Plants with Large, Bold Red Flowers to Brighten Up Your Garden

Red is one of the most striking and visually powerful colors in the garden. Unlike more subdued tones like pastels, big, bold red flowers command attention, stopping you in your tracks. They create dramatic focal points and instantly draw the eye wherever they are planted.

If you want to make a vibrant statement in your garden, go for plants that produce large, showy blossoms in fiery shades of red. Scatter them throughout beds, borders and containers for pops of excitement, or mass them together for high-impact color.

Red blooms also have the added benefit of attracting pollinators. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees all flock to plants with bright red flowers. So incorporating plenty of red into your garden helps support wildlife too.

Below is an overview of some of the best options for big bold red blooming plants to incorporate into your garden design

Dahlias

No plant is more synonymous with huge, dinner plate-sized flower heads than the dahlia. These stunning tuberous annuals come in every color of the rainbow, with many rich red varieties perfect for making a dramatic statement.

Some top red dahlia picks include ‘Mathew Alan’, ‘Waltzing Mathilda’, ‘Gallery Art Deco’ and ‘Grande Wine’ In full sun and fertile soil, these can produce blooms up to 8 inches across on strong, sturdy stems ideal for cutting Dahlias grow 3 to 6 feet tall depending on the variety.

Cannas

Another tropical plant grown for its outrageously large and showy blossoms, cannas produce flowers measuring up to 5 inches across in sizzling shades of red, orange, yellow and bi-colors.

Eye-catching red varieties like ‘Pretoria’, ‘Intrigue’, ‘Red King Humbert’ and ‘Wyoming Red’ thrive in full sun and moist, fertile soil. Their huge flowers sit atop big, lush green leaves on plants that grow 4 to 6 feet tall.

Hardy Hibiscus

Hardy hibiscus shrubs can take winter outdoors, but still pump out those familiar big, bold blooms up to 8 inches wide all summer. Varieties like ‘Cranberry Crush’, ‘Plum Crazy’, ‘Midnight Marvel’ and ‘Kopper King’ produce flowers in red, pink, white and more.

Give them full sun and medium to wet soil for best results. Most hardy hibiscus varieties reach 4 to 6 feet tall and wide at maturity.

Geraniums

No roundup of red bloomers would be complete without classic red geraniums. Their small, vibrant red flowers completely blanket plants in color from spring to fall. For the brightest, truest red, look for varieties like ‘Red’, ‘Fireworks Red’, ‘Ringo Red’ and ‘Patriot Red’.

In containers or garden beds, geraniums thrive in full sun with average soil and bloom continuously once mature, typically reaching 1 to 1 1⁄2 feet tall and wide. Deadhead spent blooms to encourage more flowers.

Begonias

For big, bold red blooms even in shade, wax begonias and dragon wing begonias are top performers. Wax begonia varieties like ‘Big Red with Bronze Leaf’ and ‘Crazy Red’ produce abundant large clusters of showy red blossoms on fleshy stems.

Meanwhile, dragon wing begonias like ‘Lipstick’ and ‘Salsa’ have dangling branches covered in smaller yet still prolific red and pink-red blooms. Give them rich soil and part shade to full shade. Both types grow 12 to 18 inches tall.

Lilies

Of all the flowers typically thought of as red, oriental hybrid lilies produce some of the largest blossoms, frequently 8 inches or more across. Varieties like ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Scheherazade’ and ‘Muscadet’ bear huge, upward facing flowers in the most vivid shades of red.

For best results, plant the bulbs in fall in zones 4-9. They bloom in mid to late summer, shooting up lightly fragrant red blooms on stems 3 to 4 feet tall. Stake tall varieties if needed.

Roses

No red bloomer list is complete without roses. While flower size varies, floribunda and shrub roses in particular produce nice sized blossoms averaging 3 to 4 inches wide in bold, true red hues.

Great picks include red varieties of ‘Knock Out’, ‘Oso Easy Paprika’, ‘Drop Dead Red’ and ‘Super Hero’ roses. Give them full sun, fertile soil and yearly pruning for maximum flower production. Most red rose shrubs reach 3 to 5 feet tall and wide.

Zinnias

For easy to grow annuals with big, bold red flowers sometimes up to 5 inches across, zinnias are a great choice. Tall varieties like ‘Scarlet Flame’, ‘Giant Dahlia Flowered’ and ‘State Fair’ produce blossoms in shades from cherry red to deep crimson.

These carefree, drought tolerant plants thrive in full sun and heat. Simply scatter seeds where desired in spring after the last frost. Zinnias bloom from summer until fall and reach heights between 2 and 4 feet tall depending on the variety.

Sunflowers

What plant has bigger, bolder blooms than a sunflower? For the largest red flowers, choose types that produce many smaller blooms on branched plants rather than single large blooms on unbranched stems.

Good picks for big red sunflowers include ‘Ruby Eclipse’, ‘Chianti’ and ‘Mars’. Sow seeds after the danger of frost has passed and provide full sun. Most multiflowering red sunflowers grow 5 to 10 feet tall.

Daylilies

Daylily flowers generally measure 3 to 6 inches across, but tetraploid varieties containing double the normal number of chromosomes produce even bigger blooms.

Large flowering red tetraploid daylilies to look for include ‘Pirate’s Patch’, ‘Ruby Spider’, ‘Frances Joiner’ and ‘Primal Scream’. Plant in full sun to light shade and watch them thrive and spread, typically reaching 2 to 3 feet tall.

Anthurium

For an easy houseplant that produces showstopping red blooms, anthurium is a great choice. Its glossy, heart-shaped red bracts (modified leaves) last for many weeks indoors and measure up to 5 inches long by 3 inches wide in larger varieties.

Popular big-bracted indoor anthuriums include ‘Red Champion’, ‘Midnight’, ‘Firebird’ and ‘Shining Red’. Provide them with bright, indirect light and slightly moist soil. Most reach 1 to 3 feet tall when grown in containers.

Mandevilla

Of all the flowering vines that produce big red blooms, mandevilla is one of the showiest. Through summer and fall it bears huge quantities of trumpet-shaped red blossoms up to 3 inches across.

Top choices for big red flowers are ‘Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Sunmandecrim’ mandevilla. Grow them in full sun in containers with trellises or obelisks for support. Treat as annuals except in zone 10 and warmer, where they grow over 8 feet long each season.

Red Hot Pokers

Also known by their botanical name Kniphofia, towering red hot poker plants shoot up flower spikes topped with tubular red and yellow blooms easily 6 inches across or larger. Striking varieties include ‘Fire Dance’, ‘Flamenco’ and ‘Shining Sceptre’.

These virtually carefree perennials thrive in full sun to produce their bold vertical columns of color. Staking may be needed on taller varieties. Most red hot pokers grow 2 to 4 feet tall.

Ideas for Using Red Flowers

Big, bold red blooms make an eye-catching statement wherever planted. Here are some ideas for incorporating them into your garden design:

• Plant a red flower border along a fence or property line for vibrant curb appeal.

• Use red flowering cannas or hibiscus as the anchor plants in a tropical-themed bed.

• Grow red zinnias, dahlias or sunflowers together in a cutting garden.

• Let red flowering vines like mandevilla climb up obelisks, arbors and trellises.

• Grow red lilies and daylilies together for big blooms in a perennial bed.

• Fill containers and hanging baskets with red geraniums, begonias and petunias.

• Add a red flowering shrub like roses or hardy hibiscus to a foundation planting.

Let big, bold red flowers make a scene stealing statement in your garden this year! It’s a color that’s impossible to ignore, and just a few key plants can provide that excitement you’ve been looking for in your beds, borders or containers.