12 Fall-Blooming Perennials for a Vibrant Garden All Season Long

While you may associate colorful flowers with spring and summer, the opportunity to fill your landscape with vibrant blooms is far from over once fall hits. The season has its own stunning perennials that provide endless autumnal color to your end-of-year garden. From blooms with red and yellow hues to flowers that bud in dreamy pastels, fall perennials are the perfect additions to your landscape. The following varieties come alive in autumn, allowing you to keep your garden blooming until the cold winter months.

Linda Langelo, Colorado State University horticulture specialist
Ryan McEnaney, plant expert; public relations and communications specialist for Bailey Nurseries

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Chrysanthemums

Fall mum flowers — KatarinaGondova / GETTY IMAGES

Perhaps the most popular perennial of the season, chrysanthemums are beloved largely for their autumnal color palette and low-maintenance reputation. There are early fall flowering and late fall flowering varieties of mums, so you can fill your landscape with them all season long. "Mums are heavy feeders and should be fertilized only twice a year," says Linda Langelo, Colorado State University horticulture specialist. "If fertilized more than that, the mums will grow taller than their natural height."

Growing zones: 3 to 9
Mature Size: 8 to 60 inches tall x 16 to 36 inches wide
Growing conditions: full sun; well-draining soil

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Autumn Joy Stonecrop

A well-known fall perennial with winter interest, Autum Joy stonecrop (Hylotelephium telephium 'Herbstfreude' ‘Autumn Joy’) has been one of the most popular garden plants for more than 30 years. When purchasing Autumn Joy, ask if it was started from a cutting or a seed. "A cutting keeps the plant true," says Langelo. "Seeds can revert to one of the parents and may not bloom in the fall but bloom earlier."

Growing zones: 3 to 9
Mature Size: 18 to 24 inches tall x 18 to 24 inches wide
Growing conditions: full sun; well-draining soil

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Sneezeweed

As summer-blooming perennials start to fade, sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) is getting ready to appear with bright and densely-packed flowers. "They're incredibly reliable in the landscape and are great in challenging places in the garden," says Ryan McEnaney, public relations and communications specialist for Bailey Nurseries. "They're a fantastic pollinator plant and the blooms are great in cut arrangements." As the flowers begin to fade, deadhead spent blooms to keep the show going.

Growing zones: 3 to 8
Mature Size: 3 to 5 feet tall x 2 to 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun; moist soil (can tolerate clay and heavier soil)

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Cotton Candy Phlox

A native perennial to North America, Cotton Candy phlox (Phlox paniculata 'Ditomfav') blooms late in the summer and into fall. "I especially love Cotton Candy because it's incredibly resistant and keeps clean foliage all fall, beautifully complementing the lavender-pink flowers," says McEnaney. "This phlox blooms its head off, stays compact and tidy, and adds fragrance to the garden."

Growing zones: 3 to 9
Mature Size: 18 to 22 inches tall x 18 to 24 inches wide
Growing conditions: full sun; evenly moist, well-draining soil

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American Gold Rush Black-Eyed Susan

black eyed susans — Jon Rehg / GETTY IMAGES

This new selection of black-eyed Susan is fast growing and easy to maintain, quickly filling the garden with bright yellow flowers in fall. "It stays compact, making it great in a mixed border or highlight among ornamental grasses," says McEnaney. American Gold Rush (Rudbeckia fulgida) is also highly disease resistant, setting it apart from similar varieties.

Growing zones: 4 to 9
Mature Size: 2 feet tall x 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; moist, well-draining soil

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Japanese Anemone

Want to create a cottage garden? Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis) is a must-have perennial. "Japanese anemone is a dainty bloom that peaks up through the garden on thin stems," says McEnaney. "It’s almost like they’re held above the foliage by magic." The deer- and rabbit-resistant, flower is easy to grow and maintain, giving it a place in anyone’s landscape. Be sure to avoid too shady of a location., as Japanese anemone can get leggy and droop.

Growing zones: 4 to 8
Mature Size: 2 to 5 feet tall x 1 to 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade; moist, well-draining soil

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New England Aster

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is a native plant that produces purple flowers, bringing color to late-season gardens. "It's a fabulous pollinator plant and the bright flowers are a gorgeous complement to the standard red, orange, and yellows in the fall landscape," says McEnaney. "Allow for good air circulation to prevent any leaf diseases, and cut back in late fall after flowering if you’d like to prevent self-seeding."

Growing zones: 3 to 8
Mature Size: 3 to 5 feet tall x 2 to 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun; moist, well-draining soil

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Anise Hyssop

This beloved pollinator plant has lavender-purple flowers that stand tall in each stem like spikes. Venture into your garden and you'll likely find the blooms of anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) are covered in bees, butterflies, native flies, and hummingbirds. "A member of the mint family, it gives off a nice subtle fragrance, but isn't overpowering, so it can be planted near a patio," says McEnaney. "The blooms are long-lasting, so it helps extend the season and can be used in cut arrangements alongside black-eyed Susan, hydrangea, and ornamental grasses."

Growing zones: 4 to 8
Mature Size: 2 to 4 feet tall x 1 to 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun; well-draining soil

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Goldenrod

Goldenrod (Solidago) has showy flowers that bloom from late August through October. One of the most popular goldenrods is Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’, as it is more compact and flowers more vigorously. "For those who like pollinators, Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' attracts the broadest number of pollinators to feed on its nectar and pollen," says Langelo. The plant can be grown in average soil, but prefers slightly acidic conditions.

Growing zones: 4 to 8
Mature Size: 4 to 5 feet tall x 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun but tolerates light shade; well-draining soil

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Blanket Flower

Blanket flower (Gaillardia) is a popular fall perennial due to its long blooming season, tolerance to drought and heat, and easy-to-grow reputation. The bloom is also available in a wide range of colors from yellow to burgundy and mixed hues. Pruning the plant late in summer will achieve a beautiful fall bloom, says Langeo.

Growing zones: 3 to 9
Mature Size: 1 to 3 feet tall x 1 to 2 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun; well-draining soil

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Speedwell

There are about a dozen choices of Speedwell (Veronica officinalis) that provide good fall color in the garden. "These are easy to grow with a palette of colors from white, red, lilac, and blue and attract butterflies," says Langelo. The plant needs to be divided every few seasons to keep growth vigorous and compact and can be propagated from terminal cuttings or divisions.

Growing zones: 3 to 9
Mature Size: 2 to 4 feet tall x 1 to 2 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun; well-draining soil

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Ironweed

With approximately 1,000 species, ironweed is native to a large portion of North America. "The most popular is Vernonia noveboracensis (New York ironweed)," says Langelo. All species of ironweed make great pollinator plants, are low maintenance, have vibrant fall color, and make for a nice cut flower.

Growing zones: 4 to 8
Mature Size: 1 to 3 feet tall x 2 to 3 feet wide
Growing conditions: full sun; moist, well-draining soil

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