Privet has long been the go-to shrub for creating a leafy screen or filling a garden border, and fairly so. It's a speedy grower, tough as nails and semi-evergreen to boot. And yet...

Well, and yet it lacks imagination, acting as the gardening equivalent of choosing beige paint for every single room in the house. And there's another reason many have started looking beyond privet, too – did you know that several species are now considered invasive in parts of the US, crowding out native plants and woodlands?

It's little wonder, then, that has plenty of people are searching for alternatives that are just as attractive, but kinder to local wildlife. Which raises a very important question: if you weren't planting privet, what would you grow instead?

The Berry-Covered Shrub Of Your Dreams

For me, the answer is simple, as there's one rather extraordinary shrub that has been catching my eye lately. It spends most of the year flying under the radar, blending quietly into the background while showier plants steal the spotlight.

Come fall, though, its stems become wrapped in impossibly bright clusters of jewel-like purple berries, transforming an otherwise unassuming shrub into one of the most eye-catching plants in the entire garden.

Looking like something that's been plucked straight from a fairytale (or an alien planet, depending on which genre you favor), American beautyberry is a native shrub that's arguably every bit as useful as privet, but infinitely more interesting once fall rolls around.

Thriving in USDA hardiness zones 6-11, this one is a deciduous shrub which makes for a softer, more natural-looking screen, and one that offers something exciting in fall to boot. And, better still, those purple berries aren't just for decoration: they're an important food source for wildlife, too.

Shop American Beautyberry:

Yes, robins, brown thrashers, purple finches and eastern towhees all love to feed on beautyberry, making it a no-brainer for those who want to transform their yard into a bird sanctuary (and, yes, other wildlife can also eat the fruits).

Better still, beautyberry doesn't need to be fussed over constantly; in fact, it can grow in full sun or partial shade and tolerates a range of soil types as long as drainage is good. It's also relatively free from serious pest and disease problems, making it well worth a second look.

Before rushing out to replace your privet with beautyberry, make sure you bear in mind the fact that this isn't a shrub for a formal hedge. Unless you're prepared to prune it regularly, actually, it can become a bit of a beast, making it much better suited to informal screens and borders.

Plant several together, though? Why, you can create a loose screen with a much more natural appearance... and, when fall arrives, you'll get something privet simply can't provide: those incredible clusters of purple fruit.

Privet certainly has its uses, but if you want a shrub to do more than simply create a wall of green, then American beautyberry deserves a place on your shortlist. It brings spectacular late-season color, feeds birds and pollinators, and offers a much wilder, more interesting look than a traditional privet hedge.

And those jewel-like purple berries? Well, they're certainly a more interesting garden conversation starter than another perfectly clipped hedge.

September might be one of the most underrated months in the gardening calendar – almost as underrated as the flowers you've never heard of, quite frankly!

Yes, the worst of summer's heat is beginning to fade, but the soil can still be warm enough to encourage new roots, making early fall a particularly useful time to add hardy perennials to your yard.

And if you're tired of seeing the same coneflowers, daylilies and hydrangeas everywhere, there's another reason to plant now: there are plenty of unusual flowers that can give your garden a completely different look next year.

7 Stunning Flowers You've Never Heard Of

From fluffy blue blooms that attract butterflies to strange-looking spikes that resemble something from a woodland fairy garden, these are seven flowers you've never have heard of before (probably) but will definitely want to know about.

One caveat before we begin, though; September planting isn't suitable for every plant in every part of the US. Your ideal planting window depends on your USDA Hardiness Zone, local temperatures and whether you're planting an established potted perennial or starting from seed.

Now, then, let's dive on in...

1. Blue Mistflower

If you've never come across blue mistflower before, its fluffy blue-purple flowers (as seen at the top of this article) may make you wonder why it isn't more widely planted.

Also known as hardy ageratum, blue mistflower is a North American native perennial that produces clusters of tiny, fuzzy-looking flowers from late summer into fall

It's particularly useful if your garden is looking a little tired by September, because this is when blue mistflower really starts to earn its place. It can bloom from summer into fall, with flowers continuing until frost in suitable conditions... and butterflies, moths and other pollinators love it! More than enough reason to bag yourself a Blue Mistflower from Nature Hills, right?

2. 'Glowstick' Kniphofia

You've probably seen red-hot poker plants before, but 'Glowstick' kniphofia (available at Burpee) is a particularly striking version, and its electric-looking yellow flower spikes are almost impossible to miss.

Instead of blending quietly into a perennial border, this plant sends up tall, upright flower spikes that look almost like they're glowing in the sunshine. And that's exactly what makes it such a good choice for anyone looking for a flower that feels a little different!

3. Toad Lily

If you want a flower that genuinely makes people stop and ask "What is that?", plant a toad lily. These unusual perennials produce small, orchid-like flowers covered in spots, and they have a distinctly exotic appearance, despite being surprisingly useful in the late-season garden.

With flowering extending into the fall, toad lilies are a great option for a shadier part of the garden; just give them part shade and moist soil. They're particularly useful beneath trees or along woodland-style borders where many sun-loving perennials struggle.

Consider them proof that September doesn't have to mean planting yet another sun-loving flower, I guess!

Shop Toad Lilies:

4. 'Rosy Jane' Gaura

I know, I know; at first glance, 'Rosy Jane' gaura (available at Burpee) looks almost too delicate to be a tough perennial. Its slender stems carry masses of small white flowers edged in pink, creating the impression of tiny butterflies hovering above the foliage.

It's a particularly good choice if you want something that feels romantic and informal though; just be sure to give it plenty of sunshine and well-drained soil, as it doesn't appreciate sitting in wet conditions, especially through winter.

And don't worry if it looks a little sparse at first. Gaura has a wonderfully airy habit and can become a surprisingly floriferous addition to a sunny border.

5. Rattlesnake Master

Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) may have one of the strangest names in the perennial world, but the plant itself is even more unusual. Instead of traditional flower heads, this underrated prairie native produces rounded globes surrounded by spiky foliage.

Now, don't be put off by the name, because those strange little flower heads are packed with tiny blooms, providing pollen and nectar for an impressive range of pollinators, from bees to butterflies to birth month bugs.

What it does offer is unusual form, late-season interest and a native perennial that can bring a completely different texture to the garden. What more can you ask for, eh? Time to bag yourself a Rattlesnake Master from CZ Grain, maybe.

6. Thalictrum

When it comes to stunning flowers you've never heard of, thalictrum ‘nimbus’ definitely deserves a place on your list.

This unusual meadow rue produces clouds of fluffy flowers, giving it a wonderfully light and airy appearance, and September is a good time to get hardy perennials like this one into the ground (so long as your growing zone gives the plant enough time to establish before winter).

For showy cloudbursts of lavender-pink flowers float above masses of fern-like green leaves, bag yourself some Thalictrum (Meadow Rue) NIMBUS Pink Plant seeds from Burpee and plant them in partial shade. Just be sure not to let it dry out during warm spells, and give it a little shelter from strong winds if possible.

7. Culver's Root

If you prefer your flowers tall and elegant rather than bright and showy, Culver's root is a North American native that produces exactly that; think slender spikes of tiny flowers that look almost candelabra-like!

To help it work its magic, just give it full sun and soil that doesn't dry out too quickly. It can reach several feet tall, too, so be sure to place it toward the back of a border where its height can be appreciated.

It's particularly effective planted among other prairie-style perennials (like the rattlesnake master of earlier), and don't worry, because the flower spikes and seed heads can continue to provide interest after the blooms have faded.

Shop Culver's Root:

The best thing about these flowers isn't just that they're unusual (although that is always a fun flex!); blue mistflower can extend pollinator-friendly color into fall. Toad lily can bring flowers to shade. And... well, you get the picture; each is as useful as the last.

Honestly, that's exactly why September can be such a good time to experiment. So, instead of filling your garden with the same plants everyone else has, why not use the quieter planting season to add one or two underrated beauties?

Hey, anything that makes visitors ask, "I've never seen that before, what is it?"

There’s a much-overlooked flower that I always plant in September because it withstands winter and brings blooms through the darkest days of the year. It has rich, velvety petals and vibrant tones. It’s ridiculously easy to grow, and remarkably cheap. What is this wondrous fall flower, I hear you cry? The humble pansy.

There’s a little trick you need to know if you want this hard-working plant to produce abundant flowers in fall and carry on producing pretty petals all through winter and into spring, and that’s to plant it in September. While most folk wait until late fall before putting pansies in the ground to enjoy early spring blooms, by planting them earlier while the soil is still warm enough to encourage strong growth, plants will get busy flowering. They’ll also grow bigger root systems, making them better able to withstand harsh winter conditions. And hey presto, you have hard-working plants that last for months from fall through winter.

While sub-zero temperatures will cause even winter-flowering pansies to temporarily pause blooming, as soon as a milder period of winter weather arrives, they’ll produce plenty more petals, fast. They’ll keep on flowering into spring, too.

Part of the Weekend Wins series, planting pansies is a 10-minute job that brings a big reward, warding off winter blues with months of easy-breezy blooms. So, if you're wondering what to plant in September, start right here.

Which Pansies Survive Winter Best?

Pansies are shoulder-season plants, preferring cooler spring and fall temperatures to summer heat. If you want pansies that will flower on and off all through winter, too, you need to look for varieties that are particularly cold-hardy.

Cool Wave Pansies

Cool Wave pansies have been bred specifically for cold weather, and Morpho's contrasting yellow and purple tones shift as the temperature falls. The purple tones become more intense in the cold, shifting to a lighter blue in warmer periods when the yellow parts of its bicolor blooms become more prominent. Exceptionally hardy in zones 5-9, Cool Wave plants grow fast, reaching a height of 8 inches high and 14 inches wide, so they make a colorful groundcover or will cascade over the sides of windowboxes and hanging baskets.

Plentifall Pansies

Blooming from October to May in zones 5 to 9, Pentifall pansies also grow to 8 inches tall but spread further, making their trailing stems perfect for spilling over the rims of hanging baskets and patio containers. Plentiful Frost brings the longest stems, spreading to 2 feet, with flowers in shades of white and pale purple with striking central markers, known as whiskers to many gardeners.

This tough-cookie series is also available in darker purple Plentifall Lavender Blue from Burpee, and elegant Plentifall White, also from Burpee, with stems trailing to 18 inches.

Delta Pro Pansies

Hardy in zones 4-9, the Delta Pro series was bred for commercial use with bigger, more uniform flowers, strong stems and reliable performance through fall and winter. While plants are a little more expensive, you won’t be disappointed as the colors are intense, in particular the Delta Pro Red with Blotch (it does what it says on the tin!). Though they only grow to 4-6 inches high and spread to 6-8 inches wide, the well-branched stems produce abundant flowers so use these to color-drench porch planters and patio pots.

Delta Pro True Blue pansies, available from Trees (formerly Fast Growing Trees) is indeed a brilliant blue, while Delta Pro Clear Yellow pansies, also available from Trees, are a vivid yellow.

Ocean Breeze Pansies

The series has extra large flowers in a serene palette of lavender, white, soft blues and rich purples, so a mix produces a harmonious drift of cool colors that are a vivid contrast to fiery fall tones and blend for a beautiful winter border.

Ocean Breeze copes in zones 3-8, and is naturally compact, growing in a neat mound, growing to 8 inches high and 10 inches wide. This series handles wild and windy weather particularly well, despite its bigger-than-usual pansy flowers, so its resilient nature alongside its mounding habit make it a great choice for windowboxes and border edges.

How to Plant Pansies in September

Wondering when to plant pansies? The answer is straight away! The sooner you get their roots into soil, the stronger plants will be before the weather turns – so add planting pansies to your list of September gardening jobs, pronto. At this time of year, you'll need to buy young plants, not seeds.

Pansy plants need fertile, well draining soil so use an enriched potting mix for containers such as Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, available from Walmart. In the ground, mix a couple of handfuls of homemade or prepared compost such as Back to the Roots Organic Compost, available from The Home Depot, into the soil before planting.

Give this winter flowering plant full sun or part shade, and remove fading flowers to keep them blooming. Don’t worry if they stop flowering when the temperature dips below zero, they’ll soon bounce back. To keep pots and hanging baskets flowering, it helps to move them to a sheltered spot in prolonged cold snaps.

Creative Ideas with Pansies

These cheery blooms are so easy-going and eager to grow, you can get creative and use them to make all sorts of fun cool-season decor. For a start, trailing pansies make fall hanging baskets full of color and charm. From planting upcycled gardening equipment to creating a cascading flower tower, there are all sorts of other clever ideas to turn cheap plants into unique garden centerpieces. I like to make pansy kokedama, and they survive remarkably well in my exposed garden.

If you’re filling up planters with beautiful bulbs to plant in fall then add a top layer of pansies so they look good straight away. The bulbs will grow right up between the plants in spring, and the pansies will help stop hungry squirrels from digging up the bulbs. And honestly, whatever quick and clever container gardening ideas you dream up, pansies will fit the bill perfectly.

More Weekend Wins

This feature is part of the Weekend Wins series, packed with quick and easy 10-minute gardening tasks that bring a big reward.

Planting bulbs now is one of the best ways to enjoy beautiful spring flowers, but this year, why not try some less obvious choices? Tulips and daffodils are gorgeous and long associated with spring, but there are plenty of other flowers you could enjoy in your colorful spring garden.

Try adding some lesser-known spring flowering bulbs for a more unique mix. Some of these provide earlier flowers, unusual shapes, different heights and textures, and added pollinator value. September is generally a good time to get these bulbs in the ground, but be sure to check the proper planting time based on your growing zone before you get started. If you want to install new beds before you get digging, consider these all-in-one beds from Garden in Minutes, which have an irrigation system already built in.

1. Crocus

Crocuses are among the first flowers to bloom in spring, so choose these if you want early color. You might even see these cheerful white or purple flowers come up from the snow in late winter or early spring.

Depending on variety, crocuses are generally suitable for zones 3 through 8 and should be planted in September. Plant them pointy end up three to four inches (8 to 10 cm) deep and in soil that drains well. After the blooms fade, let the leaves stay in place and die back naturally, so they can supply the corms with energy for the next year’s blooms.

2. Allium

Ornamental alliums are part of the onion and garlic family and grow from bulbs planted in September or October. They flower in late spring and early summer, so combine them with spring-blooming bulbs for continuous color. Alliums are notable for their globe-like flower clusters in shades of purple on tall, sturdy stems.

You can grow alliums in zones 3 through 8, but check the specific hardiness zones for the variety you buy. They are generally untouched by critters who like to nibble other bulbs, so alliums are a good choice for yards with a lot of deer or squirrels. Plant each bulb about three to four times as deep as it is long.

3. Ranunculus

Ranunculus blooms in early and mid-spring with beautiful, rose-like flowers. These look pretty in mixed beds and in areas where you want a lot of showy color for spring.

Ranunculus are perennials in zones 8 through 10 and annuals in colder climates. Plant these bulbs in September in warmer climates. In cooler climates, you might want to wait until spring or grow them in containers you can protect from winter cold. Plant the bulbs with the “claws” pointing down, about one to two inches (2.5 to 5.0 cm) deep.

4. Fritillaria

Fritillaria blooms with unique, hanging, bell-shaped flowers. They come in a variety of colors, including a checkerboard pattern. They bloom in mid- to late-spring, so pair with early spring and early summer flowers.

In general, you can grow fritillaria in zones 4 through 8, but it depends on the variety. Follow instructions for planting depth specific to the type. Fritillaria bulbs are usually planted to a depth several times their length. Good drainage is essential, including in winter.

5. Snowdrops

For the earliest of all spring flowers, choose snowdrops. They bloom with delicate, white, bell-shaped flowers, often emerging when snow is still on the ground. Plant snowdrops in wooded areas, as they prefer some shade.

You can grow snowdrops in zones 3 to 8. Plant the bulbs in early fall two to three inches deep in soil that is moist but still drains well. During the growing season, they prefer moist soil and will naturalize readily in areas that provide the right conditions.

6. Camassia

Camassia is also called wild hyacinth and is native to North America. It blooms with multiple star-shaped flowers in blue, purple, or white on tall stems. Camassia flowers in late spring and looks nice in naturalized areas, in meadows, or in informal beds alongside perennials.

Camassia tolerates more moisture in the soil than most bulbs, so you can use this in soggier areas like rain gardens or low areas of the garden. These bulbs are suitable for zones 4 through 8 and should be planted in September or October to a depth of four to six inches (5 to 8 cm).

7. Spring Starflower

Spring starflower (Ipheion uniflorum) is a tough, low-growing South American native that has more or less naturalized in North America. Reaching just 3-6 inches (5-10 cm) in height, its star-shaped blossoms come in shades of blue, purple, and white.

Hardy in USDA zones 5-9, spring starflower is an excellent ground cover that forms dense, weed-suppressing mats and smells amazing while doing it.

Welcome to Garden Mythbusters, a new series with a simple premise: plenty of garden advice gets repeated for decades without anyone checking whether it really holds up. Well, some of it does, but some turns out to be half-remembered folklore wearing a lab coat. Fall bulb planting comes with one rule many gardeners know by heart, and September is the perfect time to give it a closer look.

The one rule you’ll hear a lot with bulb planting is this one: pointy end up. The majority of guides to planting fall bulbs lead with this stern instruction, but few explain what really happens when a bulb goes in sideways or upside down, or what to do if the bulb sitting in your palm has no discernible point at all. That last situation comes up surprisingly often, stalling an otherwise productive fall afternoon for no reason.

If you’ve ever fretted about whether a bulb might be growing “the wrong way” or not at all, or how to plant that funny-shaped object the best way, you’ve come to the right place. Understanding this advice (and when you can ignore it) is the key to planting with confidence. And the truth is that mother nature is more forgiving than the rule suggests. In the first of our series, I explain why nature’s underground guidance system throws this old rule into question, and why depth and drainage matter more.

How the Pointy End Myth Began

Many packages for spring flowering bulbs carry the same line printed on the back: point up, flat side down. That flat side is known as the basal plate, the compressed stem tissue from which roots emerge. On the other end, the pointed nose holds the embryonic shoot. For a traditional tulip or a classic daffodil, the anatomy reads well enough. One end tapers into a point, while the other is scuffed and concave, maybe bearing a few root hairs. The instruction makes intuitive sense for those species.

