Perennials: Favorite fall bloomers

I would like to know what your favorite Late Summer/Fall bloomers are. We all know mums, but I'd like to see some unique plants.

"eyes"

Gentiana and Naked Ladies (Colchicum sp.) are my favourites!

Hey Eyes, I am trying to think of what is blooming for me in late summer/fall. Don't know how 'unique' they are, but I have Asters, perennial sunflowers, dahlias, butterfly bushes, cosmos, mums, goldenrod, roses, grasses, morning glories, datura, malva, perennial sweet pea and others still going strong into the first frosts. Last time we had a late first frost, I still had castor beans and a bunch of annuals still going into late Novemeber. :) Don't forget the ornamental kales and cabbages! Great colors and variations.

Absolutely Guaara lindheimeri 'Dauphin'. It has finally come alive (last week of August) to become the star of the garden. 5' tall and gangly, pink turning white in a mass of color. Pulling together the last odds and ends to give a great fall conclusion.

http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=74170

Eyes, I have dahlias, malva zebrinas, butterfly bushes, moonflowers, morning glories and a whole bed of pink and white whirling butterflies (gaura) opposite the mums which haven't bloomed yet! Also still some rudbeckia, cosmos and boltonia blooming, and a few yellow cannas from the roundup. Oh yes! The pink clover bush that I got from JustDot is flowering away like crazy. The mandevillas, fuschias and other tropicals and annuals in containers continue to brighten up my entryway and I shall hate the drabness of winter when it comes.

As I was just writing this, a woman who was out walking in the light drizzle came to the door to ask if she could please have just one dahlia... and to say how much she has enjoyed seeing this garden grow during her walks! It's so lovely to have someone else say how this garden feeds theirsoul.

How wonderful, Darius!!! I can just see that big old smile of your's as you hand her not just one dahlia!! The thrill that our garden's feed our own souls, and those of other's is just the greatest feeling!!!

"eyes"

My absolute favorite has to be leadwort. I just love the azure blue flowers. Toadlilies are another favorite, along with sedum, mums, asters, goldenrod, himalayan fleece flower, the odd hosta, and chinese lanterns...not to mention the wide variety of eupatoriums out there. And if you like dried flower arrangements, the seedpods on moth mullien are great. So are ornamental grasses. Let's not forget those! My favorite would be Northern Sea Oats.

naturepatch

naturepatch... I haven't thought of Chinese Lanterns in years! I bet they DO look good about now.

Mine has to be fields and fields of different goldenrod. Not unique but sturdy with much color when everything is staring to go brown. I have about six kinds abutting my back yard and I let them grow rather than cut them so I can sit on my porch and see all the gold.

Here the weather has cooled off some and the roses are blooming like it was May. Spider Lilies seem early this year but they are blooming good. If it ever rains
the mums will get going. Cockscomb still looks good.
The unexpected blooms are great, sometimes it'll get kinda cold then warm again and spring things pop-up a fall bloom. Last year we had dozen or so iris blooming in late Oct. These were spring bloomers not known as reblooming varieties. Its nice to have a taste of spring at the door to winter.

I like Phillipine Violet for blooms this time of year. They are purple and the bush is covered with blooms.

Eyes: I just had to pop in to say that I saw your subject and my first thought was that most of us have "Monday, Tuesday, Wednes.... bloomers, not Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter!

Our fall blooms are probably more like your summer blooms, considering that we could get some snow in late September! One of the real fall performers for my mother back in Indiana when I was a child were "Spoon Mums". I'm not sure which variety they are, but the petals were tubular, and they came in all the fall colors of yellow, bronze, pinkish mauve...just lovely. I wish they would grow up here.

Weez.. I love the spoon mums... just dodn't have any in my garden. Maybe next year!

My mother had a whole bed of them under our picture window in the livingroom. As I recall, they grew rather tall. They were an excellent cut flower. They bloomed in the fall when the leaves were turning...ah, memories!

Presently, the tall asters are blooming.....these are great for arranging...Elaine

I love asters, actually better than mums. Last year, my MIL had a pair of gorgeous plants, I think probably they were Tanacetum coccineum (Painted Daisy) and I'm still looking for that cultivar again :)

Tanacetum coccineum will grow here. I've got some Robinson's Mix I started from seed. I think the plant isn't as hardy as it could be here, but a pink one wintered over for me, and I've seen others around town. Here's a photo of the double headed bloom mine produced this summer.

