Flowering season finito? Is your barren garden making you sulk? You need these Perennials that Bloom Multiple Times a Year!
Most flowering plants bloom once a year or less. Some even take decades to produce a single flower that lasts for a day before withering away. But with our selection of perennials that bloom multiple times a year, your garden will never lose its floral charm.
Known as remontant plants, they blossom twice or more in a single growing season. Let’s dive in!
Perennials that Bloom Multiple Times a Year
1. Yarrow
Botanical Name: Achillea
For a garden sprouting dreamy clouds, plant yarrow. With tiny, delicate clusters of pale blooms and fragrant fern-like foliage, yarrow can be coaxed into blooming multiple times a year if deadheaded during the summer.
An excellent companion herb to plant with veggies, yarrow blooms profusely from late spring through early fall and is perfect for warmer regions. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil and is quite hardy, tolerating drought and poor soil conditions.
2. Veronica
Botanical Name: Veronica spicata
Like the one above, Veronica will produce a second flush of flowers if the first batch of spent blooms is deadheaded. Also known as Speedwell, it has spiky blue, purple, pink, or white flowers that grow on 2-3 foot stems and slightly resembles the herb salvia.
This perennial prefers full sun and well-drained, loamy soil to produce its blooms. Quite easy to grow, it is perfect for rock gardens, borders, and garden beds.
3. Azalea
Botanical Name: Rhododendron spp.
While not all azalea varieties rebloom, ones like Autumn Belle ‘Robleo’ and Bonfire ‘Robleza’ surely do! This evergreen shrub reaches heights of 10 feet and has rose-like flowers, so much so that its botanical name translates to “the tree of roses” in Greek!
These plants do best in moist, well-drained, acidic soil in dappled shade. The soil should not be compacted or dense with clay-like texture, as the roots won’t develop.
Note: This shrub contains compounds like andromedotoxin and grayantoxin, which are highly toxic to humans and can lead to paralysis, cardiac failure, and coma.
4. Phlox
Botanical Name: Phlox paniculata
Phlox typically blooms through summer, but when you deadhead the flowers at the end of their natural flowering cycle, it will produce a second batch of large clusters of fragrant, colorful blossoms in the fall.
This plant thrives in full to partial sun and rich, well-draining soil. It also needs good air circulation, especially near its blooms, as it is prone to powdery mildew.
5. Geranium
Botanical Name: Geranium
If you desire constant color throughout the year, try growing geranium! This plant can bloom the entire year if it gets sufficient sunlight, even indoors.
Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a great reblooming variety that produces violet-blue flowers from late spring until the first frost. Apart from that, you can also grow Pelargoniums.
Prune or deadhead spent blooms to encourage new blooms, but it occurs naturally in some cases. A rapid grower, this variety prefers partial shade and well-drained soil but can adapt to full sun if enough moisture is provided.
6. Daylilies
Botanical Name: Hemerocallis
Daylilies typically bloom during the summer, but several cultivars produce recurring flowers into early fall and other seasons. You can spot this plant by its trumpet-shaped flowers, which come in many colors. However, these blooms only last for a day before falling off.
They grow from bulbs and are a breeze to cultivate. Daylilies thrive in full sun to partial shade and well-drained, organically rich soil. High saline content in the soil poses no problem for them! Here are a few beautiful daylily varieties to choose from.
7. Woodland Sage
Botanical Name: Salvia nemorosa
This perennial is a clump-forming member of the mint family known for its recurring, densely packed purple, blue, and pink blooms. Remember to deadhead spent blooms regularly and provide ample moisture so the flowering season extends beyond summer and fall.
Growing in spikes, it is often confused with lavender. Salvia is a hardy plant that can survive in most conditions, from full sun to partial light and any well-draining soil. It is also drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. Here’s how to grow it!
8. Lavender
Botanical Name: Lavandula
Lavender blooms repeatedly from late spring through summer, filling your garden with its soothing fragrance. You can identify this classic medicinal herb by its purple flower spikes and silvery-green fragrant foliage.
Pruning and cutting back the plant will encourage year-long blooms and prevent it from getting woody. Lavender thrives in cool climes and prefers well-drained, slightly alkaline soil. Luring in pollinators, it also makes a perfect garden hedge.
9. Roses
Botanical Name: Rosa
Another perennial that blooms multiple times a year is the quintessential rose. Many modern cultivars, such as ‘Knock Out’ or ‘David Austin,’ produce recurring flowers from late spring to fall. Appearing in a wide range of colors, they have a full, layered form that is amplified with timely deadheading.
Roses prefer full sun and rich, well-drained clay or loamy, neutral to slightly acidic soil. They need regular watering and some maintenance to thrive.