The trouble starts when this blanket rule gets applied to everything else in your fall order box. A seasonal shipment rarely holds tulips alone. Corms, tubers, and rhizomes often arrive in the exact same box, sold under the catch-all of bulbs, yet they possess different shapes. Let’s break it down:

• True Bulbs: Concentric shapes with the basal plate and a growing tip. Think tulips, daffodils and alliums. For daffodil lovers after bold sunshine trumpets, Dutch Master Daffodils from Eden Brothers are a classic of this distinctive “pointy end” true bulb variety.
• Corms: Solid stem tissue flattened on top and bottom, often lacking a single clear point. Crocus and gladiolus are examples of corms.
• Tubers: These are dried root masses that resemble wrinkled pebbles or claw-like fists, with no obvious top or bottom. Think Grecian windflower, anemone, or ranunculus. Grab some lovely Van Zyverden Windflowers from Walmart and you can see how these bargain bloomers arrive as these nobbly masses.

Where the pointy end rule came from is no mystery. It’s easy to see why commercial growers and catalogs settled on a single sentence for dozens of species, and "pointy end up" did the job. Over time, though, this simple guideline has hardened into a rigid warning. So growers can now fear that a bulb set the wrong way might sit and rot, or drive its flower down into the subsoil never to be seen again. Nurseries repeat it, garden clubs repeat it, and so that bulb planting rule persists…

Why the Myth Sticks: Gravitropism

Part of the reason this myth sticks around is simple: it works. Pointy end up is technically correct for most of what shows up in a standard fall bulb order, so the rule rarely gets stress-tested. Depending on bulb variety, there is certainly some appeal to a rule with a clean right and a clean wrong. The rule also flatters the gardener, suggesting the plant is completely dependent on careful human hands to get started. This is a pleasant thought, but in real terms it’s far from true.

The plant has its own system, and it goes by the name of gravitropism (or geotropism). You could say this is the bulb’s own internal GPS. Dense starch granules (called statoliths) inside certain cells settle to the low side, which is how the tissue registers the direction that gravity pulls in. This cellular settling signals to the plant exactly which way is down:

• Shoots grow against gravity: A bulb planted upside down pushes its first shoot out, quickly senses the gravitational pull, and executes an underground U-turn, curving upward toward the soil surface. This is negative gravitropism.
• Roots grow with gravity: Roots emerging from an inverted basal plate automatically curve downward, anchoring the plant securely into the subsoil regardless of orientation. This is positive gravitropism.

Problems with this Myth

Taken as gospel, the "pointy end" rule costs us valuable time, and occasionally some healthy blooms. Anxious gardeners can dig up beds they planted 3 weeks earlier just to check bulb orientation. By that time, tender root systems have begun emerging, and digging them up inflicts far more damage than inverted orientation could. Other gardeners slow to a crawl, inspecting every nobbly arrival when a hundred could be tucked into the ground before sunset. Bags of corms get set aside for being confusing, which is how a bargain sack of crocus sits in the shed until March.

There is a quieter cost as well. Fixing on orientation as the make-or-break detail tends to skate past the things that really can determine the success of your spring displays: planting depth, drainage, and getting bulbs settled while soil holds enough warmth. Planting a bulb too shallow exposes it to temperature swings and hungry squirrels, while planting too deep exhausts its stored energy before the shoot hits light. Using a bulb planter with depth measurements added, such as the excellent Fiskars Steel Bulb Transplanter with Depth Marks from Amazon, can help with this, so you don’t have to rely purely on guesswork.

Soggy, waterlogged soil deprives roots of oxygen and invites fungal rot. A tulip planted perfectly upright in standing water will rot long before spring. If you’re worried about your soil at planting time, adding a handful of Plantonix Perlite Bliss, available from Walmart, can make the world of difference to clay beds. It can also boost aeration and help prevent waterlogging and rot (which is often the real bulb killer). And getting bulbs settled while September soil still holds warm ambient heat allows the roots to establish before winter freezes the ground. Adding a sprinkle of Espoma Organic Bone Meal, from The Home Depot, to the ground helps to boost bulb production in a gentle way during the early stages, so your favorite blooms stay healthy over winter.

Beyond the Myth: Thinking Sideways

While gravity ensures an inverted bulb eventually finds the sky, planting orientation is not completely irrelevant. An upside-down daffodil buried 8 inches (20cm) deep must expend extra energy executing that underground U-turn. So a shoot pointing the wrong way has a longer trip to the surface than one aimed correctly from the start. This can result in slightly shorter stems or delayed flowering during its first season.

Furthermore, some bulbs carry clever visual shortcuts and handy quirks. Many tulip bulb varieties, for example, feature a noticeably flattened side on their outer tunic. The largest first leaf always emerges from this flat side. This is why some growers pot them with that side turned toward the rim of a pot or along the front edge of a bed. For specimens with no discernible top, try this checklist instead:

• Crocus: Often flattened on both sides, crocus corms sprout roots around their lower perimeter. If you cannot spot the slight dimple of the top shoot, simply plant them on their side.
• Grecian windflower: These dried tubers look like irregular pebbles. Trying to find a top is nearly impossible. Soaking them in lukewarm water for 3-4 hours before planting plumps the tissue, after which you can drop them into the soil in any orientation. Sideways works brilliantly.
• Ranunculus and anemone: Tubers with finger-like claws should be planted with those claws pointing down, as these are the root structures.

When in doubt, plant any uncertain bulb or corm on its side. It might not be ideal, but planting sideways will shorten the distance an upside-down shoot must travel to turn upward, while allowing roots immediate access to lower soil moisture. Planting on the side is the standard fallback for anything uncertain, and most will right themselves as they grow.

Layered Planting & Containers

If you want to maximize flower impact in tight spaces or patio pots, worrying about strict orientation becomes even less necessary. Container growing allows you to practice the popular bulb lasagna technique, layering different species at varying soil depths in a single deep pot to achieve a continuous, multi-week spring display.

• Bottom layer: Plant late-blooming alliums like Purple Sensation from Amazon and late-season tulips, 8-10 inches (20-25cm) deep.
• Middle layer: Place mid-season bloomers, like trumpet daffodils and fragrant hyacinths, in the middle, 5-6 inches (12-15cm) deep.
• Top layer: Plant early spring dwarf species, like crocus and muscari, about 2-3 inches (5-8cm) deep. Pretty pale Blue Marlin Crocus Bulbs from Eden Brothers are perfect for container bulb planting without the hassles about which way is up.

Container growing offers a massive advantage for upside-down bulbs. High-quality potting soil mixes tend to be lighter, looser, and more aerated. In a pot, an upside-down or sideways bulb encounters almost zero physical soil resistance. Its embryonic shoot can execute a U-turn effortlessly as it heads for the surface.

That said, you can help your bulbs along with a little rocket boost of bulb feed. A gentle, slow-release nutrient boost from Espoma Organic Bulb-tone Plant Food, available from Lowe's, ensures that even sideways-planted corms develop thick root networks before winter freezes the container core.

Take Action – Plant Bulbs Now!

September opens bulb planting season across much of the country, though colder northern regions can continue through October as long as the ground remains workable. So grab your favorite bulb planter, your bag of bulbs, and of course your kneeling mat. Something thick, like the Garden Guru Extra Thick Kneeling Mat from Walmart, is ultra kind to knees and brilliant for happy bulb planting.

For classic impact without the hassles, narcissus (daffodils) and alliums are the most forgiving options. Both want a planting depth of roughly 6-8 inches (15-20cm) in full sun to partial shade. Their large size makes them easy to read at a glance, and both are naturally toxic to deer, rabbits, and burrowing voles. For lawn edges and rock gardens, crocus corms and Grecian windflowers are easygoing. Crocus corms sit 3-4 inches (8-10cm) deep, while windflower tubers nestle 2-3 inches (5-8cm) down.

Rather than stressing over which way up is right, aim for proper depth, amend heavy soil with organic material or perlite for drainage, and press the soil firmly. Fall bulb planting rewards whoever just gets on with it. Tuck in more than seems reasonable this month, close enough to correct, and then let spring settle the argument.

If you’d like to check out some more mythbusting, read my guide to companion planting myths to make sure you aren’t making a few common mistakes planting some well-loved vegetables side by side.

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. A rose in September, though? That's when even experienced gardeners start second-guessing themselves.

Your plants may still be flowering beautifully, so it's tempting to keep deadheading, feeding and tidying them exactly as you have all summer. As fall settles in, though, you'll quickly discover that roses have surprisingly different needs to those they displayed even just a few weeks ago.

This means that there is one simple job to do this month that might just have a much bigger impact on next year's flowers than anything you do in spring. And, on the flipside, there's also one common mistake that can leave roses more vulnerable over winter and set them back before the new growing season has even begun. Eek.

The September Rose Job That Pays Off Next Spring

Whether you have a garden full of your birth month rose, have been growing Pamela Anderson's favorite rose, or have a rose garden inspired by something entirely different, be sure to show them some love this fall.

Think about it: after a long summer of blooming like mad, many roses have a tendency to pick up common fungal diseases such as black spot. And, even if the leaves have already fallen, they're best not left lying beneath your plants.

Yes, those infected leaves can harbor fungal spores over winter, ready to reinfect fresh growth when temperatures warm up in spring, which is why your September job should be to gather and dispose of any diseased leaves from both the plant and the ground beneath it.

It takes five minutes, and it works wonders. While you're down there, too, remember that cleaning up old petals, weeds and other garden debris around the base of the plant can also improve air circulation and reduce places where pests and diseases may linger.

If you spot badly infected stems, though, fair warning: be sure to only remove small and obviously diseased sections if needed, and take care to save any major pruning for later in the dormant season.

Shop Black Spot-Resistant Roses:

As tempting as it is to tidy everything up before fall, don't give your roses a hard prune in September.

Heavy pruning encourages fresh growth at exactly the wrong time of year. As temperatures begin to cool, those new and very tender shoots likely won't have time to harden off before the first frosts arrive, leaving them vulnerable to cold damage.

Instead, limit yourself to the Three Ds, and focus on removing dead, damaged or clearly diseased growth (and only then if it's really necessary). Save the major pruning jobs for late winter or early spring, when your roses are still dormant and ready to produce vigorous new growth.

Of course, if your roses are continuing to bloom, you can still deadhead spent flowers to keep plants looking tidy and encourage repeat-flowering varieties to produce more blooms this fall.

However, as the season draws to a close, many gardeners choose to stop deadheading and allow rose hips to form instead, as this can a) help signal to the plant that it's time to slow down naturally ahead of winter, and b) prove a boon for local wildlife.

Whether you continue deadheading or not, take care to stop applying high-nitrogen fertilizers as this can, again, stimulate soft new growth that's more susceptible to cold damage. Instead, focus your energy on those few minutes it takes to clear diseased leaves from the base of your plants.

It might not seem like it's doing much, but it really can spell healthier foliage, less disease pressure and, ultimately, a better display of blooms when spring arrives. Hey, sometimes the smallest jobs really do make the biggest difference, right?

Geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) are one of the most popular summer flowers, and though they’re technically perennials, most people grow them as annuals. But if you take a few simple steps this month, you can overwinter your geraniums and grow them again next summer.

Overwintering geraniums is a great option if you’re looking to save money. Instead of having to buy new plants at the nursery every year, you can keep on growing the same plants year after year. As autumn approaches, now is the ideal time to start prepping your geraniums for the cold season.

Here’s what you need to do with geraniums in September to help them survive and thrive in your garden again next summer.

1. Remove Dead Flowers & Foliage

The first step in preparing your geraniums for winter is cleaning up any dead foliage or faded flowers. Use a pair of sharp, clean pruners – Editor-in-Chief Melanie loves her Felco pruners from Amazon – to cut off any dead flower heads or brown leaves and stems.

You can also deadhead faded geranium flowers by hand. The spent blooms are easy to snap off with your fingers. Just find where the stem holding up the flower meets the main stem of the plant and gently snap it off. You can put the dead flowers and foliage into your compost bin as long as it doesn’t show any signs of disease or pests.

2. Take Cuttings to Propagate

September is a great time to take cuttings to propagate geranium plants and expand your collection next summer. Even if you overwinter your existing plants, it’s nice to have backup plants that you can either share with friends and neighbors or fill bare spots in your garden next year.

To propagate geraniums, use a sharp, clean pair of pruners to cut a 4-5 inch (10-12 cm) section from a non-flowering stem. Be sure to cut just below a leaf node to encourage new root growth. You can also encourage roots by using a rooting hormone powder like this one from Walmart.

Stick the cuttings into potting mix or perlite in a container with drainage holes. Keep the potting mix moist and place the container in a frost-free location over winter – a greenhouse is an ideal spot. In spring, after the last chance of frost, plant your new geraniums in individual containers or in the garden.

3. Move Plants Indoors

Before the first frost arrives in fall, move your geraniums indoors or into a greenhouse. Before taking plants inside, though, check for any signs of pests or diseases to prevent spreading them to your other indoor plants. If you find pests on your geraniums, use a neem oil or insecticidal soap spray – both of which are available on Amazon – to kill them before bringing plants indoors.

Choose a location indoors that has bright indirect sunlight and is away from heating vents. Hot, dry air from indoor heating can cause geraniums to crisp up and turn brown over winter. Clustering multiple potted plants together can help raise the relative humidity in the area and prevent geraniums from drying out too much.

4. Reduce Watering & Fertilizing

As the season draws to a close and geraniums move towards winter dormancy, it’s time to reduce watering and fertilizing. Feeding geraniums at this point in the year can stimulate new growth when plants should instead begin hunkering down and saving energy for next spring and summer.

Watering geraniums too much in September can also spur on new growth, but it can cause root rot as well. Potted geranium plants need less water during fall and winter than they did during the heat of summer. The temperatures are more mild, which means moisture remains in the soil longer.

Only water plants once soil has completely dried out. If you’re in doubt about whether or not your plant needs more water, a soil moisture meter like this one from Amazon, gets rid of the guesswork.

Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a very popular and practical hedging plant, and because of its dense growth habit it is also great for topiary. Indeed, it has been admired for centuries for its stunning shaping in European knot gardens and low border edging. But for some of us, boxwood can seem a little dull. Worse still is the spread of boxwood blight and boxwood leaf miners. Because of these potential perils, many of us are looking for resilient substitutes.

While buxus is undeniably easy on the eye, particularly when trimmed into funky shapes, there are a few great evergreen options that work just as well. They can be easily cultivated into exciting lollipop shrub types, create lively interest in smaller yards and patio containers, and offer plenty of other benefits such as added color and pollinator appeal.

These lollipop evergreens have plenty of personality while retaining the same level of whimsy. Trimmed into single-stem standards, they add easy structure and elegance, and even the smallest specimens can make a big impact curbside. So if you fancy something that can bring the wow factor in small spaces with year-round appeal, it's high time you got acquainted with these cute new kids on the block.

Growing Lollipops Beyond Box

Lollipop evergreens are topiary plants that look like…well, you guessed it, lollipops. These plants are pruned so they have a bare, straight trunk topped with dense, rounded balls of green leaves. Transforming a standard multi-stemmed shrub into a high-impact lollipop topiary requires a blend of site selection, regional awareness, and precision tools. Because boxwood challenges vary wildly across the country (from humid southern fungal pressure to harsh northern winter desiccation) selecting the right shrub for your specific USDA hardiness zone is the crucial first step.

Before planting your new standard, prep the planting hole with organic soil amendments to establish deep, strong root systems that are capable of supporting top-heavy foliage canopies. Sprinkle a little organic compost into the planting site. If you are planting hollies, a gentle layer of pine needles helps maintain regular moisture levels.

Once planted, keeping your lollipops in good shape relies on sharp blades and good hygiene. Dull blades crush plant stems, creating jagged wounds that invite disease. Investing in razor-sharp, bypass shears is worth every penny. You can’t go wrong with Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears from Amazon for efficient, clean cuts on stems up to an inch (2.5cm) thick. When trimming your lollipops, wipe blades down with rubbing alcohol between plants to prevent any cross-contamination. With yard space and cutting tools ready, it’s time to meet the shrubs that can bring you that pop!

1. Photinia Red Robin

'Red Robin' (Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin') is a hybrid evergreen shrub that makes a striking lollipop standard. Its claim to fame is its vivid red new growth which matures into a glossy green. These coppery red or magenta tints are present in the youngest leaves before the chlorophyll develops. But beyond its visual drama, 'Red Robin' brings robust vigor, quickly forming a dense, woody stem that is more than capable of holding a heavy, spherical head. If you’re looking for an option that can quickly make an impactful privacy hedge, try Red Tip Photinia from Nature Hills.

To maintain a formal lollipop habit, strip away side shoots along the bottom 2-3 feet (60-90cm) of the main trunk. Most gardeners prune photinia in late spring and late summer. Over time, you should find it easily trains into a lollipop standard. And each time you trim, you’ll get new growth that includes those pretty red flushes. Position this sun-lover in fertile, well-draining soil sheltered from harsh winter winds, which can scorch tender new growth. Lightly shaping the canopy after the initial spring flush encourages a second coppery-red display by early fall, ensuring your topiary remains a vivid focal point across multiple seasons in zones 7-9.

2. Bay Laurel

Bay laurel or sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) is beloved by gardeners and cooks. This fragrant evergreen offers shiny leaves and tiny clusters of baby yellow flowers that turn into berries by fall. It is perhaps best known as the source of bay leaves, commonly used in cooking for sauces, curries and as part of a bouquet garni. But it is also one of the oldest recorded topiary subjects around. Its naturally upright growth habit and thick, leathery foliage make it exceptionally forgiving for eager snippers. For aromatic screening that holds its shape beautifully, DMOH Starter Bay Laurel Plants from Walmart are well priced and grow surprisingly fast.

You can transform this shrub into an elegant lollipop shape quite easily in zones 8-11. It’s a matter of systematically clearing the lower branches. At the same time, you train the upper canopy into a ball shape. When grown in cooler northern climates, sweet bay can overwinter indoors near a sunny window. Just ensure your potting mix includes some coarse sand or perlite. Regular pinching terminal buds encourages a packed, aromatic canopy for fresh kitchen treasures year-round.

