangeas, see our hydrangea plant guide.
Vic holding a bunch of dried hydrangea flowers
Related articles:
Five favourites: Spring bulbs
How to condition cut flowers
Garden visit to the RHS Community Garden in Autumn
