Summer's vibrant floral show doesn't have to end when September arrives. Many gorgeous blooms continue their colorful display well into autumn, bridging the seasonal gap with stunning flowers. These persistent bloomers keep your garden looking lively while other plants begin to fade.
Looking for flowers that give you more bang for your buck and effort? Plants that bloom through multiple seasons provide exceptional value for gardeners who want continuous color without constant replanting.
From cheerful daisies to dramatic dahlias, these 14 flowers will keep your garden glowing from summer through early fall.
1. Zinnias: The Resilient Color-Makers
Zinnias are summer garden superstars that refuse to quit when autumn approaches. These vibrant flowers come in nearly every color except blue and produce abundant blooms on sturdy stems.
They thrive in hot conditions and continue flowering until the first frost arrives, making them perfect for extending the garden season. Native to Mexico, zinnias require minimal care once established.
Simply deadhead spent blooms to encourage new flower production throughout the season. Their drought tolerance makes them especially valuable during late summer when rainfall may become less predictable, and butterflies absolutely adore their nectar-rich flowers.
Zinnia Varieties for Extended Blooming
The Profusion series offers some of the most reliable late-season zinnias, with exceptional disease resistance and continuous flowering habits. These compact plants reach about 12 to 15 inches tall and spread to form mounds covered in 2 to 3-inch blooms that don't require deadheading.
Their resistance to powdery mildew makes them particularly valuable for late summer gardens when this disease often appears. For cutting gardens, the Giant Dahlia-flowered and Benary's Giant series produce spectacular blooms on long stems from summer through fall.
These taller varieties reach 3 to 4 feet and produce flowers up to 6 inches across in jewel-toned colors. Their long vase life makes them perfect for bringing summer color indoors as outdoor temperatures begin to cool.
2. Black-Eyed Susans: Native Beauty That Persists
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) bring cheerful golden daisy-like flowers with distinctive dark centers to the garden from midsummer through early autumn. These native North American perennials are incredibly hardy and adaptable to various soil conditions.
They establish quickly and return reliably year after year with minimal maintenance. The classic Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' begins blooming in July and continues producing flowers well into October in many regions.
Once established, these plants form expanding clumps that can be divided every few years to create more plants. Their drought tolerance makes them particularly valuable for low-maintenance gardens where they attract bees, butterflies, and even songbirds that feast on their seeds.
Using Black-Eyed Susans in Garden Design
Black-eyed Susans shine in naturalistic plantings and meadow gardens, where their informal growth habit and bright flowers create a wildflower effect. Plant them in drifts of 5 to 7 plants for the most dramatic display.
Their golden flowers beautifully complement purple blooms like asters and salvias, creating classic late-season color combinations. For smaller gardens, compact varieties like 'Little Goldstar' offer the same long bloom period in a more manageable 14 to 16-inch package.
These petite plants produce abundant 2-inch flowers on well-branched stems. Their compact size makes them perfect for containers or front-of-border positions where their bright flowers can be appreciated up close.
3. Coreopsis: Sunshine on Stems
Coreopsis delivers daisy-like flowers in sunny yellows and warm golds from early summer through early fall. These easy-care perennials, also called tickseed, are workhorses in the garden with their extended bloom time.
They attract pollinators while resisting deer and rabbits, making them garden-friendly plants. Modern coreopsis varieties have been bred for improved flowering, with many reblooming reliably after a light shearing.
Moonbeam coreopsis offers soft lemon-yellow flowers on airy foliage, while Zagreb produces golden-yellow blooms on more compact plants. When given proper care, both continue flowering well into September, bringing consistent color to perennial borders.
Caring for Coreopsis Through the Seasons
The key to extended coreopsis blooming lies in deadheading and occasional rejuvenation pruning. When the first flush of flowers begins to fade in midsummer, trim the plants by about one-third to encourage fresh growth and new buds.
This simple maintenance step can extend the flowering period by several weeks into the fall. Coreopsis performs best in well-drained soil and full sun.
While established plants have good drought tolerance, consistent moisture during the hottest weeks of summer will keep them blooming more prolifically. Lightly applying balanced fertilizer in early summer helps fuel their extended performance without promoting excessive foliage growth.
4. Dahlias: Fall's Floral Superstars
Dahlias truly hit their stride as summer transitions to fall, producing their most spectacular blooms in late August through October. These tuberous plants offer incredible diversity, from dinner-plate-sized flowers to petite pompoms in virtually every color except true blue.
