White Flowers | 48 Best Types to Grow

Raul Cornelius is a Senior Editor at BalconyGardenWeb and an expert in flower and herb cultivation based in Phoenix, Arizona. A frequent speaker at horticultural events, he is also an active contributor to Facebook flower groups. Holding an MBA and a BCom, Raul blends his gardening skills with strong leadership and analytical abilities. Passionate about writing and photography, he enjoys early mornings with coffee and books, and nature bike rides during weekends.
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Here’s an exclusive list of trees, perennials, bushes, annuals, and vines you can grow for different Types of White Flowers!

The color white brings peace and serenity with its subtle appearance and smell. This list of amazing White Flowers can be a gorgeous centerpiece indoors or a fresh breath of air in your garden!

Have a look at white flower pictures from Instagram


Best Types of White Flowers

Trees with White Flowers

1. American Elderberry

Types of White Flowers

Botanical Name: Sambucus canadensis

USDA Zone: 3-10

Height/Spread: 8-12/4-6 feet

Native to eastern North America, the American elderberry thrives in sunny areas. The tree produces a cluster of lemon-scented flowers that are loved by butterflies and pollinators.

2. White Angel’s Trumpet

Botanical Name: Brugmansia spp

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: 6-10/2-4 feet

Angel’s Trumpet features fragrant, trumpet-shaped, large flowers. You can also grow it in containers and bring it indoors in cold climates. It flowers from mid-summer to fall.

3. Black Chokeberry

Types of White Flowers 2

Botanical Name: Aronia melanocarpa

USDA Zone: 3-8

Height/Spread: 4-8/4-6 feet

Black chokeberry displays a cluster of white small-petaled flowers along with the berries that ripen to black in fall. Also, the leaves become purple/red in fall, giving it a gorgeous look!

4. Bridal Wreath Spirea

Botanical Name: Spiraea prunifolia

USDA Zone: 5-9

Height/Spread: 4-8/3-6 feet

This beautiful tree has a thin growth habit. It features a small bunch of double white flowers in spring immediately after the leaves sprout. You can use it for border planting or as a foundation plant.

5. Buttonbush

Types of White Flowers 3

Botanical Name: Cephalanthus occidentalis

USDA Zone: 5-10

Height/Spread: 8-12/6-8 feet

The tree produces beautiful, unique-looking pin-cushion flowers that attract pollinators and butterflies. This tree tolerates moist and wet soil very well.

6. Carolina Silverbell

Botanical Name: Halesia carolina

USDA Zone: 4-8

Height/Spread: 25-40/20-30 feet

It displays beautiful bell-shaped flowers during April. The yellow-green fall foliage looks attractive but fades early in the season.

7. Giant Dogwood

Types of White Flowers 4

Botanical Name: Cornus controversa

USDA Zone: 5-8

Height/Spread: 30-40/20-25 feet

This beautiful tree produces a cluster of creamy-white flowers, making way for blue-black fruits that ripen in late summer. The tree is native to China and Japan.

8. Kobus Magnolia

Botanical Name: Magnolia kobus

USDA Zone: 5-8

Height/Spread: 30-45/25-30 feet

Kobus magnolia grows 4-5 inches cup-shaped, creamy-white flowers with prominent yellow-stamen. It grows in pyramidal shape when young but gradually turns into a rounded, spreading form.

9. Natal Plum

Types of White Flowers 5

Botanical Name: Carissa macrocarpa

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: 6-10/4-8 feet

The 2-3 inch, white star-shaped flowers look outstanding with red plum-shaped fruits that taste like cranberries and are used in jams and jellies. You can grow large varieties as screens or specimen plants.

10. Orange Jasmine

Botanical Name: Murraya paniculata

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: 8-12 feet tall and wide

Don’t get confused with the name! Orange Jasmine features 1-inch across fragrant flowers with glossy evergreen foliage many times throughout the year. You can also grow it in containers.

Here are some of the best Jasmine varieties you can grow


Perennial White Flowers

11. Wood Lily

Types of White Flowers 6

Botanical Name: Trillium grandiflorum

USDA Zone: 4-8

Height/Spread: A foot tall and wide

Also known as the great white trillium, it features a flower with three white petals and yellow stamens. The heart-shaped green leaves contrast beautifully with white blooms.

