Fall is Just Around the Corner, and Summer Annuals Know it!
As summer annuals fade away in the face of fall’s cooler temperatures, nurseries and garden centers everywhere line their aisles with vibrantly colored cool weather annuals like moms, pansies, and ornamental kales. These plants are perfect for filling the spaces left behind by warm weather annuals and perennials as they die back, providing color and texture in the garden right up until the first hard frost of winter.
A Few of our Favorite Fall Annuals
- Mums – Mums come in many different colors and bloom profusely all through the fall season. Drop them in the landscape to fill a gap or pop them in containers – they do well in both!
- Ornamental Kale and Cabbages – A client favorite, these unique beauties can survive cooler temperatures (down to 20 F!) making them some of the longest lasting of all the fall annuals. Available in a wide range of colors (including pink, red, and purple), these annuals provide eye-catching texture in the landscape and containers. Added bonus: Many are edible – check the label!
- Marigolds – Marigolds are something of an exception, as with proper care and regular dead heading these annuals can provide an abundance of colorful blooms all through the summer and late into fall.
- Pansies – Not just for spring, these cool weather favorites come in purples, white, yellow, orange, beautiful burgundies, blues, reds and black. Simply plant them in the landscape or in containers paired with taller plants to brighten the landscape!
- Celosia – These annuals can be found throughout the growing season in an array of vibrant colors: red, yellow, orange and pink to name a few. In addition to being colorful, celosia tend to be extremely tolerant of different soil types and moisture levels as long as they’re planted in sunny spaces.
Plant When…
If you’re planning to use fall annuals this year, we recommend waiting to purchase and plant them until the temperatures have begun to stabilize in the 70s (Fahrenheit). Otherwise, you run the risk of having your cool weather plants damaged by summer’s heat. In the meantime, do your homework – different annuals bloom at different times throughout the season, so with a little planning homeowners can have flowers all season long!