3. Japanese Holly

If you are searching for a plant that deceives the eye as a true boxwood double, Japanese holly (Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil' or 'Helleri') is the gold standard. Unlike boxwood, Japanese holly is immune to boxwood blight and leafminer damage. Its rounded leaves mimic box foliage perfectly, making it ideal for crisp, manicured shaping. Along with a neat formal shape, you can enjoy some dazzling variations of color. If you fancy a splash of gold on your lollipop, you can buy Drops of Gold Japanese Holly from Nature Hills.

Its small, compact leaves enable you to create some highly precise shaping. Holly standards thrive in slightly acidic, moist, well-drained soil. Growing female cultivars near a male pollinating companion rewards you with a striking winter display of jet-black or crimson berries, set against tight green topiary globes. Holly lollipops remain vibrant year-round and thrive in zones 6-9. Another holly variety that can make a lovely lollipop is variegated holly, which offers unique foliage patterns for even more curbside razzle-dazzle.

4. Privet

Privet (Ligustrum) is another native shrub you can count on for easy shaping and lush good looks. This shrub grows fast, making it a popular choice for hedging or privacy screening in zones 3-10. Tolerant of most growing conditions, privet can tough out salt and urban pollution, and needs very little care other than regular pruning to keep it under control. For cold hardiness and bulletproof adaptability, European privet and golden vicary privet are great options for shaping. They accept shears without flinching, sprouting new growth rapidly to fill in any accidental gaps.

As well as the lush green or gold leaves, you’ll often see white spring flowers with a strong fragrance. Some find this smell delightful, while others hate it. These flowers develop into grape-like fruits, which can be purple, green or white. When privets are pruned as lollipops, they form a strong, low-maintenance ball that needs trimming just once or twice a year. Just be careful with Japanese or Chinese privet, since these can be very invasive. You can get a 20% discount on Glossy Privet from Trees.com for a pretty blooming evergreen that copes beautifully with heavy pruning.

5. Laurustine

Laurustine (Viburnum tinus) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with dense, dark, glossy leaves that works particularly well in topiary. Thriving in zones 8-10, it is great for lollipops, since it handles crown lifting well. While boxwood offers static green foliage, a Laurustine lollipop transforms dramatically through the year. Deep pink buds form in fall, held against leathery dark green leaves through winter before opening into pink and white blossom clusters in spring. These flowers appeal to birds, bees and butterflies, and the resulting berry-like fruit provides food for wildlife.

This plant is native to the Mediterranean areas of Europe and North Africa, and requires full sun and good drainage to thrive. Prune your Laurustine standard immediately after flowering finishes in late spring. This allows the plant to set new flower buds during summer while maintaining its crisp spherical habit. They arrive quite dinky, but you can get Citronella King’s Viburnum Tinus Spring Bouquet Plants from Walmart in packs of 6 for a plant that will easily develop a dense, round shape with pollinator-friendly blooms. This evergreen brings four-season multi-sensory interest to topiary art that traditional boxwood simply can’t match.

6. Inkberry Holly

For native plant enthusiasts seeking an ultra-hardy, blight-resistant box alternative, inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) is a triumph. Native to Eastern North America, it has rounded leaves and a smooth grey trunk that lifts beautifully into a single-stem standard. Cultivars like 'Densa' and 'Gem Box' naturally maintain a dense, rounded canopy structure, making them remarkably easy to shape into crisp topiary balls with minimal trimming. For lush character in colder climates, Green Promise Farms’ Inkberry Densa Plants from Amazon are currently available at a 10% discount. Inkberry’s glossy green leaves take on a bronze-purple cast in cold months rather than bleaching out like boxwood, providing rich seasonal contrast.

In addition to its cold hardiness down to zone 4, inkberry is virtually immune to the pest and disease issues. It thrives in full sun to partial shade, and excels in wet or poorly drained soil. In late spring, small white flowers attract native pollinators, followed by pea-sized black berries that feed songbirds through winter. Unlike traditional boxwoods, inkberry has a tendency to produce small suckers. To maintain your lollipop, simply snip away these ground-level suckers once every spring. This keeps the lower stem pristine and the top ball densely packed with lush foliage.

Bidding farewell to boxwood doesn't mean sacrificing lush year-round greenery that can make a statement. By embracing single-stem lollipop standards, from vivid red photinias to resilient native Inkberry hollies, you add playful personality, vertical height, and disease-free beauty to your yard. With sharp shears, proper soil prep, and a little seasonal shaping, these thimble-pretty evergreens will bring reliable structure and wow factor to your small spaces for decades.

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

If you want your Thanksgiving cactus to put on a spectacular display in November (and obviously you do!), then September is the month to start thinking about its blooms.

Yes, I know; it feels far too early to worry about a plant that won't flower for months, but what you do now can make a big difference to how many buds your Thanksgiving cactus produces. And fortunately, the most important job is surprisingly simple: make sure your plant gets a good night's sleep.

What do I mean by this? Well, the Thanksgiving cactus is a short-day plant, meaning it needs longer nights to encourage flower-bud formation. And, as the days naturally begin to shorten in September, your plant is approaching the conditions it needs to bloom... but even a little artificial light at the wrong time can interfere with that process.

The One Thing Your Thanksgiving Cactus Needs In September

When it comes to getting a good night's kip, we can all agree that we sleep sounder under the comforting gloom of a blackout blind. Your Thanksgiving cactus (or Christmas cactus, actually!) are the same: they crave that natural dark after the sun dips below the horizon.

This means, then, that if yours is sitting on a windowsill in a room where the lights are regularly switched on after dark, it's time to consider moving it somewhere where it can experience natural darkness in the evening.

Shop Thanksgiving Cactus Essentials:

Now, before you get carried away, you don't need to put it in a closet or make its care complicated. A room that isn't regularly lit at night is usually enough for your Thanksgiving cactus, so long as you keep it consistent.

The aim is to give your Thanksgiving cactus around 12 to 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night as fall approaches, while keeping it in bright (but indirect) light during the day.

A spare room, guest bedroom, or another naturally darkened room can work really well; the trick is to just avoid somewhere that becomes completely dark during the daytime, since the plant still needs plenty of light to grow and prepare for flowering.

It's important you don't skip this step in September, as a Thanksgiving cactus doesn't suddenly decide to bloom when Thanksgiving arrives; the process starts several weeks earlier, when the plant responds to changes in day length and temperature by beginning to form flower buds.

That means this month is a useful one for checking where your plant is growing and what kind of light it receives after sunset. And, if it's beside a lamp, under a kitchen light, or in a room where the lights stay on late into the evening, making that small change now? It could be the difference between a bright and beautiful display at your Thanksgiving table, and a seriously lacklustre one.

Don't leave it too late; once your Thanksgiving cactus is entering its bud-setting period, you'll want to avoid constantly moving the plant between rooms or changing its light exposure from day to day. Sudden changes in temperature, light, or watering can cause stress, and Thanksgiving cactus may drop developing buds if conditions change dramatically.

The one thing to do for your Thanksgiving cactus in September, then? Find a good spot with bright, indirect daytime light and reliable darkness at night, then leave it there.

With the right conditions in September and October, those unassuming green segments can and will eventually become covered with the colorful flowers that make Thanksgiving cactus such a bodacious houseplant to have on display over the holiday season.

Just be sure to water when the top portion of the potting mix has dried rather than keeping the soil constantly wet, and you're all but guaranteed a good show by the time November rolls around. Good luck!

Every type of garden has its moment in the sun when it looks its best. For prairie landscapes, that peak moment starts in September, as summer heat softens into fall, as native grasses don their autumn shades and glow in the slanting sun. There’s also the amazing color show of late-blooming prairie perennials.

If your garden is looking end-of-season tired, it doesn’t take much to get some of that native prairie plant pow. A prairie garden also has the benefit of being low-care, drought-tolerant, and downright gorgeous.

Where to begin? Begin here, with these five fabulous prairie plants. They are ready to wake up your fall garden.

You’re Five Prairie Plants Away from a Fabulous Fall Garden

You don’t have to bulldoze all your current backyard plants to get quick beauty in September. Just pick a couple of these wonderful prairie plants and watch your garden come to life again.

1. Narrowleaf Bluestar

We aren’t going to save the best for last here. Instead, we’ll start our list of five top prairie plants for fall fireworks with one of the most breathtaking native perennials: Narrowleaf Bluestar. If you’ve never heard of it, you are in for a treat. Also called Asmonia, this native beauty offers clusters of pale-blue starry blossoms in spring, contrasting nicely with the green foliage, but that’s not all. Come September, the delicate, feathery leaves blaze a brilliant golden-orange.

Low-maintenance? Check! Pollinator friendly? Check! (Just ask the Swallowtail butterflies!) Multi-season appeal? Check! This all-American perennial thrives in full sun and average soil, and is especially effective in or mass plantings. If the plants get floppy after their blooms fade in early summer, give the plant a trim to help it retail its shape. Plant bluestars from Garden Goods Direct with ornamental grasses and black-eyed Susans for a gorgeous golden bed that transitions easily from late summer into fall.

2. Asters

What is autumn without asters? This late-season perennial is everywhere come September and October, painting the rolling hills of wild prairie in vibrant shades of blue and purple. Their starry flowers are life-savers for pollinators - filling them up with nectar right up to the first killing frost. Yes, this includes monarchs and bees.

Install asters in your backyard in a full sun location in soil with good drainage. Plant near contrasting blooms (like goldenrod!) for maximum wow-power. An aster never arrives alone; the flowers appear in dense clusters, adding texture (as well as color) to fall gardens. A three-pack of aster plants from Home Depot can be planted directly into your fall garden or used in containers on your porch before transplanting.

3. Goldenrod

If you sneeze just reading the name of this native perennial, you aren’t alone. Many people think goldenrod causes their seasonal allergies but no, it’s ragweed. Goldenrod should be a welcome member of your garden plant family. It’s worth its weight in gold - so to speak- in autumn meadows, its brilliant egg yolk yellow plumes a fantastic contrast to purple or blue asters.

You can find goldenrod in lots of different sizes and shapes. Whatever you pick, the late-season pollinators will thank you. Goldenrod offers invaluable nurture for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects in fall, with generous supplies of nectar. Feed those hungry pollinators with gorgeous 'Fireworks' goldenrod from American Meadows It's delicately arching branches add even more visual interest to your garden.

4. Big Bluestem

If you have a large property, you need large plants to balance out the space - and nothing is better than ornamental grass. Why not go for Big Bluestem, also known as a “prairie giant.” It gets as tall or taller than the gardener - rising to 6 feet (2m) tall and providing bold structure as well as dramatic fall color.

This tall grass grows in blue-green, giving it the common name, but it changes like clockwork come September. The tall blades evolve to shades of burnished copper (bronze, red, and purple) in the fall. Easy-to-grow and drought tolerant, big bluestem is best grown in full sun. It is a larval host for more than a few species of butterflies. 'Blackhawks' big bluestem from American Meadows will add some autumnal drama to your landscape while also resisting deer!

5. Pink Muhly Grass

Think of this stunning ornamental as the love child of a grass plant and a pink flamingo. You want visual drama in your fall garden? Pink muhly grass offers it in spades with airy plumes of soft pink blossoms. A stand of this gorgeous prairie grass makes your backyard look as if a pink cloud landed, or a giant’s cone of cotton candy fell from the sky.

Pink muhly grass flowers from the end of summer into fall. The dense clumps of foliage are made up of wiry, forest green needle-like leaves. They provide the base for the flowers that seem to float above. Plant this ornamental grass in a full sun site with well-draining soil and you’ll have a low-care, tolerant, hardy plant with prairie flair and winter interest. It is also a host plant for the orange skipperling butterfly and provides material for nest building for bees and birds. 1-gallon pots of pink muhly grass plants are currently on sale at Trees.com (formerly Fast Growing Trees) and will add some serious vibrancy to your fall garden.

Shop Fall Planting Essentials

Hyacinth blooms are a glorious way to scent your home for the holidays and for flowers in December, you need to start bulbs in September. Getting organised early is the only tricky part of growing hyacinth bulbs – the rest is a breeze and boy, it's worth the effort to enjoy fresh, fragrant flowers in the depths of winter.

In bud, a hyacinth's fragrance is fresh and green like a sunny spring day. As the flowers open, the aroma skips straight to high summer, intensely floral and sweetly intoxicating with subtle hints of vanilla and spice. Just one hyacinth can scent an entire room and combine beautifully with all the nostalgic aromas of Christmas cooking, adding unforgettable fragrance to your home through the holidays. So ditch the Christmas scented candles and grow some plant-based fragrance instead.

Here’s what to do, step by straightforward step, to get great results when forcing hyacinth bulbs. And make plenty, as these must-have holiday decor plants make lovely little gifts to give to friends and family.

How to Force Hyacinth Bulbs for Christmas

1. Buy Prepared Bulbs

Left to their own devices, hyacinths are spring-flowering bulbs that naturally bloom between March and May. To enjoy flowers in December, you need to buy bulbs that have been harvested early and heat-treated to trick them into blooming early. These will be clearly marked as ‘prepared’ bulbs. In September, you’ll find prepared hyacinth bulbs for forcing at your local garden center or nursery, and they're usually stocked by Walmart and Lowe’s.

You can plant standard hyacinth bulbs and trick them into growing early, but they’ll typically only grow leaves and are unlikely to flower.

2. Calculate the Timeline

To work out when to plant hyacinth bulbs, work back from the date you want flowers. As a general rule, hyacinth flowers last for 2-3 weeks, giving you a good window, and prepared bulbs take 12-14 weeks to flower. Some varieties take a little less – ‘Anna Marie’ typically blooms in 10 weeks – so check the packaging or online description. Heat and light levels will also affect the process, so it’s a smart idea to stagger planting over a couple of weeks. Not only does this increase the odds of timing holiday flowers just right, plants at multiple development stages adds to the fragrance.

3. Decide if You Want to Grow in Water or Soil

You can force Christmas hyacinths in water or potting soil, and your choice isn’t just down to aesthetics.

If you’re planning on throwing your bulbs once they’re done flowering, growing them in water is super-stylish and elegant. It's hygienic, too, if you’ll be using the living blooms as table decorations, and the visible roots adding another layer of interest. If you plan to plant your hyacinths outdoors for border blooms year after year, though, it’s best to grow them in soil.

In water, you’ll need glass forcing vases such as these from Amazon, with a narrower waist that holds bulbs above the water line. You can also force hyacinth bulbs in any shallow glass vase like this from Amazon, half-filled with pebbles to keep the bulbs from rotting in the water. Using pebbles also means you can use old mason jars.

To grow bulbs in soil, you need excellent drainage so use a potting mix intended for cacti and succulents like Hoffman Organic Cactus & Succulent Soil Mix, available from Walmart, or coco coir such as these Organic Coco Coir Pellets from Amazon. Any planter is fine as long as it’s twice as deep as the bulbs are high. A drainage hole isn’t essential, so many folk choose to use pretty bowls or upcycled tins as planters.

4. Set the Bulbs

The outer skin of hyacinth bulbs contains microscopic sharp calcium oxalate crystals, so always wear gloves to handle them.

In soil, first dampen the potting mix and add a layer to the base of the container. Place the flat base of the bulbs on the soil so their pointed ends are uppermost. As long as the bulbs don’t touch each other or the side of the planter, you can pack them in closely. Tuck more just-moist compost around the bulbs, leaving the ‘nose’ or the top quarter of the bulbs exposed.

In water, fill your vase or container of pebbles up with water to a level where it will sit just under the bulb. The bulb shouldn’t touch the water but the gap should only be ⅛–¼ inch. Place the bulb, pointed end up, in the vase cradle or on the pebbles.

5. Store in a Cool, Dark Place

Stand in a cool, dark but frost-free shed or garage, putting pots or vases in black polythene bags to keep out the light if needs be, for 10-12 weeks. The ideal temperature will be 42-48°F. Check bulbs regularly, topping up the water so the level says just beneath the bulb base in a glass vase or so the soil is just-moist in a pot. You’ll soon spot root growth in vases and, by December, you should see shoots coming from the top of the bulb in both vases and pots. Don't be alarmed that they're yellow – that results from the lack of light and leaves will soon green up.

6. Move the Bulbs Indoors

When those top shoots are around 2 inches high, carefully move your vases or pots indoors. Don’t place them into a hot room or bright sunlight straight away or the shock may stop the bulbs flowering. Instead, put them in a cool room out of direct sunlight – the back of a north-facing room is ideal. Once the leaves have greened up, gradually shift them into warmer, sunnier conditions.

Keep the water topped up as before, but there’s no need to feed the bulbs. Giving the pot or vase a quarter-turn every couple of days will keep the stems growing straight up, as hyacinths have a tendency to lean towards the light, when the top-heavy stems will need staking.

7. Control the Blooming Period

The warmer and lighter the conditions, the faster the bulbs will flower, allowing you to influence when they bloom and get the timing just right for the holidays. To slow blooming down, move hyacinths to a cool spot that falls to 50-60°F at night, out of direct sunlight. Do make sure the plant still gets plenty of indirect light, though, or the stem will stretch and weaken as it searches for more sunshine.

The flowers at the base of the cluster will open first, with blooming progressing upwards over a week to 10 days. Once blooms begin to open, keeping your plant away from hot radiators and fires and direct sun will steady the process and you can expect your hyacinth to last in full flower for a couple of weeks.

And there you have it, beautiful blooms for the holidays, ready to decorate with whatever you fancy to fit in with your Christmas decor.

How to Replant a Forced Hyacinth Outdoors

If you want to plant your soil-grown hyacinth outside once it’s done blooming, you’ll need to help it replace energy stores in its bulb. Keep the plant on a warm, sunny windowsill and keep it watered, cutting off the flower spike at the base once it fades to stop it wasting energy on seed production. It will take around two months for the foliage to wither, and don’t be tempted to cut them off or braid them, because the plant needs all its leafy solar panels to generate energy.

Gradually reduce watering and once the leaves are fully brown, remove the bulb from the pot, brush off any soil and pull or cut off the foliage. Leave to air dry in a warm but shady spot for a week, then once fully dry pop the bulb into a brown paper bag and store in a cool, dark, dry spot. Plant in October at a depth of two or three times the height of the bulb, and expect flowers next spring.

Fall borders can be ablaze with late-season blooms. That said, they can also devolve into a tangled mess of tired-looking foliage and spent flowers collapsing on heavy stems. Something needs to be done, for sure. But the solution is neither to ignore the mess, nor to give borders a uniform cut.