12. Spotted Deadnettle

Botanical Name: Lamium maculatum

USDA Zone: 3-8

Height/Spread: A foot tall and wide

Spotted deadnettle is also known as ‘White Nancy.’ It has beautiful green-golden foliage and dainty white flowers. The lovely scent of flowers attracts many birds in the garden.

13. Lilyturf Monroe’s White

Types of White Flowers 7

Botanical Name: Liriope muscari ‘Alba’

USDA Zone: 5-10

Height/Spread: 1/1-2 feet

Lilyturf Monroe’s White features dark green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves with spikes of white, grape hyacinth-like flowers in early summer.

14. White Pixie

Botanical Name: Saxifraga ‘White Pixie’

USDA Zone: 4-9

Height/Spread: 3-4/3-5 inches

This mounding evergreen alpine plant beautifully contrasts green foliage with delicate cup-shaped flowers in spring. ‘White Pixie’ is great for screen gardens and walls.

15. White Vinca

Types of White Flowers 8

Botanical Name: Catharanthus roseus

USDA Zone: 4-9

Height/Spread: A foot tall and wide

Also known as creeping myrtle or periwinkle, this fast-spreading evergreen groundcover showcases white flowers and shiny green leaves that stay lush throughout the year.

16. Yarrow

Types of White Flowers 6

Botanical Name: Achillea millefolium

USDA Zone: 3-9

Height/Spread: 1-2/1-3 feet

Yarrow’s delicate flowers grow atop thin stems. It is also grown for its medicinal properties to treat minor wounds and muscle cramps.

17. Meadowsweet

Types of White Flowers 9

Botanical Name: Filipendula ulmaria

USDA Zone: 3-9

Height/Spread: 3-8/2-4 feet

Also known as the queen of the meadow, the lace-like fragrant white flowers with yellow centers look amazing in small clusters. It also possesses medicinal properties.

Look at the Vines with White Trumpet Flowers


Bushes With White Flowers

18. Korean Spice

Botanical Name: Viburnum carlesii

USDA Zone: 4-7

Height/Spread: 4-5/3-5 feet

This deciduous flowering shrub displays pink buds that open in a cluster of sweet-smelling white flowers that pair really well with its fuzzy, toothed leaves.

19. Common Lilac

Types of White Flowers 10

Botanical Name: Syringa vulgaris

USDA Zone: 3-7

Height/Spread: 10-15/8-10 feet

This flowering shrub is prized with a sweet smell and bears large racemes of flowers that bloom in late spring. It is one of the Best Types of White Flowers!

20. Japanese Andromeda

Botanical Name: Pieris japonica

USDA Zone: 5-8

Height/Spread: 8-10/4-6 feet

Andromeda shrubs are popular for their evergreen foliage. They have fragrant bell-shaped tiny white flowers that contrast beautifully with green leaves.

21. Mock Orange

Types of White Flowers 11

Botanical Name: Philadephus app. and hybrids

USDA Zone: 4-8

Height/Spread: 10-12 feet

If you are searching for mild, fragrant flowers, then mock orange is a perfect pick for you! The citrusy smell of white flowers floating on green foliage looks outstanding in gardens.

22. Azaleas

Botanical Name: Rhododendron spp.

USDA Zone: 3-9

Height/Spread: 3-5/4-6 feet

Depending on the variety, azalea flowers in early or late spring. Popular white varieties include ‘Northern Hi-Lights,’ ‘Pleasant White,’ ‘Snow,’ and ‘Cascade White.’

23. Dwarf Deutzia

Types of White Flowers 12

Botanical Name: Deutzia gracilis ‘Nikko’

USDA Zone: 5-8

Height/Spread: 1-2/3-5 feet

You can grow it as a shrub and also as a groundcover. In late spring, this dwarf variety produces a profusion of small, fragrant, droopy white flowers.

24. Spirea

Botanical Name: Spirea x vanhouttei

USDA Zone: 3-8

Height/Spread: 4-8/4-7 feet

Vanhoutte spirea, Snowmound, and Snowstorm are cultivars with white blooms. The plant flowers in April or May and produces clusters of snowy white flowers with blue-green foliage.

25. Incrediball Hydrangea

Types of White Flowers 13

Botanical Name: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Abetwo

USDA Zone: 3-9

Height/Spread: 4-5 feet

This deciduous flowering shrub is perfect for white admirers. It flowers in huge clusters of white blossoms. You can also go with another white variety, ‘Annabelle.’