Their ability to produce dozens of blooms per plant makes them stand out in the garden. The secret to dahlia success is their growth habit; they're actually tender perennials that continue developing throughout the growing season.
While early summer brings the first flowers, plants continue to mature and produce increasingly abundant blooms as autumn approaches. This makes them perfect bridge plants between summer and fall gardens.
Selecting Dahlias for Maximum Impact
For reliable late-season performance, decorative and ball dahlias often outperform the giant dinner-plate varieties. Mid-sized varieties like 'Thomas Edison' with its rich purple blooms or 'Cornel' with vibrant red flowers produce abundant 4 to 6-inch blooms well into fall.
These sturdy plants rarely require staking and recover quickly from summer storms. Dark-leaved varieties, with their dramatic foliage, add another dimension to late-season gardens.
The Mystic series combines chocolate-colored leaves with bright flowers that seem to intensify as temperatures cool. 'Mystic Illusion' pairs near-black foliage with bright yellow flowers for a striking display that continues until frost ends the show.
5. Sedum: Autumn's Reliable Performer
Sedums, particularly the upright varieties often called stonecrop, begin their show as summer wanes and continue blooming well into autumn.
These succulent perennials develop broad, flat flower clusters that emerge green in late summer, mature to pink, and eventually deepen to rusty red or bronze as fall progresses.
Their structural form and evolving colors make them garden anchors. 'Autumn Joy' remains the classic variety, reaching about 18 to 24 inches tall with broad flower heads that attract butterflies and bees.
Newer selections like 'Autumn Fire' offer improved stems that resist flopping, while 'Maestro' introduces purple-tinged foliage for additional interest. All provide weeks of changing color as seasons transition.
Sedum's Role in Sustainable Gardens
Sedums earn their place in eco-friendly gardens through exceptional drought tolerance and minimal maintenance requirements. Their succulent leaves store water efficiently, allowing them to thrive during late summer dry spells when many other perennials struggle.
This resilience makes them perfect companions for ornamental grasses and other fall-blooming perennials with similar needs. Sedum seed heads persist through winter, providing food for small birds and visual interest in the dormant garden.
Leaving them standing after flowering adds architectural elements to the winter landscape, especially when frosted or snow-dusted. Their year-round presence makes them true four-season plants despite their peak bloom in early fall.
6. Russian Sage: Silver-Blue Clouds
Russian sage creates hazy drifts of lavender-blue flowers from midsummer through early fall, bringing cool tones to the late-season garden. This woody perennial features silvery stems and aromatic, finely-cut foliage that remains attractive even when not in bloom.
Its drought tolerance and deer resistance make it exceptionally easy to grow. The traditional Perovskia atriplicifolia grows 3 to 4 feet tall with an equal spread, creating a substantial presence in the garden.
Newer compact varieties like 'Little Spire' and 'Blue Jean Baby' offer the same long bloom period on more manageable 2 to 3 foot plants. All types thrive in hot, sunny locations and poor soil where many other perennials would fail.
Companion Planting with Russian Sage
Russian sage creates stunning combinations with late-blooming perennials in complementary colors. Its silver-blue flowers enhance the rich yellows of black-eyed Susans and the deep purples of asters.
The feathery texture contrasts beautifully with plants having bolder leaves like sedum or ornamental grasses, creating visual interest beyond just flower color. For maximum impact, plant Russian sage where backlighting will illuminate its silvery stems and create a glowing effect in the garden.
Morning or late afternoon sun positions best showcase this ethereal quality. The plants require minimal maintenance; cut them back in early spring before new growth begins to maintain their form and flowering.
7. Asters: Nature's Farewell to Summer
Asters burst into bloom just as many summer flowers begin to fade, providing fresh waves of color from late August through October. These daisy-like perennials attract late-season pollinators with their nectar-rich flowers in shades of purple, pink, blue, and white.
Their reliability and cold tolerance make them garden standbys for the seasonal transition. New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) and New York asters (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii) offer the most dramatic fall displays, with plants often covered in hundreds of blooms.
Varieties like 'Purple Dome' remain compact at 18 inches tall, while 'Alma Potschke' reaches 3 to 4 feet with bright pink flowers. Both continue flowering until hard frost, often persisting into November.