Most gardeners are familiar with the Chelsea chop: a late-spring prune that produces more vibrant growth. But late-season beds face a different challenge. After months of rapid growth, heavy-headed perennials like dahlias, Japanese anemones, asters, and heleniums will be leaning into walkways and flopping onto neighboring plants. Taking a heavy hand with your pruning now could strip your yard of its full fall glory. Conversely, doing nothing leaves borders vulnerable to wind damage and disease.

What your fall displays need now is the September stagger. This easy chop helps you to create a border that continues to bloom. It involves selectively trimming and deadheading across varying heights. Rather than bulk shearing, this approach relieves weight on top-heavy stems and encourages latent side buds to push out fresh flowers. With just a few minutes of smart pruning this week, you’ll be rewarded with hearty blooms that extend the flowering season for weeks.

How This Cut Helps Fall Borders

Making the September stagger work for you isn’t tricky at all – it just requires a fair assessment of your current border. Applying this set of cuts will depend on key flowers in your display. It comes down to evaluating plant shape and height in relation to those nearest it. You are looking to selectively relieve weight, improve air circulation through interior foliage, and create a layered border that holds its form in heavy rain, for the longest flowering fall plants. We’ve broken this down into simple steps so you can approach these cuts with confidence and refresh late borders fast.

Before you start, check your pruning tools. For these cuts, you need precise snips for clean cuts on delicate stems, and bypass pruning shears for slightly thicker perennial bases. If you’re looking for a new set of bypass pruners, the Corona Dual Link Bypass Pruners with Comfort Gel Grips, available from Amazon, are brilliant value, gentle on wrists, and genuinely powerful without requiring lots of effort. For precise cuts in dense tangles, you can’t go wrong with Fiskars Titanium Micro-Tip Blade Pruning Shears with Softgrip Handles from The Home Depot: perfect for selective cuts in fiddly or crowded plantings.

Beyond just making your beds and borders look a lot tidier and more dynamic, this targeted pruning routine is a great health check for late-season plants. Thinning out choked center stems allows low fall sunlight to penetrate into the bases of longer stemmed dahlias and Japanese anemones. It also helps prevent stagnant moisture that can invite fungal spores if left unchecked. Be sure to clean blades with some isopropyl alcohol or diluted neem, such as Captain Jack’s Neem Max Concentrate from Walmart. Rubbing some of this into blades between plants prevents the spread of mildew or thrips. That way, these cuts will give you the very best fall displays.

1. Target Vulnerable and Top-Heavy Plants

Look for plants characterized by heavy, multi-petaled blooms on tall, flexible stems. Dahlia hybrids, New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), sneezeweed (helenium), and Japanese anemones (Anemone x hybrida) are classic culprits. As late-summer rain hits heavy flower heads, these plants frequently splay outward, smothering low-growing groundcovers and blocking lawn paths.

Walk the length of your border to investigate all your plants before deciding where to cut. Using your bypass pruners, focus on cutting back stems that are leaning into walkways, tipping into neighboring plants, or flopping due to becoming top-heavy. These cuts should be limited, as you don’t want to trim back entire plants unless they are really looking rough. Resist the urge to cut back stems just because they’re tall and look like they might flop over soon. Give those stems more time to bloom.

This is about making relief cuts where stems are already causing problems. Cut these sprawling stems back by a half to two-thirds, making each incision a quarter of an inch (60mm) above an outward-facing leaf node. Leave sturdy, upright central stems untouched, so they can continue flowering uninterrupted. This targeted reduction immediately lifts a border's visual weight while preserving the main display.

When working between plants, don’t forget to wipe blades frequently with neem or rubbing alcohol. For a top bargain, Vi-Jon Swan 70% Isopropyl Alcohol from Amazon keeps blades pristine. This strategic cutting will leave the border looking refreshed, less cluttered, and more defined.

2. Vary Cutting Heights Across Clumps

When strategically cutting stems back, consider height. This is the heart of the staggering strategy. Cutting everything the same height runs the risk of storing up the same problems later, where everything grows back at the same height, running the risk of a secondary collapse. So instead of giving tired plants a uniform cut, stagger the heights to create a more tiered, natural, and fuller look.

With your trusty bypass pruners in hand, identify the stems you definitely want to cut and make those cuts thoughtfully within a clump or grouping. Work methodically from the front of the clump toward the back. Trim the outermost, front-facing stems back by one-third to one-half of their height. Then trim middle stems back by a quarter, and leave the rear, strongest stems at full height, merely deadheading at the tips. Always make angled cuts just above a leaf joint. This prompts lateral buds to break dormancy, producing secondary flowering side-shoots inside a couple of weeks.

This staggering looks more natural than a uniform chop. The lower front stems cover up leggy central stems, while those left taller maintain the height of the plant. There’s a longer-term benefit, too. If you make your cuts just above a node or pair of leaves, the plants branch, creating denser growth and triggering more flowers. Ultimately, you’ll get more flowers staggered across the end of the growing season. After these height cuts, add a gentle nutrient tonic with Bloom City Organic Liquid Seaweed & Kelp Fertilizer available from Walmart to encourage future blooms along.

3. Thin Dense Interior Stems

Fall borders start to look untidy as top-heavy stems slump, but also as the centers grow dense and crowded. Not only does this look messy, these dense centers have poor airflow that can lead to trapped moisture, disease, and sickly foliage. Dense clumps can become prime breeding grounds for powdery mildew and botrytis. These infections thrive in stagnant plant interiors where morning dew fails to dry quickly.

Thinning out choked centers is a crucial step that preserves clean foliage through the rest of the season. Thin out dense clumps of plants such as bee balm (monarda) and asters, by reaching into the center of the clump and snipping off about 20% of the stems. Cut them right at the base to allow air and sunlight to penetrate the plant. Focus on stems that are rubbing against each other, growing inward toward the center, or showing early yellowing due to light starvation.

Your plants will instantly look tidier and your border less congested. Alongside these cuts, apply a preventative spray to the rest. A biological spray such as Arber Organic Bio-Fungicide Concentrate, available at Walmart can protect newly thinned foliage from nasty pathogens.

4. Selective Deadheading

Deadheading spent blooms promotes additional flowering and helps beds and borders look tidier. However, you don’t need to strip every fading flower from your autumn bed. Adopting a selective approach to deadheading allows you to maximize late-season flowers, while preserving crucial food sources for late pollinators and birds. Heavy feeders like dahlias and mums should be deadheaded aggressively. Cut spent blooms down to the nearest branch junction to redirect energy into developing buds (and lots more blooms) before the first hard frost.

However native prairie perennials such as purple coneflowers and black-eyed Susans should be deadheaded with care. Remove fading, damaged, or weak outer stems, but leave strong, upright central seed heads intact. As temperatures drop, these central cones dry into vital reserves that supply energy-rich seeds for goldfinches, chickadees, and towhees. They will also look pretty on twinkling frosty mornings! With the flowers you do cut, make a clean snip just above the first set of leaves. This will trigger branching for a vibrant late-season flush.

5. Step Back for Balance

The rewards are high for this strategic type of pruning. To be sure of the best results, though, be sure to step back from your beds and borders, and appraise things as you cut. Do this at regular intervals ideally, but definitely a couple of times before you decide to down tools. Pruning up close can often lead to over-trimming, as it is easy to lose sight of horizon and balance. So take a step back to evaluate your blooms from a distance, viewing from paths, patio seating areas, and even windows. This is essential for creating balance, as you’ll see gaps and dense areas better.

Step back 10-15 feet (3-4.5m) after every few cuts. Look for visual heavy spots where dense foliage creates dark blocks, as well as gaps where neighboring plants have flopped. Use selective cuts to soften harsh foliage lines, balance plant heights front to back, and create rhythmic negative space to highlight specimen blooms. Where you have to, use a little soft jute twine to anchor key plants. Some PerkHomy Twine from Amazon is gentle and thick, and blends invisibly into foliage where a gap needs a little extra subtle support.

Post-Pruning Care for Fall Borders

Proper post-pruning care ensures your plants recover quickly and flourish through fall before transitioning into dormancy. After trimming, give plants a deep watering at the base of each clump. Soaking the root zone settles disturbed soil around exposed crowns and supplies the moisture needed to power secondary bud growth. Always direct water to the soil line, using a low-pressure wand or soaker hose. This keeps freshly cut foliage dry to prevent fungal infection after all the chops and changes. After this, you should be able to reduce watering and hydrate only as needed.

Avoid applying high-nitrogen synthetic fertilizers after early September. High nitrogen induces a flush of tender, sappy green foliage that will not have time to harden off before freezing temperatures arrive, leaving plants vulnerable to winter kill. Instead, you can top-dress planting beds with a 2 inch (5cm) layer of organic wood mulch such as aged compost or Back to the Roots Organic Premium Mulch from Amazon, and don’t forget that gentle seaweed drench to help build stem strength.

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

If there's one thing I've become increasingly ruthless about in the garden, it's how much effort a plant expects from me (hence why I'm always on the hunt for that one evergreen that thrives on neglect!).

Oh sure, there was a time when I'd happily fuss over something that needed just the right soil, just the right watering schedule, and just the right amount of afternoon shade. These days, though? Absolutely not. Between work, family life, and trying to remember where I've left my pruners for the fifth time this week, I just don't have the energy for divas.

Cue, then, my obsession with evergreen plants. While everything else comes and goes with the seasons, evergreens quietly get on with the job, keeping borders looking full, adding structure when perennials disappear for winter, and making the whole garden feel alive even on the grayest January morning. And they rarely, if ever, ask for anything in return.

Evergreens That Thrive On Neglect

Now, a word of caution: not every evergreen is created equal, as some still expect regular pruning, feeding, and pampering,. The very best ones, though, are wonderfully low maintenance, providing you plant them in the right spot, give them a good start, and they'll reward you for it all year long... without demanding constant attention.

The only thing I'd always recommend before adding any new plant to your yard is checking its preferred USDA planting zones. Even the toughest plants perform best when they're growing in a climate that suits them, and spending two minutes checking a label now is much easier than replacing an unhappy plant later.

Without any further ado, then, these are the evergreen plants I think more earn their keep. They're every bit as beautiful as they are reliable, not to mention remarkably forgiving to boot...

1. Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra)

If someone asked me to recommend just one evergreen shrub that quietly gets on with life, inkberry would be high on my list. Unlike some hollies, there are no painfully prickly leaves to contend with, and because it's native to much of the eastern U.S., it feels right at home in wildlife-friendly gardens.

Once established, it needs remarkably little attention beyond the occasional light trim. And, as the Forever Emerald™ Inkberry is on sale at Nature Hills right now, consider this your sign to treat yourself!

2. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

I know I bang on about it a lot, but I don't think many climbers work harder than star jasmine. In spring and early summer, it covers itself in wonderfully fragrant white flowers, but even after the blooms fade, the glossy evergreen foliage keeps fences, pergolas and walls looking lush.

It's also one of those plants that seems perfectly content once it has something to scramble over, asking for little more than the occasional tidy-up if it starts getting ambitious. I have it on my patio, and it makes it smell amazing in the summer!

Shop Star Jasmine:

3. Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)

I know, I know; gardenias have a reputation for being a little fussy, but choose a variety suited to your climate and give it the right conditions from the start, and you'll be rewarded with one of the hardest-working evergreen shrubs around.

Even when it's not producing those famously fragrant white blooms, the glossy dark leaves add year-round elegance to borders and foundation plantings. Try the Steady as She Goes® Gardenia from Nature Hills for sweetly fragrant flowers that promise to be heat tolerant, drought tolerant, and deer resistant, too!

4. Coral Bells (Heuchera)

Not every evergreen has to be a shrub, you know! In fact, coral bells are one of my favorite ways to keep borders looking colorful through the colder months, especially thanks to the incredible range of foliage colors now available; think caramel and lime to deep purple and almost black.

They quietly fill gaps, brighten shady corners, and ask for very little in return. They are, quite simply, that one evergreen that thrives on neglect and makes things look blooming marvellous at the same time!

Shop Coral Bells:

5. Juniper (Juniperus spp.)

If neglect had a mascot, it would probably be juniper. These evergreen workhorses tolerate drought, poor soil, heat, wind, and plenty of gardener forgetfulness (guilty as charged!) without complaint.

Whether you choose a groundcover variety (like this Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper) or an upright shrub as tall and proud as this Blue Point Juniper, they provide dependable texture and color throughout the year with very little intervention. I adore them!

6. American Holly (Ilex opaca)

There are few plants more synonymous with winter than an American holly covered in bright red berries, but this native evergreen earns its place long before December arrives. Its dense foliage provides year-round screening, birds absolutely love the berries, and once established it's surprisingly resilient.

Just remember that you'll generally need both a male and female plant nearby if you want a reliable berry display. Or, you know, you could be very clever and get the duo combined in this Royal Family Holly Combo from Nature Hills.

7. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

If I had to choose one native evergreen that thrives on neglect, it would be Eastern red cedar. Despite its name, it's actually another sneaky little juniper, and it's one of the toughest trees you can grow, shrugging off drought once established, coping with poor soils, and asking for practically nothing back.

Beyond its handsome blue-green foliage, it's also a powerhouse for wildlife. Birds flock to its berry-like cones for food and use the dense branches for shelter, making it a brilliant choice if you're trying to create a more nature-friendly yard. Bag yourself an Eastern red cedar from Amazon, then, and you'll wonder how you ever got by without it!

If, like me, you'd rather spend your weekends enjoying the garden than constantly working in it, then you definitely need at least one evergreen that thrives on neglect. With so many beauties vying for your attention, though, you may find you end up with far more than just one come the end of your next garden center binge...

Even though summer is winding down, there is still plenty of heat in many areas of the country. Depending on where you live, the hot, dry weather can last well into fall, and this kind of weather can quickly leave beautiful beds wilted and crispy. By early September, weeks of lingering summer heat and sporadic rainfall can leave borders looking thoroughly exhausted. While watering heavily each day might be an option, it makes more sense to grow plants that are naturally adapted to dry conditions.

Drought tolerant plants give you structured, vibrant color that can effortlessly cope with late-season dry spells. These plants often have deep taproots to seek out water further underground, as well as moisture-storing succulent leaves or silvery reflective foliage to flourish in dry climates. The drought-tolerant plants in this roundup offer a variety of flowers, textures, and even pollinator value, even when rainwater is scarce.

Adding a few of these to your yard now is a smart yet simple way to get your space looking brighter and more vibrant, while saving you time keeping things in order. Soil temperatures in early fall are still warm, creating an ideal environment for young root systems. Getting them into the ground now guarantees a lush, wilt-proof display that will also be back next year to greet future heat with grace. So fill your space wisely and beautifully with some of these easygoing heat-seekers.

Grow These Drought-Tolerant Superstars

Many plants adapted to dry conditions will grow even if you have poor or sandy soil. They tend to thrive in sunny beds and on slopes where water runs off quickly. Just make sure you are planting in a spot that receives plenty of sunshine. Most drought-tolerant plants prefer full sun. Good drainage is a must for low maintenance landscaping, as these drought-friendly plants will not tolerate soggy soil and soggy roots. So steer clear of heavy compost or high-nitrogen amendments. Rich soil can encourage more foliage that needs more water and flops more readily.

That said, if you have heavy clay soil that doesn’t drain very well, you’ll need to lighten it. Prioritize soil structure over fertility. If you know that your yard consists of dense, water-retentive clay, amend the top 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) of the planting bed with expanded shale, pumice, or coarse horticultural grit. For a gentle way to aerate heavier soils, try some Back to the Roots Perlite, available from Amazon. This can naturally boost drainage and reduce compaction at a stroke, supporting healthier root development for your drought-loving perennials.

Just remember that drought tolerance doesn’t mean a plant never needs watering. Even tough dryland champions need plenty of hydration while establishing. If you’re planting now, water regularly to establish good roots. When setting container-grown specimens into warm soil, soak the root ball deeply every few days for the first 3 weeks, then gradually taper off watering as cool fall weather arrives. Applying a 2-inch (5 cm) layer of organic gravel or wood mulch can insulate root zones against temperature fluctuations, retain surface moisture and suppress weed seeds.

1. Coneflower

Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a widespread native perennial that is always popular for its large, daisy-like flowers and low maintenance needs. It’s adapted to living on the prairie and in open, sunny places that get dry for weeks at a time. Its extensive root system helps it to find more moisture, and once established it’s extremely drought-tolerant. Mature coneflowers push out sturdy blooms with raised centers that attract late-season butterflies, goldfinches, and native bees.

Make sure you plant coneflower in a sunny spot with soil that drains well. This drought-tolerant beauty needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. Water only when there is no rainfall, and resist the urge to over-fertilize, as excess nitrogen weakens the rigid stems that support their heavy floral heads. Leave late seed heads in place for natural fall accents that provide essential food for migratory songbirds.

You can still get loads of pre-grown coneflower varieties online, such as the container-friendly sorbet sizzler Double Coded Raspberry Beret Coneflower and prolific Sombrero Adobe Orange Coneflower, but if you can’t decide on a color, why not try the vibrant mixed echinacea rainbow tones of Cheyenne Spirit Coneflower, all from Plant Addicts?

2. Stonecrop

Stonecrop (Sedum spp.) is a large group of succulent perennials native to various parts of the world, including North America. There are stonecrop species and varieties for just about every garden. Depending on the type, these plants are hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3-10. They store water in fleshy leaves, allowing them to survive and thrive in dry conditions.

You can also get summer and fall flowers. Some stonecrop varieties change color as the seasons progress. A great choice for a border or a container, Autumn Joy Sedum is a bargain from Nature Hills and gives gorgeous transitional color through fall, with pink broccoli-like flower heads deepening to rich rusty-rose and dark copper. For something more unusual and deeply chic, try Proven Winners Rock N Grow Back in Black Sedum from Nature Hills, with lush black foliage as well as pink blooms.

Choose a full sun location in gritty soil with excellent drainage. High soil moisture combined with shade is the only threat, leading to stem rot and floppy growth. Water new plants to get them established, but otherwise leave them be. Groundcover sedums make ideal living mulches along stone pathways or rock walls, while upright types serve as lively late-season structure along border edges.

3. Russian Sage

Russian sage (Salvia yangii) is a drought-tolerant perennial native to central Asia that flourishes in extremes. It’s prized for its ability to thrive in dry conditions, but also for its delicate foliage and abundant lavender blooms. Fine, silver hairs coat the foliage to reflect harsh light, while tiny surface stomata minimize water loss. From midsummer to late October, this drought-tolerant beauty produces feathery clouds of lavender spires, filling garden gaps with airy texture.