Check out our article on growing Hydrangea in pots 

26. Roses

Botanical Name: Rosa spp.

USDA Zone: 3-12

Height/Spread: 3-4 feet tall

No fragrance can compete with the mind-blowing smell and beauty of roses! The best white varieties ‘Iceberg,’ ‘Polar Express,’ and ‘Winchester Cathedral.’

Here are some of the best types of roses to grow

27. Snows of Kilimanjaro

Types of White Flowers 14

Botanical Name: Euphorbia leucocephala

USDA Zone: 10-13

Height/Spread: 6-12/4-6 feet

This tropical shrub produces fragrant flowers that resemble a huge snowball. To bring a more prominent snowball-like look, give regular pruning in early spring.

Note: Wear gloves while pruning, as milky sap can cause an allergic reaction.

29. Choisya

Botanical Name: Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’

USDA Zone: 7b-10

Height/Spread: 4-8 feet

Also known as Mexican Orange Blossom, this evergreen shrub offers glossy dark green leaves and clusters of white blooms with a pink tinge in late spring.

Here is the list of Black and White Flowers


Small Annual White Flowers

30. Cup Flower

Types of White Flowers 10

Botanical Name: Nierembergia scoparia ‘Mont Blanc’

USDA Zone: 7-10

Height/Spread: 1 foot/2 feet

These low-maintenance annual flowers from mid-summer to fall and produce white cup-shaped flowers with yellow centers.

32. Datura

Types of White Flowers 15

Botanical Name: Datura meteloides

USDA Zone: 8a-9b

Height/Spread: 3-4 feet

The beautiful five-petaled, trumpet-shaped, fragrant white flowers of this annual are ideal for evening gardens that open at dusk and stay open till dawn.

Note: All Parts of this plant are poisonous.

33. Heliotrope

Botanical Name: Heliotropium arborescens ‘Album’

USDA Zone: 10-11

Height/Spread: 1-4/1-2 feet

The intensely sweet, almond-like, fragrance-filled white flowers of these bushy annuals pair really well with the contrasting green leaves.

34. Dianthus

Types of White Flowers 16

Botanical Name: Dianthus ‘White’

USDA Zone: 3-9

Height/Spread: 1-2/1 feet

The beautiful white flowers of Dianthus fill the atmosphere with a spicy scent resembling the hints of cloves and cinnamon.

35. African Marigold Vanilla White

Botanical Name: Tagetes erecta

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: A foot tall and wide

The thick layers of ruffled white petals look excellent with carnation-like flower heads and bloom all summer long. Perfect for beds, mixed containers, and borders.

36. Cosmos

Types of White Flowers 17

Botanical Name: Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata White’

USDA Zone: 2-11

Height/Spread: 1-2/1-2 feet

This award-winning dwarf displays pure white flowers with golden centers from early summer to fall. It is an ideal addition to sunny borders or containers.

37. Sweet Alyssum

Botanical Name: Lobularia maritima

USDA Zone: 7-11

Height/Spread: A foot tall and wide

The delicate carpet of little flowers with a subtle, sweet smell looks lovely in window boxes, containers, hanging baskets, and as a ground cover in rock gardens.

38. Laguna White Lobelia

Types of White Flowers 18

Botanical Name: Lobelia erinus

USDA Zone: 8-11

Height/Spread: 1-2 feet

The trailing white flowers appear from mid-spring to mid-fall. Its narrow foliage stays green throughout the season.

39. Nemesia 

Botanical Name: Nemesia strumosa

USDA Zone: 8-10

Height/Spread: 1 foot

Perfect for ground covers, mixed borders, woodland planting, and a container or hanging basket plant, this true annual forms 1-inch across white flowers.

40. Fan Flower

Types of White Flowers 19

Botanical Name: Scaevola aemula Bombay ‘White’

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: 1/1-2 feet

The white fan-shaped flowers beautifully float on green foliage through early spring, summer, and fall. The cascading growth habit makes them perfect for hanging baskets.

41. Bacopa

Botanical Name: Sutera cordata

USDA Zone: Zone 11

Height/Spread: Under a foot/2-4 feet

This trailing annual fill the containers with little flowers from June through October. The best white varieties are ‘Giant Snowflake,’ ‘Cabana,’ and ‘Olympic Gold.’