The seed was listed as Pyrethrum... I think that the botanical world is just trying to confuse me!

Oh, I think I lied. My MIL didn't have Tanacetum coccineum, but probably a Brachycome (the common names of these two always get tangled up in my mind; another reason to use the botanical I 'spose ;-)

Ah, yes, Brachycome iberidifolia 'Bravo Mix'! This was my first year growing them, and I kept waiting for blooms. I think I'll start them earlier next spring. The colors were beautiful when they did bloom...

I've never particularly gone for dahlias, but this species one is lovely - D. merckii.

And i love Verbena bonariensis too, it attracts the butterflies wonderfully!

I agree Philomel the VB is looking stunning at this time of year. Many of my geraniums after being cut back are also looking particulary, especially Ann Thomson and Brookside. Full of colour.

Yes, Vera May and Dilys are both going strong
And then there are the sedums - again great for butterflies etc. Here's Autumn Joy

The verbena is beautiful, Phil. I looked it up on the PDB, and its not suited to my zoning, but I was hoping! I was happy to see the your photo in there. Now you don't have to look at that ugly old PDB fairy again!

Some sedums do well here, and Autumn Joy is one of them. However, ours were in full bloom about a month ago. Evrything is ready for it's winter nap around here..including me!

LOLOL Fairy Weez!! The blackthorn's in there too now, so your magic wand worked ;-)

The dormice and i have another month to go before we drift off

You might be able to grow VB as a half hardy annual by starting it early - it flowers in its first year. (As if you didn't have enough to treat like that already!)

It's a thought, Philomel. Yes, we treat many perennials as half-hardy annuals. In fact, after a long hard day in the garden dumping pots and trimming plants this fall, I'm not sure I'll winter over. After the age of 50, perhaps we all become half-hardy annuals!

Oh, good, the blackthorn is in the PDB. I find that thread very interesting. Glad to see the fairy is doing her job. It proves the old theory that the "squeaky wheel gets the most grease." I don't think anyone wants her showing up in their thread more than once!

LOLOL the old nag :o)
You'd better winter over - i shall be needing someone in Alaska to visit some time LOL

I imagine I'll survive the cold yet another year or two! I think someone will need to shake me out of my torpor a bit earlier each year...say, March, to have me functional by May!

Weezin Philomel is right. Verbena is not reliably hardy here either so I sow fresh seed every spring. Our season isnt much different to yours and my plants are giving a great display at the moment. They are extremely easy from seed and need no special treatment.

I've only grown one verbena here in Alaska, a lavender trailing variety that worked nicely in hanging pots. I'll try some new varieties this spring. I've always loved verbena.

Vernonia's another favorite, although it's a bit big and lanky (almost too scruffy, even) for small and/or formal gardens. Pair it with Rudbeckia or Goldenrod for a really deep, rich purple/gold combination.

I'm not familiar with vernonia, so I looked it up... boy, it gets tall! I can imagine it would look good with some gold! That would surely put some flair in the fall season. There are so many really nifty plants that don't grow here. I just remembered another favorite fall bloomer...well, better if it's not blooming, I guess...flowering kale!

I was unable to post this ? in frequently asked so hope you don't mind. Can someone tell me when you can start collecting snapdragon seeds? Thanks, Denise

Tomden, I'd wait until the seed pods turn brown then cut the heads and harvest them. They are usually full of seed.

Thanks, Denise

Alma Potsche asters. So rosy - red! Cardinal Flower. Deep red. False Dragon Head. So rosy - purple. Monkshood. Deep purple. These are a few of my favorite things!

That sounds like a wonderful mix of rich colors in the fall! Our season is so short here, that many of the fall flowers don't work for us, but we have lots of colors going in late summer.

I could have more, but everyone has mums and such. I write down what's blooming and I have enough to get by, but I need to kind of fill it out. August, September AND October all need work.

I really enjoy the hardy hibiscus here in the fall. I have some, but my neighbor has a TON of it and I love walking by her house when they're blooming. ; )

Russian sage, purple coneflowers, salvia 'East Friesland', asters, sedums, ornamental grasses, Joe Pye weed, and agastache. I need less late summer, more spring and summer, LOL.