Planting this sage plant in early September allows its woody root system to settle into warm soil ahead of winter. Choose the driest, sunniest patch in your yard, such as an exposed slope or along a concrete driveway. Avoid heavy organic mulches, as trapped surface moisture causes stem base rot. Wet soil is more likely to kill this plant than drought, so avoid overwatering.

Prune hard in spring to encourage dense, healthy growth, and trim lightly through the season to maintain the size and shape. You can buy Clovers Garden Russian Sage Live Plants from Amazon for a real bargain, available as a double bundle, with advanced root development for faster, stronger growth.

4. Blanket Flower

Blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora) is one of the most drought-tolerant of all perennials. Descended from native coastal and prairie wildflowers, it relies on a long taproot and coarse foliage to navigate nutrient-deficient soils and severe heat. This bloomer brings electric sunset hues and also supports local pollinators. If you’ve got a smaller garden, patio or container that needs a burst of fall color, you’ll love native Plants That Work’s Spintop Red Starburst Blanket Flower from Plant Addicts, with its massive blooms and easygoing pollinator potential.

Plant blanket flowers in a sunny spot and make sure the soil drains well. Whatever else you do, don’t pamper this plant. It does best without fertilizer or extra water, except while getting established. So water deeply but infrequently after planting to support good root growth. These plants are happiest in lean, sandy or gravelly soils. Shear back spent blooms to encourage a fresh flush of late-fall flowers.

5. Yarrow

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) grows readily even in poor conditions, with flat-topped umbels of frothy flowers. These umbrella-like blooms are like landing pads for bees and butterflies in September. With deep roots and a tolerance for poor soils, yarrow is a lovely choice for sun-baked beds. Pick up dazzling Strawberry Seduction Yarrow from Nature Hills. For something really dainty, Hirt’s Gardens World’s Smallest Tiny Gold Yarrow from Walmart is enchanting in containers, rockeries and fairy gardens.

Give yarrow a spot with full sun and well-drained soil. Only water as the plants get established and avoid rich fertilizers, which cause the feathery foliage to grow leggy and flop. Deadhead spent flower heads down to side buds to encourage secondary blooms, or leave dried stems in place to add winter texture to the border.

6. Black-Eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a great native pick for droughts. They light up borders with yellow rays around chocolate cones that pollinators adore. Possessing deep roots and coarse, hairy foliage, these varieties are uniquely equipped to handle dry spells without wilting or losing their color. Take advantage of a limited offer to buy 3 and get 1 free with Plants That Work’s American Gold Rush Black-Eyed Susan from Plant Addicts. They’re generous, long lasting, and well suited to fall splendor.

Rudbeckia thrive in sunny, dry conditions and well-drained, even poor soil. Plant in full sun for the best blooms and water only as the plant is getting established. Later, only water these plants if the soil is totally dry. While highly disease-resistant, ensure proper spacing between plants to allow adequate airflow, which prevents late-season powdery mildew on lower leaves. Deadhead flowers for a tidy appearance or leave them in place to feed the birds in fall.

7. Lavender

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is native to the hot, dry conditions of the Mediterranean. While loved for its aromatic oils and iconic floral spires, the delicate, silvery foliage is especially useful for drought tolerance. These leaves reflect intense sunlight and the woody frame keeps water loss to a minimum. Even in intense fall droughts, established bushes hold their own, releasing calming fragrances whenever brushed. If you want the king of drought tolerance, Plants That Work’s Phenomenal Lavender from Nature Hills gives larger blooms and extended flowering even in frost.

Grow English lavender in full sun and in soil that drains very well. Plant in a location that receives at least 8 hours of direct sun daily, elevated on a slope, raised bed, or rockery. Mix coarse sand or crushed limestone into the planting hole to raise soil pH and ensure rapid drainage. Avoid organic mulches around the base, opting instead for white gravel or pea shingle. Even in a drought, these plants will remain upright, sturdy, and full of flowering fragrance.

So as you can see, late season drought doesn’t have to mean a wilted, dying garden. Instead of fighting the heat, choose plants that play to its advantage. Fortunately, there are many options for drought-tolerant plants, so you can still enjoy beautiful, varied beds well into fall. Plant now in the right spots, and they will reward you with masses of color for years.

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

Perennial plants are like people in many ways. Some are all about themselves and their beauty, relying on humans to meet their every desire. They bloom, accept applause, then they are done for the year. Others just keep giving, blooming brilliantly in summer, then offering Act Two in fall or winter, creating a multi-season garden.

This latter group includes some of the longest-blooming perennials, like purple coneflower, plants that offer four or five months of continuous blooms from midsummer into autumn. Others transform in fall into fiery colors or provide striking seed heads or architectural silhouettes in winter.

Here are five of my favorite plants you shouldn’t prune in fall for multi-season interest. Add them to your garden for an extra pop of joy.

Don't Prune for Multi-Season Beauty

Why settle for one-season blooms when, for the same amount of garden work, you could plant perennials that entrance you for two seasons? Now’s the time to plan for next year, expanding the joy into two separate seasons. But don’t rip out your current plants yet!

You may actually have some of these popular multi-season, long-blooming perennials in your backyard already, yet be unaware of their secret second act. If you chop these plants down too soon, you shorten their bloom period or miss Act Two entirely.

1. Purple Coneflower

They may look like purple daisies with drooping lavender petals surrounding a central dark cone. But purple coneflowers are a species of their own. They are well-loved by gardeners for their flexible growing requirements (from hot, dry conditions to much cooler ones) as well as their super-long growing season.

Purple coneflowers are one of those perennials that just keep blooming, as long as you don’t chop them down. They start in early summer and can keep up through and a bit beyond the first frost. Sometimes coneflower take a break after their opening bloom period, but new buds appear quickly. These perennials are prolific bloomers and deadheading will keep them in bloom all summer.

You can prolong their garden use even more if you don’t shear them back until spring. Let them stand through winter and the birds will thank you for the food and shelter. Solitary bees and other beneficial garden insects will be happy, too, since the leftover plant debris offers them safe spots to overwinter. The standing stalks and cones are pretty, too, offering structural contrast.

2. Black-Eyed Susan

It’s hard not to love daisy-like flowers best. Maybe that fondness comes from the days of “he loves me, he loves me not” or daisy chains. Maybe it’s the striking contrast between the long, thin egg-yolk yellow petals and the dark brown center. For whatever reason, easy-care black-eyed Susans are garden favorites, their vibrant flowers offering a pop of color in the garden.

Pollinators also love these long-blooming native wildflowers. Black-eyed Susans bloom from June to September, and often into October, painting open fields and meadows golden-yellow beauty. And once they are installed, you don’t have to worry. These are prolific self-seeders. You can reduce this by deadheading but there are advantages to leaving the plants alone until spring.

First, local wildlife will applaud the choice to let these plants spend the winter intact. The black-eyed Susan offers a resting place for native insects and wild birds and its dried seeds are welcome food. It may also be better for the plant, since the foliage insulates and protects the plant’s root system.

3. ‘Autumn Joy’ Sedum

This cool perennial grows in upright clumps to 2 feet (0.6 m) tall and wide. It is a succulent with fleshy, gray-green leaves and flat flower heads that provide a color show of their own.

'Autumn Joy' sedum grows in green, then transform into rosy pink. As summer progresses, the blooms deepen to rich red or salmon and, by winter, finish a coppery rust and rich brown. They are very appealing to bees, butterflies, and late-season pollinators.

Autumn Joy is very drought-tolerant and also low-maintenance. Leave the plants in place through winter and you’ll find the browned seed heads are interesting and eye-catching. Pinch or prune the stems back in early spring.

4. Joe-Pye Weed

Joe-pye weed is a majestic native perennial that prefers moist areas and a full sun location. If ever a perennial could claim to offer multiple seasons of beauty, it is Joe-pye weed. Your landscape will never be the same when you install this incredible perennial.

It starts off strong in early summer with lush, architectural green foliage, lights up late summer with massive purple domed flower clusters, then decorates the chillier seasons with striking dried seed heads.

The Joe-pye story starts in late spring and early summer, as the plant emerges. The mottled purple-pink stalks can grow very tall – up to 10 feet (3 m) tall – with large, whorled, deep green leaves.

From early July through September, this “weed” bursts into bloom, with amazing vanilla-scented clusters of flowers. The blooms can be pale pink, lavender, or deep purple and the native bees, butterflies, and beneficial pollinators love them all.

With the cooler weather of fall, the flower color fades into darker, richer tones, leaving dark bronze dried seed heads standing tall. Don’t cut them! They will provide an architectural silhouette in the garden all winter long, also offering valuable food sources for overwintering birds. Wait to cut these back until early spring.

5. Sea Holly

Sea holly is one striking plant! It’s a perennial with thistle-like good looks, growing in stiff, erect clumps to 3 feet (1 m) tall and almost as wide in a full sun location. It is famed for its metallic blue, cone-shaped flower heads and spiny, architectural foliage. It adds color and texture to the landscape from spring through winter.

The plant emerges in spring with attractive, deeply-lobed foliage. The leaves are a silvery blue-green with intricate white veining. Come summer, the electric blue flower heads appear with their dramatic, spiky bracts. They attract bees, butterflies, and pollinators.

These blossoms mature in autumn, deepening into rich colors of bronze and silver. The exceptional architectural structure remains through the winter, as the stems and dried flower heads stand tall in the backyard, offering a dramatic silhouette against the winter weather.

Seasonal Gardening Shopping Inspiration

As we head into the colder months, now is a great time to create next year's perfect plot. This is what our team is shopping:

A host of golden daffodils might be the literal gold standard, thanks to William Wordsworth’s iconic poem – but there is one variety in particular that seems to be replacing classic yellow daffs as the new favorite.

Yes, summer might be winding down, but don’t put away your trowel just yet! September is when many gardeners start thinking about their spring bulb orders (even if the planting window can extend well into fall, depending on which USDA zone you’re in). That means now is a good time to look beyond the usual tulips and familiar yellow daffodils and think about what you actually want your spring garden to look like when it bursts to life next year.

Now, there's nothing wrong with a classic yellow daffodil. I, for one, adore those cheerful trumpets as they're easy to grow, hardy and dependable, and they reliably announce the arrival of a new season like tiny garden heralds. Still, if you're about to order another bag of the same old daffodils you've planted for years, there's one variety I'd suggest putting on your fall shopping list instead....

The Daffodil Quietly Replacing Classic Yellow Varieties

Narcissus 'Thalia' is a daffodil, but it looks nothing like the big yellow trumpets that usually come to mind. Its elegant white flowers hang from the stems in clusters, creating a softer, more naturalistic display. And unlike some plants that look delicate but demand plenty of attention, 'Thalia' is a tough bulb that can return and naturalize for years.

Bonus? It's also fragrant, which makes it particularly appealing when planted somewhere you'll actually be able to enjoy it up close.

Shop Narcissus 'Thalia' Essentials:

Unlike the familiar yellow or yellow-and-white combination of many classic daffodils, the 'Thalia' (a member of the orchid daffodil family) produces between two and four creamy white flowers on each 35-40cm tall stem.

This gives them a windswept and whimsical appearance, which helps to create a more natural-looking spring garden. Better still, it tolerates partial shade and excess moisture better than most daffodils – making it an option for pots and borders, as well as beneath deciduous trees. You could even allow it to spread through a naturalized area.

While it looks dainty (and boasts well over a century of old world charm to its name), it's lovely and low-maintenance, making it a good choice for gardeners who want plenty of spring interest without a long list of jobs to do. Plus, it's also generally unappealing to deer and rabbits, which is another reason to consider it if your garden regularly becomes a buffet for wildlife.

This, along with its sweet fragrance, means that planting it somewhere you pass regularly can make those first weeks of spring feel much more special. And because 'Thalia' is also a good choice for cutting, you can bring some of those flowers indoors once they bloom, too!

Shop Scented Daffodils:

Fall is the moment when we're deciding what we want our gardens to look like next spring. And, while it's tempting to reach for the same old bulbs we've planted before (particularly when we already know they'll work), now is the perfect time to experiment.

'Thalia' doesn't replace every classic yellow daffodil in every garden, because, sometimes, you want that burst of unmistakable spring yellow. If you're looking for something more elegant and sweet-smelling, though, this lesser-known daffodil is worth a place in your fall planting plans.

Honestly? I bet that, once you see those clusters of white flowers appearing next spring, you'll wonder why you didn't plant them sooner.

Once summer’s peak is over, the price of plants plummets and there are some great deals to be had. You see, most folk simply don’t want to buy summer bloomers once they’re done blooming, because of the long wait till next year to be rewarded for their outlay. Consequently, nurseries are stuck with lots of pots to overwinter, so many slash prices to clear them out.

Add in some extra Labor Day plant deals, and we're talking big savings. And you, dear gardener, have the patience to capitalize on this summer-bloom bonanza. Buy these perennial plants and shrubs now and you’ll not only save a heap of money in your yard but getting them into the ground in late summer or early fall means they’ll grow bigger and better. Planting summer bloomers at this time of the year brings a magical combination of warm soil and regular moisture, and plants will use their energy to grow a supportive root system rather than flowers. By the time they’re ready to flower next year, they’ll be far stronger plants than if you had planted them in spring, so are better able to deal with heat- and drought-stress.

Just choose perennial plants that are cold-hardy for your zone, get them into the ground as soon as possible, and keep them watered through fall if it doesn’t rain. To give them a little extra insulation over winter, it’s a smart move to lay a duvet of mulch over the soil, using homemade compost or an organic mulch such as Back to the Roots Premium Mulch, available from Amazon. As a gardening editor for over a decade, I think all these plants are a must for every garden on account of their easy-going nature, beautiful flowers, foliage or fruit, and reliable performance year after year.

1. Lavender Phenomenal

If you want to save money on plants, start your journey right here. An exceptionally tough lavender, Lavandula ‘Phenomenal’ thrives harsh winters and hot or humid summers alike in zones 5 to 9, and brings vibrant violet-blue flowers atop a neat, rounded evergreen mound of silver-green foliage. Though it’s a lavender hybrid, which usually have a sharper, more camphorous scent than true lavender, its fragrance is beautifully sweet and can be harvested to dry. Phenomenal also blooms for significantly longer than standard English lavenders, often throwing out a repeat flush of flowers in fall.

2. Jolly Good Clematis

If ever I’m stuck for a present for a friend, whether they’re a gardener or not, I buy them a Jolly Good clematis. It’s one of the most easy-going clematis vines to grow, and is a hybrid of the already incredibly dependable Clematis ‘Jackmanii’. With lavender blooms from June to September, it’s happy in a pot or the ground in zones 4 to 9 and happily scrambles up a fence, trellis or post. It only grows to 6-7 feet high and 2-3 feet wide, though, so stays a tidy size. It’s a Group 3 clematis which means it's super-easy to prune – it blooms on new wood so you simply chop all the stems to around 2 feet from the ground in early spring, and let it scramble off all over again.

3. Kansas Peony

A gold medal winner from the American Peony Society, Paeonia lactiflora ‘Kansas’ is a peach of a peony. It boasts globe-shaped buds which open into ruffles of carmine-red petals that don’t fade, its stems are extremely strong and its scent is simply dreamy, drawing in bees and butterflies from all around. Flowering in mid to late spring, this perfect peony kickstarts your garden year, then the glossy dark green foliage remains a good foil for other blooms. Kansas peony can live up to 50 years in zones 3 to 8 so consider it a fabulous investment!

4. Star Jasmine

Is there a plant with a more divine fragrance than star jasmine? I don’t think so. Trachelospermum jasminoides, also known as confederate jasmine, is a versatile vine that thrives in sun and shade and its tiny white pinwheel flowers can fill a whole yard with their sweet, honey-like scent in late spring and summer. What’s more, star jasmine’s blooms open in the early evening and release the strongest fragrance just at the point of the day when you should be relaxing on your patio with a sundowner! Hardy in zones 8 to 11, its glossy green leaves are evergreen so the plant looks good year-round.

5. PowWow Echinacea

Because they’re such reliable, abundant bloomers, PowWow coneflowers can command a high pricetag. So if you're wondering what to plant in September, deals on these reliable bloomers shouldn't be missed. PowWow is a compact, award-winning series bred from the native Echinacea purpurea, retaining their resilient nature but with more branching for lots more flowers and sturdier, shorter stems that don’t need staking. Requiring no deadheading, drought-resistant once established and growing well in zones 3 through 9, these no-fuss flowers are a must-have for any sunny border.

6. Meyer Lemon Tree

Does every garden deserve a lemon tree? If you’ve got room to overwinter it indoors then the answer is a resounding yes. Citrus x meyeri ‘Improved’, more commonly called the Meyer lemon tree, is a cross between a tart lemon and a sweet orange, producing fruit that’s delightful in desserts and juices. You won’t have to wait long, either, as it’s quick to bear fruit in 1-2 years. Grow this pretty lemon tree outdoors year-round in zones 9-11 and overwinter it indoors in zones 3-8.

7. East Friesland Salvia

Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’ is a real favorite among landscape designers for its intensely purple flower spikes that bloom all summer long from June through September. Color-drenching is a big landscaping trend at the moment, as is using a purple palette, and East Friesland Salvia is perfect for both. Drought-tolerant and so easy to grow, this salvia is a naturally neat, compact plant growing 2 feet high and wide without flopping in zones 4 to 8. Pop it alongside a path or at the front of a border as its wrinkly leaves release a fresh herbal scent when brushed.

8. Dark Lavender Chiffon Rose of Sharon

This variety has far more impressive flowers in a richer shade than the original Lavender Chiffon rose of Sharon – and that was pretty lovely to begin with! Don’t be beguiled by the beauty of this plant because it’s one tough cookie and copes with heat, humidity, drought, clay soil and even salt-laden winds. As a Proven Winners variety, I don’t need to tell you that it’s a reliable bloomer, and pollinators appreciate this summer-long source of nectar. Start this shrub off in a patio pot to enjoy those flowers up close then transplant into the ground as it can grow to 8-12 feet tall, though is easily kept smaller by pruning.

