As the spring and summer plantings continue to fall by the wayside, this is the perfect time to replenish the earlier blooming beauties with the flowers of fall.
These are perennials that will come back year after year. Most of the suggestions on our list are also great pollinators which will support bees and butterflies.
- First up on our list of fall blooming perennial flowers to grow, is this widely recognizable perennial. Asters can grow up to 7’ tall depending upon variety, but more commonly hovers around 2’ tall and wide. Its daisy-like appearance features fringy petals in hues of purple, lavender, pink, and white, often with yellow centers. It prefers full to part sun, moist but well-drained soil and cool nighttime temperatures.
- Hardy mums are synonymous with autumn — their harvest shades of yellow, orange, white, and purple are instantly associated with sweater weather. Don’t confuse them, however, with the potted fall mums found at grocery stores and floral shops at this time of year — those plants are mostly seasonal decorations alongside pumpkins and gourds because they won’t likely survive the winter.
- Goldenrod are rugged and adaptable fall blooming perennial flowers crops up where other plants fail to bloom — but mistake this beauty for a hay fever-inducing weed and you’ll be missing out on one of fall’s most stunning and dependable bloomers. Because the goldenrod blooms at about the same time as ragweed, it’s often mistakenly blamed for seasonal allergies.
- Looking for a mauve giant for your fall garden? Look no further; it’s Joe Pye weed. Growing up to 7’ tall, this clumping perennial features tiny dull-pink bloom clusters that are very attractive to butterflies — and which produce dried seed heads that persist into winter. Give it full sun to part shade, and moist, fertile soil that does not dry out.
- Sedum is a huge family of plants with foliage in wide-ranging colors from gray-green, blue-green, to burgundy. These drought-tolerant succulent plants feature a profusion of tiny, star-shaped fall flowers. Commonly called “stonecrop,” sedum generally prefers full sun to light shade, and fertile but well-drained soil.
Reflection, troubleshooting, and planning
This is the perfect time of year to help you bolster your garden for next spring while also preparing your garden for the upcoming chill.
Here are some tasks that need to be done this month:
- Continue to mulch your fall gardens to suppress weeds and regulate soil temperature.
- Stop fertilizing trees, lawns, and shrubs.
- Fertilize protected plants and vegetables as needed.
- Continue saving seeds from high-performing vegetables and flowers.
- Walk around the garden and take notes of what you want to plant next year, what succeeded, and what didn’t do well.
If you are planning a fall display with a few pumpkins scattered about, both mums and pansies will add a nice pop of color.
Happy Fall y’all! Oh, stay tuned for our Now Habersham contest kickoff tomorrow and the perfect fall giveaway with our gardening partner, Lowe’s of Cornelia!
