While some shrubs fill quiet corners with reliable green tones in autumn, others burst forth with warm, cheerful tones. Try these fall-blooming shrubs for late season hues
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Fall blooming shrubs and bushes are an essential part of the autumn landscape. Plants that add late-season color and interest are invaluable to both growers and wildlife as the weather begins to cool. Indeed, they can be some of the best flowering bushes you can grow during the calendar year. But how does one go about creating such a space? Here, we’ll look at some of the most popular and beautiful autumn-blooming shrubs and the characteristics that make them so special.
Fall is a magnificent time of year. The air turns crisp, leaves start changing color and many people enjoy apple picking hay rides, and sipping hot cider. However, as the weather cools, many gardens also start to lose their vibrancy and appeal. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
There are a number of bushes that bloom in fall, providing a splash of late season color just when you need it most. In this article, we’ll explore 10 top options to consider planting in your own yard With the right mix of fall bloomers, you can easily extend your garden’s beauty into the autumn months.
1. Autumn Sage
Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) is a perennial shrub that reaches 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. It is hardy in zones 5-10. This sage bursts into bloom in late summer and fall, bearing tubular flowers in shades of red, pink, purple, orange, or yellow. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. Autumn sage is drought tolerant once established. To encourage ongoing blooms, deadhead spent flowers regularly.
2. Japanese Anemone
Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida) sends up tall stems topped with 2 to 3 inch single or semi-double blooms reminiscent of wildflowers. Flower color ranges from white to light pink to dark pinkish-purple. This perennial grows 2 to 4 feet tall and wide, performing best in zones 4-8. It tolerates partial shade but does best in full sun. Japanese anemone appreciates evenly moist, well-drained soil. Deadhead spent blooms to prolong flowering.
3. Bush Clover
Bush clover (Lespedeza thunbergii) is a semi-evergreen shrub that grows 4 to 8 feet tall. Arching stems bear small leaves and tiny purple-pink pea-like blooms. Bush clover is hardy in zones 4-8. For best flower production, grow this plant in full sun and average to dry soil. It’s drought and heat tolerant. Only light pruning is required after flowering.
4. Seven Son Flower
Seven son flower (Heptacodium miconioides), also called seven son shrub, is a graceful, vase-shaped deciduous shrub reaching 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide at maturity. Clusters of tiny white blooms appear on the shrub in late summer/early fall, followed by red calyxes that give a rosy glow. Seven son flower thrives in zones 5-8 in part shade to full sun. Well-drained, evenly moist soil is ideal. Avoid excessive summer watering.
5. Autumn Joy Stonecrop
Autumn Joy stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’) is a succulent perennial with fleshy green leaves and fat flower heads that transition from pink to coppery red over the course of autumn. Growing 12 to 18 inches tall and wide, it blooms August into November and is hardy in zones 3-10. Autumn Joy sedum tolerates drought, heat, humidity, and poor soil. For best results, grow it in full sun with average to dry soil. Deadhead spent blooms.
6. Violet Cloud Sage
Violet cloud sage (Salvia farinacea ‘Rhea’) produces vibrant violet-purple flower spikes from August to first frost. This herbaceous perennial reaches 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It thrives in zones 9-10. Violet cloud sage needs full sun and very well-drained soil. Periodic watering is required. To encourage ongoing blooms, prune back flower stems after the initial flush of blooms begins to fade.
7. Panicle Hydrangea
Panicle hydrangeas like Limelight (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’) offer cone-shaped blooms that start white then morph to pink or even red. They bloom in late summer and fall on fast-growing shrubs reaching 6 to 10 feet tall/wide. Panicle hydrangea is hardy in zones 3-8. Site it in full sun to part shade with moist, well-drained acidic soil. Prune in late winter to control size and increase blooms.
8. Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a medium to large deciduous shrub bearing huge, hibiscus-like blooms up to 6 inches wide in late summer and fall. It grows 8 to 12 feet tall/wide and is hardy in zones 5-9. For best growth and flowering, provide rose of sharon with full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. Occasional watering is needed. Prune in late winter to shape and improve flower production.
9. Bush Cinquefoil
Bush cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) offers small, five-petaled yellow, white, pink, or red blooms for weeks in late summer and fall. Growing 1 to 4 feet tall and wide, this compact shrub is hardy in zones 2-7. Bush cinquefoil tolerates most soil types and needs full sun to bloom well. It requires minimal watering once established. Shear lightly after flowering to shape and stimulate new growth.
10. Smooth Witch Hazel
Smooth witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) bears lightly fragrant yellow, orange, or red ribbon-like flowers along its bare branches in October and November. This large shrub or small tree grows 15 to 30 feet tall/wide and is hardy in zones 3-8. For best flowering, site witch hazel in full sun to part shade with moist, acidic soil. Prune in summer after flowering.
With the right selection of fall blooming bushes, you can easily extend your landscape’s beauty into the autumn months. Give your yard a boost of late season color by incorporating a few of these flowering shrubs that shine just when the rest of the garden starts to fade.
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Higan Cherry (Image credit: Marianne Pfeil / Shutterstock)
Higan cherry trees (Prunus subhirtella) make for a beautiful addition to the home landscape. Each spring, anyone looking to grow these cherry trees can expect a profusion of fragrant, white-pink blooms. Vivid copper-red foliage graces the plant in fall, just as the weather begins to cool. Trees will commonly reach 40ft (12m) at maturity, so if you are factoring in structures or electrical lines, avoid planting these fall-blooming shrubs nearby. Higan cherry trees are hardy to USDA zones 6-8.Gardening tips, videos, info and more delivered right to your inbox!
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Choosing the Best Fall Blooming Shrubs to Grow
The best outdoor fall-blooming shrubs are those that add multi-season color and interest to beds and borders. Alongside low-maintenance evergreen shrubs that provide low key color, autumn blooming bushes include those that flower late into the season, produce particularly attractive fall foliage, or yield interesting or colorful seed pods.
A plant’s ability to support pollinators and other local species may also come into play if you are focused on creating a thriving backyard ecosystem. As part of your key gardening tasks for autumn, finding a fall-blooming shrub best suited to growth in your own garden depends greatly on the growing region, and the specific needs of each species.
TOP 10 Fall Flowering Perennials Blooming Autumn Garden
FAQ
What shrub blooms in the fall?
For a splash of gold, consider the Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). This unique shrub blooms with fragrant, yellow flowers in late fall or early winter, providing a rare burst of color when most other plants have faded.
Which plants bloom in the fall?
Sunflowers are the quintessential fall flower, a staple for all your bouquets. Unlike seed varieties which grow tall and produce just a few blooms, our shorter, broadly mounded Suncredible® sunflowers produce hundreds of flowers per season.
What shrub blooms all season?
Butterfly bush have one of the longest bloom times of all garden plants: they seem to never be without flowers from early summer through autumn. This makes them perhaps better called “continuous bloomers” over rebloomers, since they don’t really take a break like other plants on this list do.