9. Summerlong Coral Agastache

If you love to share your garden with wildlife then Agastache mexicana ‘Balsumlora’, more commonly known as Summerlong Coral Agastache is a must. Living up to its name, it brings vibrant coral colors from April or May throughout summer into September in zones 7 to 10, which in turn attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. Unlike most other agastache, this variety has a tidy habit, growing in a neat mound with a dense volume of flowering stems reaching just 22 inches high. This resilient drought-tolerant perennial has foliage with a gentle, pleasant scent, too.

10. Autumn Royalty Encore Azalea

Why anyone grows azaleas other than the Encore series, I don’t know! Bred to bloom from spring, all through summer into fall, this shrub couldn’t be easier to grow and it rewards your efforts richly with beautifully vibrant flowers month and month. Growing to 4-5 feet high and 4 feet wide in zones 6 to 10, the reblooming Autumn Royalty Encore Azalea is a fabulously low-maintenance choice for a front yard.

If You Need More Planting Space…

Dahlias are among the most lush, dramatic and beautiful of garden flowers, appearing in tropical-punch shades. I have heard the blooms called “swoon-worthy,” and though I have never in my life used that term, it does seem appropriate. The flowers appear delicate, almost fragile, but they are actually tough and durable. blooms in gorgeous “tropical punch” hues. These blooms look delicate, but they are tough and hold up well to handling.

Given the fragile beauty of the flowers, you might think that dahlia care is complex, but not so. They are surprisingly easy to grow and care for. However, your flowers may experience late-season issues that lead to small, dull, or dropping blooms. But if you give your dahlias appropriate late September care, you can help them shine right through the fall.

Why Are My Dahlias Looking Sad?

Dahlias are late-season favorites, blooming happily from mid-summer through the first frost in fall. But as summer shifts into fall, problems sometimes arise, with dull, wilting, or dropping blooms.

If you want to point a finger at the culprits causing these issues, you’ll need both hands. Some of the issues are simply seasonal, like the shorter day length and the hot sun of August. Some are fungal, like powdery mildew and tuber rot; some are nutritional like potassium and phosphorus shortages after months of growth. If this is the problem, you might need a dose of dahlia fertilizer, which you can get on Amazon.

Others are caused by pests, and still others by well-meaning but inept humans (like improper deadheading and too much fertilizer.)

How to Solve September Dahlia Problems

You can’t stop the day length from shortening nor the sun from blazing hot in August. But you can solve a lot of dahlia’s early-autumn blues by taking these five easy steps.

1. Change Your Irrigation Practices

As the hot dry summer transforms into cool, rainy autumn, your dahlias need less water from you. As the local rainfall increases, you need to adjust your watering. Water pooling around the dahlia stems can result in rotting stems and fungal issues.

This isn’t an exact science. You don’t have to measure the amount of rainfall and reduce the amount of water you provide by that amount. Just keep an eye out for weather, and if an appreciable amount of rain falls, water your dahlias less each week.

2. Just Say No to Nitrogen Fertilizer

You fertilize dahlias with nitrogen in order to encourage new growth. But the new growth is soft, weak, green growth that won’t do well in the cooling weather. This type of growth is a beacon for pests and also invites fungal issues. And you want the plants to start hardening off their stems in September. In addition, a dahlia’s primary job in September is to finish its bloom cycle, not to add new growth. So cease all nitrogen feeding by September.

However, low- or no-nitrogen fertilizer will help those beautiful dahlias if it is high in potassium and phosphorus. These nutrients have been depleted after months of growth. This type of feed will encourage robust final blooms.

3. Deadhead Properly

Deadheading dahlias in September can be a positive step toward extending flowering, but done wrong, it can be a very negative step. Improper deadheading in early fall can cause your dahlias to stop blooming prematurely or encourage disease.

“Bad” deadheading can be as simple as mistaking fresh buds for spent seedpods and snipping them off, reducing the amount of flowers. It’s equally bad (or worse) to adapt an “off with their heads” philosophy, pinching off the flower heads right below the bloom. This leaves the hollow stems standing. They fill with water from fall rains, then rot, inviting fungal issues or pests.

“Good” deadheading looks very different. You follow the spent flower stem down to where it meets a lateral leaf node. Make the cut just above that intersection at a slight angle. This helps the dahlias achieve peak production in September. Clipping off the dead blossoms this way stops the plant from wasting energy on seed pods so it has energy to produce new buds.

4. Improve Airflow

Improving airflow for dahlias in September is not just a “nice” gesture. It might be the single best way to keep those blooms coming while avoiding late-season dahlia powdery mildew.

September is a moist month. It ushers in cooler nights and heavier morning dew. The dahlia’s incredible, dense late-summer growth traps in all that moisture. That means party time dahlia disease and fungal spores.

Open up your plants through September by pruning off the leaves from the bottom 6 inches (15cm) of the stalks. This clears a wind "tunnel" at the base of the dahlias, letting a breeze pass gaily through the patch, rapidly drying out morning dew and rain. It also reduces the possibility that soil-borne fungal spores will splash up onto the leaves during heavy September rains.

This is incredibly effective, especially if you also thin out crowded interior stems. Stand above your dahlia plants and look down into the center. You are likely to see a tangled mass of weak, overlapping, or non-blooming stems. Trim away crossing or weak inner branches, remove yellowing or damaged leaves.

Balance Is Key to Managing Late-Season Blooms

Every gardener would like their dahlias to bloom right up until Christmas. But we all know that in order to have flowers the following season, the dahlia tubers must have time to refill their energy. The rest the tubers require is the very reason for dormancy.

The key to enjoying late season blooms without depleting the tubers’ energy is balance. Yes, you can still cut dahlias for vases indoors; just cut shorter stems instead of longer ones. When you take out long stems in fall, it causes the dahlia to waste energy rebuilding lost vegetation instead of storing sugars in the tubers

Second, taper off the water supply, letting the soil dry out more between waterings than you did in summer. This signals to the plants that winter is coming, prompting the dahlia to begin funneling its resources underground.

Finally, take advantage of the “killing frost.” Don’t cut back the plants until the first hard frost hits. This cold snap causes the dahlia to dive into dormancy, sending a final flush of sugar to the roots. At that point, cut the stalks to 5 inches (25cm) tall. Two weeks later, lift the dahlia tubers from the ground. The brief curing period toughens the tubers, ensuring that they store well and sprout vigorously in spring.

Dahlia Care Essentials

Green Day might have told us to wake them when September ends, but this isn't a month to sleep on if you're a gardener – especially if you're hoping for a bigger and more colorful flower garden next summer!

In many parts of the U.S., early fall is an excellent time to plant perennials. The cooler temperatures give these forever plants a chance to establish their roots before winter, without having to cope with the heat and drought stress that can make summer planting more difficult.

If you get to work now, then, you'll give perennials more than enough time to settle into their new homes and emerge in spring with an established root system, ready to put its energy into leaves, stems and, come summer, beautiful flowers, too. What's not to love about that, eh?

6 Perennials To Plant In September

September is a brilliant time to get perennials in the ground, especially if you want them to put on their very best show. However, your exact planting window will depend on your USDA hardiness zone and local conditions, so check that the perennial you're buying is suitable for your area and follow the planting instructions that come with it.

Shop Planting Essentials:

That caveat aside, then, these are six perennials I'd consider planting this September for a bigger and better display next summer...

1. Peony

If you're after big show-stopping flowers, there are few perennials that can compete with a peony (especially if you go for your birth month peony for extra razzle dazzle). After all, those ruffled blooms are one of the great spectacles of the early summer garden, and fall is an excellent time to plant bare-root peonies.

Getting them into the ground now gives their roots time to establish before winter, as peonies aren't particularly fast-growing; this is a plant where patience well and truly pays off. Because, while a newly planted peony may not give you its full floral display immediately, it can live and flower for decades with surprisingly little fuss once it's established.

Shop Peonies:

2. Bearded Iris

Look, bearded iris might look like delicate works of art, but these are remarkably tough perennials, and their flowers can make a serious impact in a summer border.

Their beautiful blooms come in an almost dizzying range of colors, from deep purple and blue to yellow, pink and white. Many varieties also have a wonderfully sweet fragrance, so why wouldn't you want them growing in your garden?

September is a particularly useful time to plant or divide bearded iris because the rhizomes have time to establish before the following growing season. Pick up something like these bearded iris rhizomes, then, and take care not to bury them too deeply.

3. Coneflower

If you want big flowers and a garden full of pollinator activity, coneflowers are an excellent choice! These tough North American natives produce daisy-like flowers with prominent central cones, typically in shades of pink, purple, white, orange or yellow depending on the variety (many, though, rave about the Magnus Purple Coneflower from Nature Hills, as the petals never flop).

They're also wonderfully forgiving once established, tolerating heat and periods of dry weather better than many thirstier perennials. Plus, planting in September gives these low-maintenance blooms a chance to establish its roots while temperatures are cooler. By next summer, you can expect tall stems topped with flowers that keep going all season long... not to mention offer some winter interest in the form of their striking seedheads.

4. Daylily

Fu fact: daylilies are the kind of perennial you can plant in September and basically forget about, safe in the knowledge that they will still put on an impressive summer display.

Despite the name, daylilies aren't true lilies; they're clump-forming perennials that produce masses of trumpet-shaped flowers, with each individual bloom typically lasting for just one day. Fortunately, plants produce many buds, so the overall flowering period is a lot longer than that... especially if you establish them in early fall and let the cooler weather give them time to develop roots before the heat of summer returns.

Shop Daylilies:

5. Garden Phlox

If your idea of a spectacular summer garden involves great clouds of flowers rather than individual blooms, then garden phlox should definitely be on your list. This variety produces large clusters of colorful (and beautifully fragrant) flowers on tall stems.

It's a particularly useful perennial for the middle or back of a flower border because it brings height as well as color. And planting in September gives the roots time to establish before winter, setting the plant up for a strong start next growing season.

Try something like the Jeana Tall Garden Phlox from Nature Hills; it's a pollinator-friendly native, so guaranteed to keep local critters happy!

6. Hollyhock

Look, I think we can all admit that, for sheer height and drama, it's difficult to beat a hollyhock. Especially if you have blond hair (it makes a wonderful alternative to purple shampoo).

These towering plants can send flower-covered stems several feet into the air, creating a spectacular backdrop for any garden; that being said, hollyhocks are technically short-lived perennials or biennials depending on the variety and growing conditions, but they can readily reseed themselves in the right spot.

Their tall flower spikes are particularly useful if you're trying to add another dimension to a border rather than simply filling the ground with color. And, as fall is a good time to establish many hollyhocks, now isn't the time to sleep on this blooming beauty. Give these Hollyhock Summer Carnival Mix Flower Seeds a go and see how you get on!

BONUS: Don't Forget the Spring Bulbs

Tulips, daffodils, alliums, crocuses and many other bulbs need a period of cold temperatures to complete their natural growth cycle, making fall the perfect time to get them into the ground. Try combining fall-planted bulbs with your perennials, then, for one of the easiest ways to create a garden that changes throughout the seasons.

Shop Spring Bulbs:

It's important to remember that perennials have different growth rates, and some varieties need a couple of seasons to reach their mature size. But giving them a good start is one of the simplest things you can do to encourage a strong, healthy plant.

To make that first winter easier, be sure to water newly planted perennials thoroughly, particularly if your area is experiencing a dry fall. A layer of organic mulch can also help (so long as you don't pile mulch directly against the crowns or stems of your plants), and, finally, resist the temptation to fertilize heavily.

Happy planting!

Adding saffron crocus bulbs to your lawn is so easy yet these tiny blooms light up dull fall days in the garden. Most autumn-flowering bulbs need to be planted in spring, but fast-blooming Crocus sativus can be planted in September for blooms in late October and November, so add it to your list of bulbs to plant in fall. Part of the Weekend Win series, this is a 10-minute job that brings a big reward, making saffron crocus one of the best set-and-forget bulbs to buy now.

The chalice-shaped flowers of Crocus sativus grow just 3-6 inches high with petals in the most beautiful lavender hue that’s a fabulous contrast to the fiery tones of fall. Saffron crocus are fabulous plants to refresh containers for fall, too, but adding them to your lawn really shows off their beautiful shape and shade. By the time they bloom, you’ll have stopped mowing your lawn, so you can enjoy drifts of color for many weeks, for years to come.

But the best bit? You can buy 20 Crocus sativus bulbs from Jackson & Perkins for $17.95, which is less than $1 a bulb. So, as budget ideas for a beautiful fall backyard go, this fall crocus is a winner. Here’s exactly what to do…

• Saffron crocus needs full sun and excellent drainage, so choose a suitable spot, avoiding any areas of the lawn where rainwater pools, as this will rot the bulbs. For a natural-looking drift, it’s best to plant one fairly dense clump of bulbs then dot a few bulbs at random intervals around this area.
• To plant the main clump, slice an ‘H’ shape or three sides of a square in the turf and carefully peel back the layer(s) of grass. The turf should separate from the soil easily but slide a spade beneath the grass roots if needs be.
• Plant the bulbs around 4-6 inches deep with the pointed end uppermost and flat root end down. Try and space the bulbs randomly, keeping them at least 4 inches apart.

• Roll the grass back into place and press down to firm the soil.
• For the bulbs set randomly around the central clump, the easiest method is to use a transplanting trowel like this from Amazon (transplanting trowels have a sharper, more pointed end than standard trowels) or a bulb planter that removes plugs of turf like this ProPlugger bulb planter from Lowe’s. To get a natural effect, try throwing the bulbs up in the air and planting them where they fall.

• Water well to ensure the soil settles around the bulbs, and you’ll see flowers in 6 to 10 weeks.

Saffron crocus are suitable for growing in zones 3 through 8 and each year, the mother bulb is replaced by several new baby corms. This is a gentle process, so don’t worry that they’ll take over your lawn. The fall flowers are sterile, too, so they don’t produce viable seeds, meaning your crocus drift will stay where you planted it. Blooms still produce nectar and pollen though, making them a valuable source of food for late-flying bees and a great addition to your list of garden pollinator-friendly plants.

When the plants are done flowering, the green grass-like leaves remain through winter, feeding bulbs for next year’s blooms. Once the foliage starts to wither in spring, it’s fine to mow this area of your lawn again. In warmer zones where grass is still growing in fall and early spring, simply plant saffron crocus towards the edge of your lawn so you can easily mow around the drifts as part of your lawn care.

More Weekend Wins

This feature is part of the Weekend Win series, packed with quick and easy 10-minute gardening tasks that bring a big reward.

Gardens aren’t just for daytime. Plan it right, and your garden can shine at night, too. As the sun goes down, many flowers close up but others open and actually release more fragrance. This is an evolutionary strategy to attract nighttime pollinators, but you can use it to your advantage.

Create an evening garden with night-scented flowers so you can enjoy gorgeous fragrances after the sun goes down. You don’t need an entire garden built around these flowers, but a few placed strategically around patios or decks and near open windows can transform your evenings.

Our suggestions here are known for nighttime aromas and include a variety of types, so you can find something suitable for your space.

1. Night-Blooming Jasmine

Night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is a woody shrub that grows quickly and, despite its name, is not a true jasmine. It’s a nightshade, which means it's related to tomatoes.

What it does have in common with jasmine, though, is a strong aroma. It blooms at night and the very strong floral fragrance intensifies after dark. A little bit goes a long way, so consider placing it a little way away from a seating area.

Night-blooming jasmine is a tropical plant, hardy in USDA growing zones 8 through 11. It grows best in full sun or partial shade with fertile soil that drains well but stays consistently moist.

This shrub will grow quite large in warm climates, so give it plenty of room. Alternatively, you can keep it smaller in a container and bring it indoors in winter in colder zones.

Get a 3-pack of night-blooming jasmine online from the Home Depot.

2. Evening Primrose

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a native biennial that grows well in full sun and soil that drains very well and may even be sandy. It’s hardy in zones 4 through 9 and grows vigorously, so be careful where you plant it.

Consider using containers for this flower or growing it in a naturalized native plant garden. Using containers is beneficial not only for containing evening primrose, but also so that you can move the flowers around to best capture the fragrance in the evening.

In terms of fragrance, evening primrose is delicate. The flowers open in the evening and release a light, sweet floral scent. Because the fragrance isn’t too strong, you can plant this close to seating areas.

Try this drought-tolerant Missouri evening primrose variety from High Country Gardens for extra easy care.

3. Moonflower

For a night-scented vine that is an annual in most growing zones, consider the moonflower (Ipomoea alba). The large white flowers, which look similar to morning glories, open at night and release a scent that is often described as sweet and with hints of vanilla and almond.

Moonflower is a perfect choice for a pergola, arbor, trellis, or deck and balcony railings as it needs something to climb. Grow it in a spot with full sun or partial shade and rich, well-drained but moist soil. Moonflower grows quickly, so even when planted from seed in spring, you’ll soon have a vigorous, fragrant vine.

You can find heirloom moonflower seeds from Botanical Interests to start in next year's garden.

4. Angel’s Trumpet

Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia spp.) is a dramatic and showy shrub known for its large, trumpet-shaped flowers, which have a sweet and intensely floral aroma. The smell of the flowers intensifies in the evening.

Be sure to plant angel’s trumpet in a spot where you can enjoy both the fragrance and the spectacular flowers. It does best in full sun or partial shade with rich, fertile soil that stays moist.

You can grow angel’s trumpet year-round in zones 9 through 11 or as a container plant that you bring plants indoors for winter in colder areas. If you’re using a container, make sure it’s big enough to hold this large shrub.

Also, be aware that angel’s trumpet is highly toxic. It might not be the best choice if you have pets or small children.

You can get this unique tropical plant online from Walmart.

5. Flowering Tobacco

Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) is a tropical plant that is only hardy in zones 10 through 11, but it is very easy to grow as an annual anywhere. The abundant flowers are highly fragrant at night and have a jasmine or honey-like smell. It’s a good option for an easy-going plant that won’t grow too large or commit you to growing a perennial that needs more care.

Grow flowering tobacco in full sun or partial shade, especially in the afternoon in hot climates. The soil should be fertile and moist, but also drain well. You can find different varieties of nicotiana that vary in flower color and fragrance intensity. If you want a more intense aroma, group plants together near seating areas.

Try Park Seed's 'Sensation Mix' nicotiana seeds for a combination of colorful blooms.

6. Night-Scented Stock

Night-scented stock (Matthiola longipetala) is an annual known for its spectacular evening fragrance. It’s described as having notes of spice, clove, and vanilla. While the flowers are delicate and airy, at night, they really come alive with an exotic scent.