Asters for Different Garden Settings
Native aster species provide ecological benefits and ornamental qualities for naturalistic gardens and pollinator habitats. Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) spreads slowly to form low mounds covered in small lavender-blue flowers.
Its drought tolerance and compact habit make it perfect for rock gardens or front-of-border positions. Smaller aster varieties also benefit container gardens by providing fall color without overwhelming their planters.
The Wood's series, including 'Wood's Blue' and 'Wood's Pink,' stays under 12 inches tall while producing abundant flowers. These compact plants resist the powdery mildew that sometimes affects taller asters, maintaining attractive foliage throughout their bloom time.
8. Coneflowers: Summer-to-Fall Transition Specialists
Coneflowers (Echinacea) bridge the seasonal gap with their robust blooming habit that starts in midsummer and continues well into September and October. Their distinctive raised central cones surrounded by colorful ray petals create architectural interest in the garden.
Native to North American prairies, these tough perennials easily handle heat, humidity, and drought. While purple remains the classic coneflower color, modern breeding has introduced white, yellow, orange, red, and green-flowered varieties.
'Magnus' produces vibrant magenta-pink flowers that hold their color without fading, while 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' offers exceptional reblooming ability. Both continue producing fresh flowers into early fall, especially when deadheaded regularly.
Coneflower Maintenance for Extended Blooms
The key to prolonging coneflower performance lies in deadheading spent blooms promptly during summer. This prevents seed formation and redirects the plant's energy into producing new flowers.
By mid-September, consider leaving some seedheads intact for winter interest and to feed finches and other songbirds that relish their seeds. First-year coneflowers often bloom modestly, but patience brings rewards in subsequent seasons.
These perennials develop increasingly robust flowering as their root systems establish, reaching peak performance in their third year. Dividing plants every 3 to 4 years in spring helps maintain vigor and prolongs their impressive blooming capability.
9. Goldenrod: Misunderstood Fall Beauty
Goldenrod bursts into brilliant yellow plumes from late summer through mid-fall, creating spectacular displays in the autumn garden.
Often unfairly blamed for hay fever (the real culprit is usually ragweed blooming simultaneously), these native perennials provide essential late-season nectar for beneficial insects. Their adaptability to various soil conditions makes them remarkably easy to grow.
Garden-worthy varieties like 'Fireworks' and 'Golden Fleece' offer more controlled growth habits than their wild cousins.
'Fireworks' produces arching sprays of tiny yellow flowers on 3 to 4-foot stems, while 'Golden Fleece' stays compact at just 18 inches. Both bloom prolifically from August through October, providing weeks of golden color as days grow shorter.
Integrating Goldenrod in Modern Gardens
Goldenrod creates stunning combinations with other fall bloomers in complementary colors. Its bright yellow flowers pop against the purple-blues of asters and the deep pinks of sedum.
For dramatic effect, pair it with ornamental grasses whose seedheads catch the light alongside goldenrod's bright plumes, creating a meadow-inspired tableau. In naturalistic designs, goldenrod serves as a keystone species supporting late-season wildlife.
The plants host specialized native bees and beneficial insects while providing food for migrating monarch butterflies. Their seed heads feed overwintering birds, extending their garden value well beyond their impressive blooming period.
10. Salvia: Late-Season Color Machines
Salvias continue producing vibrant flower spikes into autumn, providing crucial late-season color and nectar. These aromatic perennials in the sage family offer remarkable heat tolerance and deer resistance, making them low-maintenance garden stars.
Their upright growth habit adds vertical interest to fall gardens when many plants look tired. Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) peaks in September and October with velvety purple flowers that continue until frost.
After a midsummer trim, the popular 'May Night' garden sage rebounds with fresh flowers in fall. Both attract hummingbirds and butterflies during their autumn flowering period, bringing welcome wildlife activity to the cooling garden.
Salvia Care for Fall Performance
The secret to fantastic fall performance from salvias lies in midsummer maintenance. When the first flush of flowers fades in July or early August, trim plants back by about one-third to encourage branching and new bud development.
This simple pruning leads to a second strong bloom cycle that coincides perfectly with autumn's arrival. Soil quality dramatically affects salvia performance, particularly in late season.
These plants thrive in well-drained conditions and produce more abundant flowers in soil that isn't overly rich. Excess fertilizer promotes leafy growth at the expense of flowers, so practice restraint with feeding to enjoy maximum bloom power when it matters most.