10. Coneflower
Botanical Name: Echinacea purpurea
Coneflowers bloom repeatedly from early summer to fall, adding beauty and attracting pollinators to your garden. This member of the daisy family has slightly cone-shaped flowers with a spiky protruding center in shades of purple and pink.
These hardy perennials adapt easily and thrive even in the harshest conditions, tolerating all soil types. They are drought, deer, heat, and salt tolerant and survive in full and partial sun. Check out these coneflower varieties for your garden.
11. Coreopsis
Botanical Name: Coreopsis
Deadhead or snip off the spent flowers to nudge your tickseed into reblooming. Producing tiny, daisy-like yellow blooms in early summer, with the right care, you can easily extend its flowering season.
This perennial loves full sun and prefers poor sandy and rocky soils. It also tolerates drought and hot, humid conditions.
12. Shasta Daisy
Botanical Name: Leucanthemum x superbum
Like most others on this list, deadheading will magically push the Shasta Daisy to bloom over and over again. The more compact varieties tend to rebloom more with large white, yellow-centered flowers that may be single or double-layered.
Shasta Daisy prefers full sun and average to dry, well-drained soil. Once established, it requires minimal care and is drought-tolerant.
13. Catmint
Botanical Name: Nepeta
These hardy plants bloom extensively with little care. Just cut back after the initial blooms to have an abundance of its endearing tiny lilac and lavender clusters of blooms atop loose, airy spikes. Also, your cat will love this plant!
Catmint’s needs are quite straightforward—full sun and well-drained soil. It’s drought-tolerant and is not picky about soil type.
14. Iris
Botanical Name: Iris germanica
Certain varieties of the Bearded Iris bloom multiple times in a single year, particularly during the spring and fall seasons. And guess what? You don’t have to deadhead it to obtain the second flush of flowers, as they do it naturally when their needs are met.
These large, showy flowers have a ruffled texture in purple to yellow. Irises prefer full sun and dry, well-draining soil. They hate heavy clay soils, mulching, and overwatering, which could lead to root rot.
15. Penstemon
Botanical Name: Penstemon digitalis
If deadheaded, be ready for multiple batches of gorgeous Penstemon blooms! Often spotted in higher altitudes, this clumping perennial has tubular-shaped white flowers and a spike-like arrangement.
Penstemon grows best in well-drained, moist to dry, loamy soils but can tolerate other types. This wildflower needs full sun, and with these basic needs covered, it will glorify your garden not once but several times a year!
16. Candytuft
Botanical Name: Iberis sempervirens
Candytuft is a low-growing perennial that produces clusters of small, fragrant flowers in shades of white, pink, or purple. It blooms reliably in spring and can often rebloom in fall if deadheaded after the initial flowering.
It is a versatile plant that can be used in rock gardens, borders, or as ground cover. Give it full sun and well-drained soil and it’ll thrive.
17. Hibiscus
Botanical Name: Hibiscus
Hibiscus needs no introduction! Being the most iconic tropical flowering plant, recent cultivars like Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Brilliant’ and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Painted Lady’ have been tweaked to produce long-lasting blooms multiple times a year.
The flowers are large, usually around 4-6 inches wide, and have soft, delicate petals in colors like red, pink, white, and yellow. Most varieties will produce year-long blooms if grown in warmth. They thrive in full sunlight, well-drained, moist soil, and ample humidity.
18. Madagascar Periwinkle
Botanical Name: Catharanthus roseus
This Madagascar native of the dogbane family produces small radial flowers in purple, pink, or white. It emerges multiple times yearly, especially during summer and fall when deadheaded.
This plant enjoys full sun to partial or dappled shade in moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. High heat also doesn’t bother the periwinkle.
19. Lantana
Botanical Name: Lantana camara
Multiple times a year? Why not all year, for many years? Lantana can be grown as an annual or perennial; the latter will produce blooms throughout the year in warm, frost-free regions. Blooms appear in red, orange, yellow, or pink spherical clusters.
This plant has a woody stem and a sprawling habit. It loves full sun and moist, well-drained soil. However, it can also tolerate poor soil and drought-like conditions.
Note: The beauty of this plant hides a toxic trait! It contains pentacyclic triterpenoids and triterpenes, which can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and liver failure if ingested.
20. Bougainvillea
Botanical Name: Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea is a tropical perennial climber that can be tricked into blooming multiple times a year if grown in a warm climate. Mimicking its growing season conditions also helps boost flowers. In warm, sunny climates, it produces vibrant small flowers surrounded by large, colorful bracts.
Sandy or loamy acidic soils with good drainage and full sun will produce sought-after flowers and keep your bougainvillea healthy.
Tip: Bougainvillea produces more blooms as it ages, so the more mature it gets, the higher the chances of multiple flowering sprees.