Place these flowers in areas with full sun or partial shade and soil that drains well. Night-scented stock is best grown as a cool-season annual, so it will thrive in both spring and fall.

This is a small plant that isn’t too showy, so it’s great for getting more fragrance in a small garden and when tucked in among other plants or in containers.

Get night-scented stock seeds online from Amazon for only a few dollars.

7. Mock Orange

Mock orange (Philadelphus spp.) is a medium-sized shrub that is hardy in zones 4 through 8. Although not related, the aroma of the flowers is very similar to orange blossoms, sweet and citrusy.

Mock orange flowers don’t open at night, but they do produce a strong scent that lingers in the evening. Place it close to a patio or deck to make the most of it after sunset.

Mock orange grows best in full sun or some light shade. More sun leads to more flowers. The soil should drain well, but the shrub is tolerant of many conditions once it gets established. This is a great scent option if you’re looking for a permanent and sizable landscape element.

An 'Illuminati Sparks' mock orange from Wayside Gardens has gorgeous variegated foliage in addition to a beautiful scent.

Tips for Growing Fragrant Plants

Choosing the right plants for your night-scented garden is just the first step. To make the most of them, plant them where you’ll capture the aromas on outdoor evenings: next to patios and decks, on balconies, next to porch steps or along walkways, and near windows so you can enjoy them inside, too.

You can also use breezes to your advantage. If the evening winds tend to blow in one direction, be sure your seating areas are downwind of the fragrant plants. Also, consider layering these plants by height, including some taller and shorter options.

Of course, it’s also possible to overdo it with scented plants. Be selective and mix them in with plants that are not fragrant, so you don’t overwhelm your senses. Start with one or two options and then build from there as needed.

How two ingredients can elevate a recipe to such heights, I don’t know, but rose salt is simply magical and it's so easy to make from your garden-grown blooms. While rose salt pairs so well with chocolate bakes such as brownies and cookies, a scant sprinkle over a stack of pancakes is similarly game-changing. Try a pinch on a bowl of strawberries or a watermelon slice, too. And don’t stop at sweet dishes if you make rose salt, because a scattering over roast vegetables just before serving takes you straight into Thomas Keller territory.

But the best thing? If you’ve got roses growing in your garden and salt in a kitchen cabinet, you already have all you need to make this flavorful condiment and create some culinary alchemy. Roses are one of the best edible flowers to grow in your backyard as they don't just look pretty but bring noticeable taste and a subtle yet appetising fragrance to recipes.

Here’s exactly what to do for great results.

How to Make Rose Salt

1. Pick the Right Rose

If you're wondering can you eat rose petals, rest assured. The petals of all true roses are edible, but it’s important to ensure they’re not contaminated with chemicals. The best way to be sure they’re untainted is to pick roses from your own garden that you know to be free of pesticides. Avoid any plants growing near a road or a treated wooden fence.

Unless marked as organically grown, any recently purchased rose bushes should be left well alone, too, as it takes around 6 months for chemical sprays and fertilizers to fade. Never eat petals from shop- or florist-bought cut roses as these are highly likely to contain chemicals.

As a general rule, strongly-scented roses have petals with the most flavor.

2. Harvest Some Petals

For plenty of flavor, harvest newly-opened blooms early in the morning. Separate the petals from the central base, and discard the inner workings. Remove the heel – the pale, whiter base of each petal – as this tastes incredibly bitter. Submerge the petals in a bowl of cold water to remove any dirt or debris then pat dry with a paper towel. You will need ½ cup of fresh rose petals.

3. Blend the Petals With Salt

Put the rose petals in a food processor or blender along with ¾ cup of coarse or flaky sea or rock salt. Pulse until the petals are finely chopped and the salt takes on the tone of the roses.

4. Dry and Store

Spread the salt mix on a parchment-lined baking sheet. It’s important that the layer is fine, so use two sheets if necessary. Place in an oven on a very low heat (120°F), stirring every half an hour, for around two hours or until the petals have darkened and the salt is fully dry. Leave to cool completely then store in an airtight jar.

How to Use Rose Salt

The exact taste of your rose salt will depend on your rose variety, as some petals are far more potent in both flavor and fragrance than others. To enjoy the fullest flavor, scatter rose salt over a dish at the end of the cooking or baking process. If you’re using rose salt as the final flourish to your favorite brownie recipe, sprinkle it on the second you remove the tray from the oven so the residual heat helps the crystals stick to the crust. For a slightly more subtle finish, remove the tray from the oven 10 minutes early and sprinkle the salt on before returning to the oven to finish baking.

As well as using rose salt on savoury dishes – and it adds an extra depth of flavor to pretty much any dish but especially vegetable-based recipes – use this fragrant condiment to edge glass rims when making margaritas and dirty martinis.

Flavorful Roses

A rose’s taste mirrors its fragrance in terms of its scent profile but also its strength. So, choose a rose with a fragrance you adore and you’re likely to appreciate its flavor, too. As a general rule, pink, white and yellow roses have the best flavor, while darker reds can be bitter.

A Christmas cactus spends most of the year looking like it needs nothing at all, which is roughly true from March through August. September changes that. Flower buds form in response to a fairly narrow set of fall conditions, and once October is well underway, the window for supplying them has mostly closed.

Standard Christmas cactus care carries a plant through summer just fine, but fall asks for adjustments that have less to do with keeping it alive and everything to do with getting it to flower. Six of them matter in September. Most take a couple of minutes; one has to be kept up for six straight weeks.

1. Track Nighttime Temperatures Before Moving It Inside

Cool nights do real work here. Flower initiation happens under any day length once temperatures settle between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit (10-15C), so a plant that summered on a shaded porch may already be getting a head start by late September in much of the country. Hauling it into a warm living room on the first chilly evening throws that away.

The hard limit is frost. These are tropical epiphytes from Brazilian rainforest, with no meaningful cold tolerance. Even a light freeze damages the stems outright. Watch the forecast rather than the calendar. Bringing the pot in once nights start falling below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10C) is the common advice. An indoor thermometer with min/max recall from Amazon settles the question, since a windowsill can run several degrees cooler overnight than the room it sits in.

2. Look It Over for Pests Before It Crosses the Threshold

Anything that moves indoors in September brings along whatever it picked up outside. Mealybugs (Planococcus citri and related species) are the usual culprit, showing up as small cottony patches tucked into the joints between segments. Soft brown scale (Coccus hesperidum) turns up as well. Sap loss during bud initiation shows up later as fewer flowers, so this counts as a bloom task rather than simple housekeeping.

Check the underside of every segment and the base of the stems, where things hide. Light infestations of Christmas cactus pests come off with a cotton swab dipped in diluted rubbing alcohol, roughly one part 70 percent alcohol to three parts water, since undiluted alcohol can burn the tissue. For anything more widespread, a ready-to-use insecticidal soap spray from Amazon knocks back mealybugs and scale. Coverage decides the outcome. Anything the spray misses survives, so plan a second pass a week or two later. Doing all of it outside keeps one infested pot from becoming five.

3. Stop the Fertilizer

Christmas cactus feeding should be tapering off by now. September is a reasonable place to stop it entirely. Nitrogen pushes segment growth, and a plant with plenty available tends to keep making new segments instead of buds. The standard recommendation is to hold off through late summer and fall, then pick feeding back up when new growth appears in late winter or early spring.

There is a magnesium angle here too. Holiday cacti pull more magnesium than most houseplants, and a monthly teaspoon of Epsom salts per gallon of water (5ml per 3.8L) covers that during the growing season. It should never go down in the same week as regular fertilizer. That one comes off the schedule now as well. Stopping the feed is a lever, not neglect.

4. Give It 13 to 14 Hours of Real Darkness

Christmas cactus light exposure is what decides things. Long, uninterrupted nights trigger bud set. Mid-September is where the treatment starts. Thirteen to fourteen hours of continuous darkness each day, held for at least six weeks, is what a full flush takes. Buds usually become visible three to four weeks in.

Continuous is the operative word. As little as two hours of interrupted light will stop the process, and that includes a hallway bulb or headlights sweeping across a window. The dark period is a switch, not a dial. A spare closet works fine, or a cardboard box tipped over the pot at six in the evening and lifted around eight the next morning. Return it to bright light during the day, since photosynthesis still has to happen.

Timing shifts by species, too. Most plants sold as Christmas cactus are Schlumbergera truncata, which flowers around a month earlier than the true Schlumbergera x buckleyi. Once buds appear, day length stops mattering and the pot can go back to a normal spot.

5. Water Less Now, Then More Once Buds Set

Christmas cactus watering gets dialed back in fall without going anywhere near drought. Let the top third of the mix dry before watering again and drop the fixed schedule, because potting mix in a cool room dries far slower than it did in August. Soggy mix during long nights is the quickest route to root rot on a plant that evolved sitting in tree debris.

Then it flips. Buds that have set need the mix kept evenly moist, since letting it dry at that stage causes bud drop, and dropped buds do not come back. That reversal catches people out every year. If finger-testing a dense pot feels unreliable, a 4-in-1 soil moisture meter from Amazon reads moisture down at root level. Water should never be left standing in the saucer underneath.

6. Skip the Repotting

September is a poor month to repot a Christmas cactus, though fall tidying instincts run the other way. Christmas cactus flowers best kept somewhat pot-bound. A repot is needed only about once every three years anyway. Disturbing roots now interrupts the whole process at precisely the wrong moment.

If a plant truly needs more room, with roots pushing out the drainage holes or mix broken down to dust, wait until spring and repot after flowering. Pruning waits too. Once buds form, keep the pot away from heat vents and drafty doorways, since a sudden temperature swing will drop buds about as readily as dry mix does.

There is nothing complicated in any of it, though the timing runs tighter than most houseplant care gets. Start the long nights in mid-September and a Christmas cactus should be showing color right about the time the decorations come out of the attic.

So many of our favorite backyard blooms that we plant afresh every year have long-lived cousins that survive the winter and return, year after year, with lots more blooms for near-zero effort. If you’re wanting to cut down on the time and cost it takes to keep your garden looking good, swap those flower-once-and-die annuals for long-lived perennial plants that will bring abundant flowers for years to come.

Whether you like to grow lush borders or raise flowers for cutting, there are plenty of perennial versions of popular annual plants to choose from. From sweet peas and sunflowers to candytuft and coreopsis, foxgloves and poppies to baby’s breath and cosmos, there’s a perennial option that brings plenty of blooms for a lot less effort – and we all love flowering plants that practically grow themselves. For a lovely but low-maintenance garden, it's a no-brainer.

Which of these annual plants do you currently grow in your garden, that you could swap out for a perennial version that will flower for years to come?

1. Sweet Pea

If you're wondering what to grow in a low-maintenance garden, start your planting list with a perennial sweet pea. The annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is fabulous, granted, but the everlasting sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius) has lots to offer, too. Pest-resilient and happy to grow in poor soil, it flowers from mid-summer to the first hard frost and returns year after year in zones 5-9.

The only trade-off you’ll have to make is scent, as perennial sweet peas don’t have the wonderful fragrance of annual sweet peas. Everlasting sweet pea varieties range from white to a warm palette of pinks, magenta and red, and for the prettiest result, grow a mix for a standout color show all summer long.

2. Sunflower

Yes, it’s fun to plant sunflower seeds each spring and watch the plants grow sky-high – but it’s also lovely to sit back on the patio and see your perennial Helianthus pop up without any assistance from you! Most sunflowers are annuals (Helianthus annus), completing their life cycle in one season, but there are also a few perennial sunflower varieties that return year in, year out.

If you love the height of annual sunflowers and have the space, then Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian sunflower) is an excellent choice, growing 6-8 feet tall stems smothered in yellow flowers from midsummer to frost in zones 3-9. Explore the wonderful world of perennial Helianthus salicifolius, too, which brings the same sunny vibes on shorter stems. Autumn Gold Narrow-Leaved Sunflower, available from Plant Addicts, is a favorite, growing just 1-2 feet high with a similarly long blooming season in zones 5-10.

3. Poppy

There are so many beautiful annual poppy varieties that pop up and flower for a few weeks then die, from corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas) to opium poppies (Papaver somniferum). Wonderful as their paper-thin petals are, the flowers can be fragile and fleeting. The perennial oriental poppy Papaver orientale, however, has a lot more punch in the flower power arena.

Because they’re fuelled by a far bigger perennial root system than their annual cousins, oriental poppies are bigger plants with bigger flowers. Papaver orientale flowers last far longer in a vase, too, produce robust seedpods that dry well, and their plump, fuzzy buds are adorable. There are all sorts of varieties to choose from, and Eden Brothers has a lovely oriental poppy selection to begin a journey into this world of flouncy petals and six-inch crepe-paper blooms.

4. Cosmos

Love the carefree flowers of cosmos? If you’re already growing annual Cosmos bipinnatus you’ll know just how many blooms a single plant can put out over the summer months. And there’s a perennial cosmos that's just as enthusiastic.

Cosmos atrosanguineus – the chocolate cosmos – is a dark, sensuous beauty that blooms all summer with rich, deep red petals that last well in a vase as well as borders. It’s hardy in zones 9-11 but as it grows to 30 inches high and is heat- and drought-tolerant, this perennial cosmos thrives in a container so you can easily move it to overwinter in a sheltered spot in cooler zones. As you'll discover, growing chocolate cosmos in a pot is a great move as you can easily place the blooms on a table or plant stand to enjoy their remarkable chocolate fragrance.

5. Foxgloves

The cottage-garden appeal of foxgloves is joyful; the hassle of sowing seed one year and having to wait till the following summer for a fleeting show of these sensational spires is not. The foxglove we most often grow in our gardens is Digitalis purpurea, a biennial that grows leaves in its first year, then flower spikes in its second year before dying. There are perennial foxgloves, however, that return year after year.

Digitalis grandiflora, the large yellow foxglove, lives for around five years and flowers from June to August in zones 3-8. Digitalis parviflora (chocolate foxglove) is a slightly shorter-lived perennial but an incredibly striking plant to add to a modern border or gravel garden. With tightly-packed flower spikes in an unusual rusty brown tone that looks fabulous paired with corten steel, chocolate foxglove seeds are available from Walmart and are suitable for zones 4-9.

6. Black-Eyed Susan

Why grow short-lived annual or biennial Rudbeckia hirta when you can grow long-lived perennial Rudbeckia fulgida and enjoy a reliable display of golden black-eyed Susan flowers for years to come?

There are plenty of varieties to choose from ranging from short-stemmed cultivars perfect for a pot to tall back-of-the-border plants. Perhaps the best of all is Rudbeckia fulgida ‘American Gold Rush’, named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2023 and reliably growing well-behaved mounds smothered with yellow daisies in zones 3-8. The blooms are beloved by pollinators and, as this variety has been bred to be exceptionally disease-resistant, keep on coming to the first frost.

7. Candytuft

You’re no doubt familiar with the annual Iberis umbellata, sown every spring to fill fronts of borders with white, pink or purple flowers through summer – but do you know the perennial candytuft, Iberis sempervirens? It does a similar job of bringing a carpet of flowers – though earlier, typically from March to June, and with white blooms – but also boasts a dense, evergreen mat of needle-like leaves thats act as year-round ground cover.

Because it has woody stems, this is a tough, reliable perennial in zones 3-8, heat- and drought-tolerant once established, and also does well cascading over the front of walls and raised beds.

8. Coreopsis

If you’re a fan of annual Coreopsis tinctoria and its pretty daisy-like flowers with yellow petals and darker centers, take a look at Coreopsis lanceolata. This perennial tickseed is native to North America with long-lasting spring blooms in zones 4-9, and lance-leaf coreopsis seeds are available from Eden Brothers.

Several cultivars have been bred from the wildflower for more dramatic, long-lasting blooms with the same tough nature and appreciation for poor soil, such as Coreopsis lanceolata ‘Sunburst’. Exceptionally heat- and drought-tolerant, it's as happy in a container as it is in the ground, and the flowers are easily dried, too.

9. Baby’s Breath

Annual Gypsophila elegans is such a useful plant in any garden, with clouds of tiny white flowers and gray-green leaves on airy stems. It only lasts a summer, though, so if you want to keep its elegant effervescence in borders, you need to replant every spring. There is, however, a perennial baby’s breath that reliably returns year after year, bringing that wonderful froth of petite blooms for far less effort.

There are various Gypsophila paniculata varieties but one of the most useful is Festival Star. It has fairly short stems, only reaching 18 inches, but they're smothered with tiny white flowers. Blooming from late spring, this sea of bijou blooms acts as the most fabulous coverage for dying bulb foliage, and it continues flowering into early fall in zones 3-9. Festival Star baby's breath has a long tap root so is drought-tolerant, you don’t need to deadhead it, and it spreads to two feet so one plant makes quite an impact.

10. Marigold

If you grow vegetables, you likely grow marigolds to attract beneficial pollinators and act as a sacrificial trap crop to lure aphids away from your precious veggie plants. While the annual French marigold (Tagetes patula) is easy enough to raise from seed every spring, the perennial Tagetes lemmonii works in a different way to benefit your veg patch, for far less effort.

Thanks to a concentration of oils in the foliage which emit a citrussy mint smell, Tagetes lemmonii deters pests and can mask the alluring fragrance of nearby crops. This Mexican bush or mountain marigold is hardy in zones 8-10 but many gardeners outside these zones grow it in pots so it's easilty moved to overwinter in a sheltered spot. As this shrub can grow 3-6 feet tall, growing it in a container also helps to keep the plant small, and the stems are easily pruned into a pleasingly bushy, rounded shape.

Fall color is heavily associated with foliage. As the heat of August gives way to crisp September mornings, most gardeners assume the floral season is drawing to a quiet close. And the idea that we can plant bulbs now that can reward us with color before the year is out might seem unbelievable. We’re conditioned to treat our bulbs as a lesson in delayed gratification, tucking sleeping tulips and daffodils into cold earth and waiting 6 long months for a spring payoff.

But some botanical sprinters don’t need to wait nearly that long if pushed into the ground now. Planted in September, these bulbs, corms, and tubers nudge through the mulch while everything around them is winding down. The bulb planting routine is much the same as with other bulbs you might be planting now, but there is no chilling period to get through first. Tucking these unique corms and tubers into warm early September soil yields a stunning reward: brilliant goblets, starry umbels, and jewel-toned petals bursting through the ground in just a few short weeks.