11. Sunflowers: Late Summer Icons
Perennial sunflowers burst into bloom in late summer and continue their golden display through September and into October. Unlike their annual cousins, these natives return reliably year after year, forming expanding clumps of fall color.
Their nectar-rich flowers attract butterflies and bees while their seeds feed birds and small mammals later. Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' produces masses of pale yellow 3-inch flowers on 6-foot stems beginning in August and continuing for 6 to 8 weeks.
The more compact Heliopsis 'Summer Sun' (false sunflower) stays around 3 feet tall while blooming from July through September. Both create spectacular masses of yellow daisy-like flowers that brighten the autumn landscape.
Managing Perennial Sunflowers
These enthusiastic growers benefit from preventive management to keep them looking their best through fall. Staking taller varieties in early summer prevents flopping when they reach impressive heights and become heavy with flowers.
Pinching stems back by one-third in early June creates bushier plants with more flowers on shorter stems. Some perennial sunflowers spread vigorously through underground runners, requiring thoughtful placement in the garden.
Consider installing root barriers or planting them in large containers sunk into the ground to control their spread. This extra effort pays off with their reliable late-season performance when many other perennials have finished flowering.
12. Tithonia: The Butterfly Magnet
Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) produces vibrant orange-red daisy-like flowers from midsummer through the first frost, growing more impressive as the season progresses.
This annual reaches 4 to 6 feet tall by late summer and becomes covered with 3-inch flowers that attract monarchs, swallowtails, and numerous other butterfly species searching for late-season nectar.
Despite its tropical origins, tithonia performs best during the transition from summer to fall when days become slightly cooler. As they mature, the plants develop increasingly abundant branching, resulting in peak flower production in September and early October.
Their fiery blooms create dramatic vertical statements in the autumn garden until frost.
Growing Tithonia Successfully
The key to magnificent fall displays from tithonia lies in their summer care. These plants require full sun and appreciate well-drained soil, but once established, they tolerate poor conditions.
Avoid excessive fertilizer, which promotes leafy growth at the expense of flowers. A single application of balanced fertilizer when plants are young provides sufficient nutrition.
For smaller gardens, the compact variety 'Goldfinger' offers the same long bloom period and butterfly appeal on plants reaching just 2 to 3 feet tall.
This more manageable size makes it suitable for containers or front-of-border positions. Like its taller cousins, it continues flowering prolifically through early autumn, providing crucial late-season nectar for pollinators.
13. Verbena bonariensis: Airy Fall Elegance
Verbena bonariensis produces clusters of tiny purple flowers on tall, nearly leafless stems from summer through autumn. This architectural plant creates a see-through effect, allowing gardeners to layer flowers at different heights.
Its airy structure adds movement and grace to fall gardens while requiring minimal ground-level space. Though technically a tender perennial, Verbena bonariensis often self-seeds gently in favorable locations, returning year after year without becoming invasive.
The 3 to 4-foot-tall plants produce new flower clusters continuously from June through October, with peak bloom often occurring in September. Their extended flowering period makes them reliable transition plants between seasons.
Verbena in Garden Design
Verbena bonariensis's transparent quality makes it an exceptional companion plant for fall bloomers of all types. Plant it behind shorter flowers like coreopsis or in front of substantial plants like perennial sunflowers or ornamental grasses.
Its purple blooms complement virtually any color scheme, while its open growth habit never blocks views of companion plants. Butterflies find Verbena bonariensis irresistible, often covering the flower clusters during warm autumn days.
The plants require no deadheading to continue blooming and look better when allowed to develop naturally. Their seed heads persist through winter, adding textural interest to the dormant garden and providing food for finches and other small birds.
Keeping the Garden Colorful Through Changing Seasons
Creating a garden that maintains its visual appeal from summer through fall requires strategic plant selection and thoughtful placement. By incorporating these reliable bloomers, you'll ensure continuous color even as temperatures begin to cool and daylight hours decrease.
The key is balancing early, mid-season, and late bloomers to prevent flowering gaps. Consider your garden's specific conditions when selecting fall-blooming plants.
Drought-tolerant options like sedum and Russian sage thrive in hot, dry locations, while asters and goldenrod appreciate slightly moister situations. Group plants with similar needs together for easier maintenance and optimal performance. Your reward will be a vibrant garden celebrating the growing season until winter's arrival.