42. White Hyacinth

Botanical Name: Triteleia hyacinthina

USDA Zone: 5-10

Height/Spread: 12-24 inches

This variety features white flower heads on erect stems. It is not a true hyacinth but resembles the bloom with papery thin blossoms.

43. White Pim

Botanical Name: Osteospermum ‘White Pim’

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: 8-14 inches

‘White Pim’ displays pretty daisy-like blooms with a yellow-purple center and pink-gray striped undersides. The flowers appear from early summer through fall.

44. Zinnia angustifolia ‘Star White’

Botanical Name: Zinnia angustifolia ‘Star White’

USDA Zone: 2-11

Height/Spread: 8-10 inches

These beautiful zinnias offer 2-inches across star-shaped white flowers during spring and summer. It prefers full sunlight.

Discover White Calla Lily Varieties


Vines with White Flowers

45. Climbing Hydrangea 

Types of White Flowers 20

Botanical Name: Hydrangea petolaris

USDA Zone: 4-9

Height/Spread: 20-30/50-80 feet

White blooms of Climbing Hydrangea look like lace caps that shine against dark green foliage. This versatile vine easily clings to brick walls or tree trunks.

46. Sweet Autumn Clematis

Botanical Name: Clematis terniflora

USDA Zone: 4-8

Height/Spread: 20-35/4-6 feet

Sweet-smelling white blooms emerge in late summer to early fall. The vines are considered invasive in many areas. Hang on a trellis, wall, or fence for landscape use.

Check out our article on the best Clematis varieties 

47. Madagascar Jasmine

Types of White Flowers 21

Botanical Name: Stephanotis floribunda

USDA Zone: 4-8

Height/Spread:15-20/12-16 feet

The beautiful evergreen vine showcases dark green leathery leaves that beautifully hold a cluster of trumpet-shaped, sweet-scented white flowers.

48. Black-Eyed Susan Vine

Botanical Name: Thunbergia alata ‘Little Susie’

USDA Zone: 10-11

Height/Spread: 3-8/5-7 feet

This beautiful vine bears white flowers with a chocolate-purple center all summer long. Like other annual vines, it also dies back after the first frost.

49. White Wedding Passionflower

Types of White Flowers 15

Botanical Name: Passiflora edulis

USDA Zone: 8-10

Height/Spread: 10-20/25-30 feet

This passionflower vine grows large, pure white flowers with an amazing fragrance. As it attains a good height, make a sturdy structure to allow it to climb.

50. Moonflower Vine

Botanical Name: Ipomoea alba

USDA Zone: 10-11

Height/Spread: 10-15/4-5 feet

This striking vine features large, 6-inch across pure white flowers that beautifully unfurl from cone-shaped buds. It smells great all night long.

51. Bougainvillea White

Botanical Name: Bougainvillea

USDA Zone: 9-11

Height/Spread: 25-35/10-12 feet

Also known as a paper flower, this tropical vine with white flowers is tough as nails. If you have planned to grow it in your garden, give bougainvillea plenty of room to spread freely.

Read the best tips for growing Bougainvillea

52. Scentsation

Types of White Flowers 16

Botanical Name: Lonicera periclymenum

USDA Zone: 4-9

Height/Spread: 10-12/5-8 feet

This deciduous vine features masses of aromatic, creamy-white to yellow flowers from early to late summer. This hardy climber with an amazing scent climbs well on walls, pergolas, trellis, or fences.

53. Star Jasmine

Botanical Name: Trachelospermum jasminoides

USDA Zone: 8-10

Height/Spread: 15-20/10-15 feet

The versatile star jasmine flowers make a delightful addition to many gardens from spring to summer. Grow it along a fence, trellis, arbors, or as a ground cover in warm climates.

54. Poet’s Jasmine

Botanical Name: Jasminum grandiflorum

USDA Zone: 8-11

Height/Spread: 10-30/4-6 feet

The heady and rich fragrance of the poet’s jasmine will surely tempt you into growing one. It displays an array of small, white flowers. It is a quick-growing plant.

55. Foamflower

Botanical Name: Tiarella cordifolia

USDA Zone: 4-9

Height/Spread: 12 inches tall and 12-24 inches wide

This variety showcases long, white flowers with slender stamens, creating a frothy look. The dense clusters of small, star-shaped blossoms above a mound of lobed leaves.

Look at the White Aloe Varieties

 

 

 

 

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