And if the prospect of magical fall blooms wasn’t enough of a treat, these late-season bloomers also provide a vital, nectar-rich lifeline for native pollinators making their final pre-winter rounds. Getting these bulbs in the ground during early September takes advantage of residual late-summer soil warmth, sparking rapid root establishment and triggering instant floral spikes. It is an effortless afternoon project that completely transforms how your yard will look – so let’s get ready for the magic.

Choosing Bulbs for Fall Color

The main rule with these fall bulbs is: get them in the ground fast. Dormancy in this group holds for a narrow window. A few will open flowers inside the bag if they sit on a shelf too long. Unlike spring bulbs that require months of chilling in damp winter earth, autumn specialists are adapted to hot, dry summer dormancies. Drainage matters more than richness. These bulbs aren’t fans of heavy clay. If planted in waterlogged soil, the fleshy corms will rot before they can send up flower scapes.

Select spots with naturally sharp drainage, such as sloped rock gardens, raised beds, or the rain-shadowed foot of a south-facing masonry wall. Working some coarse horticultural grit, perlite, or pumice into native soil instantly improves aeration and root penetration. If you haven’t got a bulb planter, there are a range of types with varying degrees of comfort and control, from standing to squatting! For entry-level ease of use, try the Edward Tools Bulb Planter with Depth Marker, available from Amazon, which is exceptional value and gentle on the wrists.

Planting depth for this group requires strict attention, as standard depth rules often do not apply. While traditional bulbs need to go deep (roughly 3 times their height), surface-blooming tubers like Cyclamen hederifolium sit barely covered under an inch of topsoil, while neck-emerging species like Lycoris require their tips exposed to air and sun. So check the instructions on the packet when planting. Don’t forget to grab your gloves before planting, as a few of these bulbs are poisonous. Beyond that, the time is right for bringing on some very special fall color…

1. Colchicum

Catalogs routinely sell this as autumn crocus. Colchicum (C. autumnale) sits in a different family, and the tell is 6 stamens where a true crocus carries 3. Hopefully what lands in your mailbox is a fat corm. These corms are famously eager. In fact, if left sitting in a paper shipping bag on a kitchen counter in September, they will push out leafless lilac goblets right on the shelf. To get the best floral show, set them into rich, well-draining garden soil the very day they arrive in the mail.

Set it 3-4 inches (8-10cm) deep in rich ground the day it arrives. If the soil has gone hard and you’re after a long-handled bulb planter, I recommend the Colwelt Long Handled Bulb Planter Tool from Amazon. Planted in early September, these bulbs bloom within 2-4 weeks. Tucking them behind hostas, daylilies, or hardy geraniums will mask the spring foliage without shading the fall flower show. Plant under creeping thyme or low-growing stonecrop to keep the blossoms from flopping in rainstorms. Buy Daylily Nursery Colchicum Bulbs from Walmart.

2. Saffron Crocus

Cooks have a reason to grow this one. Saffron crocus (C. sativus) is a genuine crocus. Each lilac flower carries 3 red stigmas. Those dry down into the spice, and it takes around 150 flowers to make a single gram. Combining culinary luxury with ornamental beauty, this bloomer is a treasure for the autumn garden. Drainage is non-negotiable. If planted in heavy, waterlogged clay, the corms will succumb to fungal soft rot. If your native soil is heavy, grow them in terracotta pots filled with a 50/50 mix of potting soil and coarse horticultural sand.

Plant corms 3-4 inches (8-10cm) deep and 4 inches (10cm) apart in the sunniest, driest gravel border or patio container you have. By mid-to-late October, delicate violet goblets will push up through grass-like foliage, each displaying the crimson stigmas that can be hand-harvested with tweezers for culinary use. As a sterile hybrid, the plant will not self-seed. However, a healthy clump will multiply steadily via corm offsets over 2-3 years, yielding a lovely spice harvest every autumn. You can buy Marde Ross & Company Saffron Crocus Bulbs from Amazon.

3. Autumn Daffodil

For anyone who longs for the cheerful, egg-yolk yellow of spring in the middle of autumn, Sternbergia lutea is a joy. Goblet-shaped flowers emerge on 6-inch (15cm) stems, in a yellow lifted straight off a daffodil. This earns it the name of autumn daffodil, although technically it isn’t. The flowers arrive alongside crisp, dark green strap-like foliage which remains vibrant through winter, providing texture long after frost has cleared other perennials.

Native to sun-baked Mediterranean hillsides, this bulb requires a gritty planting site that bakes in summer heat. Bury bulbs 4-5 inches (10-13cm) deep at the base of a south-facing brick or stone wall, where the masonry can absorb and radiate heat back into the soil. Zones 7-9 are best, and zone 6 can work against a warm wall under a mulch of dry, pine needles. Avoid disturbing or dividing established clumps, as it detests root disruption and can take a year or two to recover if moved. You can buy Autumn Daffodil Bulbs from reputable fall bulb suppliers Brent & Becky’s Bulbs.

4. Hardy Cyclamen

Dry shade under a mature tree might defeat a lot of bulbs. Hardy cyclamen (C. hederifolium) thrives in it. The corky, saucer-like tubers push up exquisite pink or white blossoms through to November. As the flowers fade, intricate silver-marbled foliage unfurls, forming a weed-suppressing groundcover that stays pristine through winter. However, while established plants bloom immediately, fresh tubers might put on a modest leaf display this fall and launch their full floral magic next year. You can currently buy Hardy Cyclamen Bulbs from Easy to Grow Bulbs at a 35% discount.

Plant the tubers just 1 inch (2.5cm) deep with the concave side facing up. Orientation matters here: this species roots from the top and shoulders rather than the base. Also, rodents and squirrels love digging up fresh tubers. Pin a scrap of hardware cloth like Everbilt Galvanized Steel Mesh Cloth from Home Depot over the planting for the first month. The delicate flower stems will easily push right through the wire mesh while pests are blocked out. Expect floral carpets by the second year.

5. Red Spider Lily

There is no warning with this one. Red spider lily (Lycoris radiata) scapes come up fast after the first soaking rain that follows a hot spell. They reach 12-18 inches (30-45cm), and open into coral-red umbels with stamens curling out like wire. Known as the Hurricane Lily in the South, this beauty delivers high dramatic impact in zones 7-10 (6 with shelter), and scapes can grow 2 inches (5cm) a day. You can buy SB Store’s Heirloom Red Spider Lily Bulbs from Amazon in packs for a great price.

Proper planting depth is the single most critical factor for triggering blooms. The long neck of the bulb must sit at or slightly above the soil surface. If buried deep like a tulip, the bulb will produce plenty of strap-like winter leaves, but will stay flowerless. Because the plant disappears in June and July, it’s a good idea to mark planting spots with stakes so you don't accidentally slice through sleeping bulbs with a spade. Newly planted dry bulbs may skip flowering during their first autumn while building roots, but they establish quickly and bloom reliably every September after that.

6. Nerine

Nerine (N. bowdenii) sends up umbels of narrow, wavy-edged petals on 18-inch (45cm) stems. Bringing neon vibrancy to the late autumn garden, this bulb (aka the Guernsey lily) produces sparkling pink flowers with wavy petals. Blooming in October and persisting well into November, nerines are a beacon for late-season butterflies and beneficial pollinators. Position them along main pathways or near entryways, where their pretty hues can be appreciated up close.

Plant with the top of the bulb at or slightly above the surface, in the driest ground you have. These bulbs thrive with sharp drainage and root confinement, against a sunny, south-facing stone or brick wall. Allow the clumps to multiply for 5-7 years before considering division. In colder zones (zone 6 and below), grow in terracotta pots that can be overwintered in a frost-free garage or basement. If you hurry, you can pick up some Guernsey Lily Bulbs by Seeds, Bulbs, Plants & More from Amazon.

Need more ideas for timely gardening jobs and seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

We all want healthy, productive hydrangeas that put on a gorgeous show with big clusters of multiple flowers, often in color-shifting shades that add to the magic. So when your hydrangea looks healthy and is leafy and green, but doesn’t produce very many flowers, it can be very frustrating. We tend to think of lazy blooming as a plant failure, but in reality, your shrub is likely just conserving energy after sustaining some sort of stress or a minor care mistake.

A disappointing season of blooms doesn't necessarily mean your shrub isn’t healthy or that it’s a lost cause. Targeted hydrangea care in early September can help you identify the issue and ensure next year is better. Whether you’re dealing with undersized flower heads, muted color shifts, sparse clusters, or a shrub that failed to produce a single flower bud, this month is critical if you want to turn things around. You can correct care mistakes, safeguard overwintering buds, and guarantee a heavy floral show next year if you take action now.

Timing is everything: as late summer turns into early fall, our beloved shrubs are undergoing a transition. While panicle (Hydrangea paniculata) and smooth (H. arborescens) varieties showcase their final colors, bigleaf (H. macrophylla), oakleaf (H. quercifolia), and mountain (H. serrata) types are setting next spring's flower buds. Taking action this month doesn't just address this year’s frustrations, but lays the foundations for a breathtaking show next year. So don’t give up on your lazy bloomer just yet. Here’s what you need to know…

Why are They Lazy Bloomers?

To solve this floral mystery, you must first pinpoint the specific type of hydrangea growing in your borders. Bigleaf, mountain, and oakleaf hydrangeas bloom on old wood, which means the flower buds that will open next June and July are being formed right now on current summer stems. By contrast, panicles and smooth hydrangeas bloom on new wood, setting buds on fresh shoots produced in spring.

This critical distinction dictates every single move you make now, especially with your pruners. A mistimed trim on an old-wood variety risks snipping away next year’s entire flower show before it even has a chance to start. And if you pruned a bigleaf hydrangea in late summer or fall last year, that could explain why you got few or no flowers this year). So before you do anything, make sure you know exactly which hydrangea type you’re dealing with.

Late summer stress can frequently take a silent toll on bloom capacity. Prolonged heatwaves, intense afternoon sun, compacted clay, and accidental over-application of nitrogen-rich lawn fertilizers can force even the hardiest hydrangea into survival mode, prioritizing basic leaf survival over flower production. Regional hardiness plays a key role as well. Growers in northern USDA hardiness zones 4-6 may find late spring frosts zapped tender old-wood buds, while southern gardeners in zones 8-9 may have to contend with root stress and soil dehydration.

You can check to see if your soil is dehydrated with a simple diagnostic like the Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon, which is easy to use, doesn’t need a battery, and also identifies pH levels. Before diving into these fixes, it’s also a good idea to make sure you sanitize your bypass pruners with rubbing alcohol, like the brilliant Swan Isopropyl Alcohol from Walmart, or a light wipe of organic neem oil to reduce the risks of cross-contamination. Hopefully, the following fixes can help you understand what might have gone wrong with your blooms, and how to ensure they flourish and flower to their best next year.

1. Prune at the Right Time

Pruning a hydrangea at the wrong time of year is a leading reason for decreased flowering. When you prune matters, because bad timing means you might be trimming off the buds that become summer flowers. For old-wood hydrangeas, like bigleaf and oakleaf, prune lightly right after they’ve finished flowering using ultra-precise snips like the Corona Hydroponic Finger Snips from Amazon. Immediacy is key, or else you risk trimming off next year’s buds. Trim lightly for shape and to remove any dead, diseased or damaged stems.

A word of caution: depending on when they stop flowering, old-wood varieties can start to set their flower buds for the following year during September. Pruning in late fall risks removing newly formed buds and can leave you with fewer blooms next season, so please proceed with caution. If you think you have accidentally pruned at the wrong time this year, don’t panic. Allow the plant to drop its leaves naturally, and focus on winter protection so that remaining low buds can survive.

For new-wood panicle hydrangeas (like Limelight) and smooth varieties (like Annabelle), it’s best to prune in late winter or early spring while the shrubs are dormant. They won’t set buds until new growth appears in spring. Do not prune after the new growth appears, or you’ll take off the budding flowers. You can remove one-half to one-third of the plant during dormancy. Committing to correct timings now will help restore structural vigor and yield recovery within a single growing season.

2. Use the Right Fertilizer to Protect Flowers

If your hydrangeas are full of healthy, big leaves and lots of green growth, the issue might be your fertilizer. Products with a lot of nitrogen promote foliage growth over flowers. One common problem is using lawn fertilizer near shrubs. These products are high in nitrogen and can impact your hydrangea’s growth and flowering. High nitrogen forces rapid, sappy growth at the expense of floral development. In early September, high-nitrogen fertilizers are particularly dangerous. They stimulate tender green shoots that won’t have time to harden off before the first frost, leaving the plant vulnerable to winter dieback.

Where possible, keep lawn fertilizers well away from your hydrangea’s root zones. Then check the fertilizer you are using. If it’s high in nitrogen, stop using it. More foliage now will not help you get more flowers next year. Switch to a product with higher phosphorus (ideally 10-20-10) for the final feedings of the growing season. This balance will promote strong root growth and flower bud formation. For a gentle slow release of helpful nutrients, try Espoma Bone Meal from The Home Depot, which balances low nitrogen with targeted phosphorus for root and bud health. This nutrient pivot will dramatically increase flower bud density by the following May.

3. Manage Drought and Heat Stress

Late summer can get very hot and dry in many areas. High temperatures, intense afternoon sunlight, and inconsistent moisture in the soil can all cause significant stress. Hydrangeas react to this stress by diverting energy away from flower production and into simply surviving. Some characteristic signs of weather-related stress in hydrangeas include wilting, brown and crispy margins on leaves, scorched leaves, and premature leaf drop, as well as reduced flowering.

Smooth hydrangeas and bigleaf types are known to wilt under high sun, whereas panicle hydrangeas feature thicker, leathery leaves that tolerate full afternoon sun remarkably well if given consistent ground moisture. To reverse heat stress before fall begins in earnest, adjust your watering routine. Water regularly and deeply at the soil level. It’s better to water deeply every few days than shallowly every day. Check the first few inches of soil, and if they are dry, it’s time for a soaking.

Pair deep watering with a 2-3-inch (5-8cm) layer of shredded organic bark mulch. Best-selling Vigoro Shredded Wood Mulch from The Home Depot is exceptionally good value for forming that protective insulating blanket. Layer your mulch around the base, keeping a few inches clear of the main stems. Mulch helps keep more moisture in the soil and cools the roots. If your hydrangeas are getting full sun in the afternoon and showing signs of wilting, be sure to provide some late-day shade with a shade cloth or patio umbrella.

4. Check Light Levels

While afternoon light can be a little much for hydrangeas during a drought or extreme heat, too little light can also be a problem. The ideal setup for abundant flowers is bright light but protection from intense late-day sun. Exact light requirements will vary according to variety and region. As a general rule, bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangeas thrive in dappled morning sun with filtered afternoon shade, requiring 3-5 hours of direct morning light. In dense, deep shade, they will produce lovely green foliage but almost no flowers. Conversely, panicle hydrangeas require at least 6 hours of full sun daily to support their massive, cone-shaped blooms.

Check on your hydrangeas at different times of day to notice when they get sunlight and for how long. If you suspect that too much shade is the culprit for causing your hydrangea's lazy blooming habits, please avoid the temptation to dig up the plant during late summer heat. This can cause transplant shock, which can be fatal. Instead, use this month to evaluate canopy lighting and plan a successful transplant for early next spring while your shrub is fully dormant. If it is an option, lightly thinning overhead tree branches in early autumn to increase ambient light penetration, giving your shrub a sunlight boost to initiate flower buds for next year.

5. Protect Next Year’s Buds During Winter

If you grow old-wood hydrangeas, the buds that form later in the season must survive the winter in order to bloom next year. Winter bud mortality is a big reason why bigleaf and mountain hydrangeas can fail to bloom in zones 4-6. These are vulnerable to winter frost and freeze damage that could be a cause of reduced flowering in summer. As long as you grow hydrangea within its hardiness zone and have normal winter weather, this shouldn’t be an issue.

However, extreme and unusual cold weather or early and late frosts can cause damage. A late spring frost in April or May (after buds have begun to swell) can wipe out a season of flowers in a single night. If your hydrangea seems lazy now, perhaps a late frost is to blame? Sadly, you can’t undo this, but you can prepare for this winter to minimize ongoing problems. Avoid unnecessary late-season pruning, and keep your plants well-watered. Continue deep watering until the ground freezes, as a hydrated plant can resist frost desiccation far better than drought-stressed stems.

It’s also a good idea to cover bigleaf hydrangeas with landscape cloth if temperatures drop unusually low. AG Fabric Heavy Duty Plant Freeze Protection Fabric from Amazon can give peace of mind when those cold snaps threaten, protecting from drying winds as well as lightweight frosts. Alternatively, cover with a landscape cloth, a burlap sack or wrap, or even an old blanket, if temperatures drop unusually low. Keep your frost cloth handy in early spring to shield swelling buds during unexpected late freezing nights, ensuring that floral comeback in summer.

6. Improve the Soil

Poor soil conditions lead to an overall unhealthy plant as well as a lack of flowers. In poor soil, a plant will focus on survival, resulting in weak foliage and flower growth. Check your soil for compaction and drainage. Compaction can prevent water and nutrients from getting to roots, or cause water to pool around roots. Work in compost or other organic matter to reduce compaction. Using a biochar booster is a lovely way of assisting with better soil structure. Rosy Soil Biochar Booster from Walmart is perfect for helping to balance water retention and overall soil health.

There is a lot of talk about pH in the soil with hydrangeas. The acidity or alkalinity primarily affects flower color, not whether or not a plant will bloom, so this is not too important. It’s more important to focus on drainage, compaction, and nutrients. Don’t neglect overly sandy soils which drain quickly, leaching away valuable phosphorus and potassium before feeder roots can absorb them. Consider getting a soil test to find out if it is deficient in any particular nutrient, which you can then address.

September is an ideal month to improve soil structure. Gently topdress with a 1-inch (2.5cm) layer of organic compost or biochar-enriched soil conditioner. Earthworms and soil microbes will naturally pull this organic matter down into the root zone. This foundational soil care ensures your hydrangea emerges in spring with high vigor and massive blooming capacity. Remember, this year’s flower show might be drawing to a close, but there is always hope for next year. With these checks and changes, you have every reason to expect a better show next year.

Need more ideas for timely gardening jobs and seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!