The trick to long-lasting blooms in your perennial flower garden is plant choices, timing, and care. I will show you tips for continuous blooms from early spring until fall.
Also see Perennial Bloom Times for a printable seasonal calendar of plant flower times.
You Can’t Have Too Many Flowers
If you love a garden with a continuous show of flowers from spring to autumn, this is for you.
We know annuals are the answer to long-lasting single season blooms, but how can we get the most out of our flowering perennials?
With average blooming times of just a few weeks, it’s time to bust out the tricks and keep this flower show going!
Plant Life Cycles
Annuals complete their life cycle (germination, flowering, setting seed) in one growing season and do not grow back. The term is used both for plants that have a short life cycle and do not tolerate freezing temperatures. Petunias and zinnias are common annuals.
Perennials have a multi-year life cycle and, if suited to our hardiness zone, will go dormant in the winter and resume growth in spring—year after year.
- The above-ground growth of perennial flowers like coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) typically dies off in fall with new growth appearing from the roots in spring.
- Woody perennial shrubs and vines drop leaves from their hardwood in fall and grow new leaves, shoots, and flowers in spring or summer. Examples include sand cherry (Prunus pumila) and honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.).
Biennials take two years to complete their life cycle (from germination to seed production). Biennial vegetables like carrots can be harvested in year one for food or left over winter for a second year if flowering and seed production is desired.
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Tips for Long-Lasting Blooms
First, here’s a walk through everything to consider for maximum flowers. When the goal is continuous perennial blooms, plant choices and care can have a big impact.
1Right For Your Zone
Always choose plants that are appropriate for your specific growing zone and conditions. Beware of plants known to be invasive in your area and avoid tender or tropical plants that require excessive care.
Find Your Frost Dates & Hardiness Zone
Plant Hardiness Zones | 
United States | 
Canada
These are listed on seed packets and plant tags to guide your choices.
Average Frost Dates | Use this calculator at Almanac.com. Enter your city and state or province to find your first and last frost dates and number of frost-free days.
Ecoregion | Learn about local native plants, animal species, and environmental conditions to make garden choices that benefit your ecosystem.
Learn More: Understanding Frosts & Freezing For Gardeners
2Know the Bloom Time
Learn the expected blooming times for each plant you choose. This will vary not only with each species but different cultivars as well. Clematis vines are a good example of this. Some flower on new growth in spring, others bloom on older growth in summer or autumn.
3Beware of Greenhouse Blooms
Don’t be fooled by garden nursery blooming times. The plants may be suitable for your garden, but the blooming times may be off because the plant was raised in greenhouse conditions. It may take a year of adaptation for the plant to acclimatize to your growing conditions. Also, blooms may drop after planting if the transition from the greenhouse to your garden is too drastic. If you’ve chosen a suitable plant, give it time to adapt.
4Note Length of Blooming Cycle
Pay attention to how long the plant should bloom. Many flowering perennials put on a brilliant but brief show in just a few weeks from start to finish. Others can bloom for one, two, or three months continually. The long-lasting bloomers are your ticket to continuous flowers.
Find flowering plants that start in each season and combine them throughout your garden, making sure the growing conditions (light, water, soil, space) are right.
5Be a Deadheader
Be a faithful deadheader. Plants flower with the goal to produce seeds. If you are vigilant about removing old flower heads as soon as they start to wilt and before seeds can form, many plants will re-flower in the same season, providing a whole new show. The second show of flowers may not be as full and strong as the first, but it is often the key to having color in the garden right up until first frost.
Deadheading Versus Pruning
Deadheading is the removal of flowers and their stems. This is done after peak bloom time to prevent seed production and/or encourage new blooms.
Pruning is the removal or cutting back of stems or branches on shrubs, vines, and trees. We prune to remove dead, damaged, diseased, or crowded branches to improve the overall health or appearance.
6Encourage Second Blooms
Cut back old flowers to encourage second blooms. On plants like delphiniums, those tall blooms may last a few weeks and then start to fade. You can cut the flower stalks right down to a node to encourage a second set of blooms. This allows the plant to put energy into more flowers instead of transitioning to seed pods. But always leave some for seed saving and the winter birds.
7Protect What’s Flowering
Protect flowering plants. Wild summer thunder storms and winds can destroy a flower garden. I stake my tall plants and offer wind breaks for others. If you know a particularly brutal storm is on the way, consider moving potted plants to sheltered locations.
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20 Perennials with Long-Lasting Flowers
These perennials have longer than usual flower cycles. Keep in mind that their flowers will start blooming at different times in the growing season (check the tags). I have listed plant hardiness zones, but these can vary with each cultivar within a species so please check before you buy.
Invasive Species Alert
Always check that any perennial plant you want to add to your garden is suited to your plant hardiness zone, location, and growing conditions, supports local wildlife, and is not considered an invasive species in your area.
- Allium | Allium sativum (zones 3-9) – get growing tips here
- Astilbe | Astilbe spp. (zones 4-9)
- Black-eyed Susan | Rudbeckia (zones 4-8)
- Bleeding Heart | Dicentra formosa (zones 2-9)
- Catmint | Nepeta spp. (zones 4-9)
- Coneflower | Echinacea purpurea (zones 3-9)
- Coreopsis | Coreopsis x (zones 5-9) – Moonbeam is my fave!
- Cranesbill | Hardy geranium | Geranium sanguineium and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (zones 4-8)
- Coral Bells | Heuchera (zones 4-9)
- Foamflower | Tiarella spp. (zones 3-8)
- Geum | Avens (zones 5-9)
- Golden Marguerite | Anthemis tinctoria (zones 3-10)
- Joe-Pye weed | Eupatorium spp. (zones 4-9)
- Mallow | Malva (zones 4-8) – same family as hollyhocks
- Perennial sage | Salvia spp. (zones 3-8)
- Shasta Daisy | Leucanthemum x superbum (zones 4-9)
- Speedwell | Veronica spp. (zones 3-8)
- Spiderwort | Tradescantia spp. (zones 4-9)
- Swamp milkweed | Asclepias incarnate (zones 3-9)
- Tickseed | Coreopsis spp. (zones 3-9)
- Turtlehead | Chelone spp. (zones 4-7)
- Yarrow | Achillea spp. (zones 3-9)
- Yellow Fumitory | Corydalis lutea (zones 3-8) – this one reminds me of bleeding heart
Summary
- To maximize perennial flowers in your garden, consider adding longer-lasting flowering plants throughout your growing space.
- Know the bloom start time of each plant (there’s a list sorted by bloom time here), so you know when and where the flowers will appear.
- Deadheading (removal of dying flower heads) can facilitate new blooms.
- Removal of dying flower stems allows the plant to put its energy into new ones.
- Always leaves some flowers to go to seed for the winter birds and encourage self-seeding.
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Happy flower gardening to you,
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