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Top 10 Long Blooming Perennials and Shrubs
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Susan Martin
You asked, we listened! One of the most common questions we receive from customers is which of the perennials and shrubs we offer bloom the longest. Thankfully, there are many options – more than ever before. We’re sharing ten of our favorites with you here, plus lists of even more varieties so you can explore further. Let’s see which stand out as the very best in their class.
By nature, perennials and shrubs bloom cyclically. We look forward to lilacs blooming in the springtime and roses in the summer, for instance. In the not-too-distant past, reblooming or long blooming cultivars of these and many other common plants we grow today did not yet exist. Thanks to the hard work of plant breeders around the world, we can now take it for granted that coneflowers will bloom all summer in multiple colors, and that hydrangeas will rebloom even if you accidentally prune them at the wrong time of year. It has made planning a garden where something is always in bloom much easier, even for beginner gardeners.
Among all the reblooming and long blooming perennial and shrubs, a number of cultivars stand out as the very best in class. We’ll share ten of them with you below, along with a short list of even more to explore further.
5 LONG BLOOMING PERENNIALS
If you garden where summers are warm and have well-drained soil, anise hyssop may be the perfect fit for you. Look for the longest blooming cultivars including the Meant to Bee® series, ‘Rosie Posie’ and ‘Mango Tango’ which flower from midsummer through early fall. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds all love this perennial, but its fragrant foliage typically keeps deer away. These plants need full sun to grow well and can withstand a bit of drought once established. Size varies by cultivar, but all are hardy in zones 5-9.
You might recognize these pretty blossoms from a bouquet you’ve received. Peruvian lilies are some of the most popular and longest lasting cut flowers available, but did you know you can also grow them in your own garden? Inca® varieties bloom all season until frost, so you can harvest as many as you’d like. Try this tip: instead of using clippers to cut the stem, grasp it at the base and gently pull the entire stem up out of the ground. Doing so will encourage a new shoot to take its place, a shoot that will be topped with more blooms. Size and hardiness varies by cultivar. Where not hardy, Inca Peruvian lilies can be grown as annuals.
Advancements in breeding have brought us many new cultivars of long-blooming tickseed including those in the Designer Threads™ and UpTick™ series. These colorful perennials bloom non-stop from early summer through late summer or early fall without deadheading. However, to keep plants looking their best, you might trim them back a bit around midsummer to remove any spent flower stems and encourage a fresh flush of foliage and blossoms. These heat tolerant perennials can withstand short periods without rain and are generally very easy to grow. They prefer to grow in full sun in zones 5-9.
Every sunny garden needs at least a few coneflowers, all of which are long-blooming. These vibrant perennials bloom from summer into early fall in shades of pink, magenta, red, orange, yellow and white. Bright yellow goldfinches are frequent visitors, there to pick the seeds from the flowers’ spiky cones, accompanied by many different kinds of pollinators. The cheerful, fragrant blossoms are long-lasting in fresh bouquets and clipping them will have the added benefit of encouraging more to form. Grow them in a sunny spot in zones 4-8.
Here’s a perennial that is a strong rebloomer, meaning it will flower repeatedly if cut back after each cycle of bloom. Catmint starts the season off strong with a flurry of periwinkle blue flowers which are a magnet for pollinating bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Once those blooms are spent, use a pair of scissors or clippers to cut the whole plant back by about one third to one half. Doing so will encourage fresh foliage and flowers to form quickly, providing long-lasting color and a food source for pollinators throughout much of the season. Thanks to fragrant foliage, deer and rabbits tend to ignore catmint. Plant it in full sun and well-drained soil in zones 3-8.
Five more long-blooming perennials to explore:
- ‘Pink Diamonds’ alpine bleeding heart
- ‘Bowles Me Away’ wallflower
- ‘Rozanne’ cranesbill
- Festival Star® baby’s breath
- Sweet Romance® lavender
5 LONGEST BLOOMING SHRUBS
If you live in zones 8-10 where this shrub is hardy, you might recognize it as one of the longest blooming plants for landscapes. Where it grows wild in the arid mountains of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, it thrives in high heat, pumping out blooms all season. Where it is not cold hardy, it’s grown as an annual or houseplant. Firecracker bush blossoms are long-lasting in bouquets, so much so that this shrub is commonly grown for the cut flower market. We love the Estrellita™ series for its extra-brilliant blossoms and compact habit which makes them easy to fit into both landscapes and patio pots. Grow them in full sun and well-drained, acidic soil for best results.
You might know that butterfly bush is one of the best shrubs for drawing in butterflies, but did you realize that it’s also very long-blooming? Here in Michigan, these colorful shrubs begin to flower around midsummer and continue well into fall. If you live someplace warmer, they’ll start even earlier in the season, providing plenty of fragrant flower panicles for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds to enjoy. Thankfully, deer typically leave butterfly bush alone. All are long-blooming, so choose yours based on the mature plant size to fit your space. Lo & Behold® and Pugster® varieties form a low, wide cushion while “Miss” varieties are more narrowly upright. Plant them all in full sun in zones 5-9
Reblooming Hydrangeas (Hydrangea)
What garden would be complete without at least a few hydrangeas? Reblooming cultivars offer two rounds of blooms per season: the first on old wood (last year’s stems) and a second on the new growth. Altogether, that adds up to months of gorgeous blossoms in shades of pink, lavender, blue or white. Check out our favorite rebloomers:
- Let’s Dance ¡Arriba!® reblooming big leaf hydrangea
- Let’s Dance Can Do® reblooming big leaf hydrangea
- Let’s Dance Lovable® reblooming big leaf hydrangea
- Invincibelle® Spirit II reblooming smooth hydrangea
- Tuff Stuff Top Fun® reblooming mountain hydrangea
Have questions about your hydrangeas? Check out our complete hydrangea guide which covers everything from how to identify which kind you have, when to prune, how to turn the flowers blue and much more
If you face gardening challenges like high pH soil, extreme winter cold or deer pressure, consider growing this easy care shrub. This native shrugs off heat, drought, animal browsing and less than ideal soil conditions where it is hardy in zones 2-7. The Happy Face® series contains some of the longest blooming shrubs we offer, flowering from early summer to frost in shades of yellow, white, pink or orange. The blossoms are attractive to pollinating bees and butterflies but do not draw the attention of deer. Forming a rounded mound of healthy, mildew-resistant foliage, it’s easy to tuck them in amongst perennials in flower beds or to use as a short hedge.
Did you know that roses can be as easy to grow as any average shrub in your landscape? There is nothing average about the Oso Easy® series of landscape roses. They bloom longer, resist powdery mildew and black spot better, and are available in a broad range of colors compared to traditional roses. Though they were bred to bloom without deadheading, clipping some blooms to keep your vases filled all summer will encourage even more to form. Be sure to grow them in full sun and provide ample elbow room around the plants since roses don’t like to be crowded in the landscape. Note the hardiness zone before you buy, as it differs between cultivars in the series.
Five more long-blooming shrubs to explore:
- Categories: Flowering Shrubs, Garden Perennials
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