6 Fast-Growing Flowers That Only Take 2 Months to Bloom

annual phlox 'Sugar Stars' in garden — (Image credit: Alex Manders / Getty Images)

One of the biggest challenges of gardening is learning how to be patient. It can often take months or even years to see the fruits of your labor – both literally and figuratively. So it’s nice to get some quick wins in the garden sometimes.

Fast-growing flowers you can start in spring give you a boost of color and confidence while you’re waiting on the rest of your garden to catch up. These blooming beauties are easy to start from seed in early spring and will provide you with flowers that last all season long.

Here are the fastest-growing flowers to start in spring. They all bloom just two months after germination, which means if you start them now you can have a garden full of flowers by May.

1. ProCut Sunflowers (50 days to bloom)

You may not think you can start sunflowers from seed and get blooms in less than two months, but you can as long as you choose the right cultivar. The ProCut series of sunflowers come in a variety of colors from butter yellow to bright gold to peach and plum to deep burgundy.

These classic blooms are easy to start from seed, then simply transplant them outdoors after your last frost date. In only 50 days, you’ll have huge sunflower blooms ready for cutting or enjoying out in the garden.

Get ProCut sunflower seeds from Park Seed on Amazon.

2. Nasturtiums (50 days to bloom)

nasturtium plants with bright orange flowers

Nasturtiums are one of my favorite flowers ever. They are so easy to grow from seed, they have the brightest orange blooms you’ve ever seen, and their round lily pad-like leaves are so incredibly charming. They look stunning spilling out of window boxes or hanging baskets.

Nasturtiums take only 50 days from seed to bloom. Plus, they’re just about the lowest-maintenance flowers you can grow. They don’t need fertilizer, in fact, they bloom much better when you grow them in poor soil. And they’re drought-tolerant to boot!

Shop a wide variety of nasturtium seed from Burpee and find the perfect ones for your garden.

3. Annual Phlox (50-65 days to bloom)

Don’t get this flower confused with perennial garden phlox, which takes much longer to start from seed. Annual phlox (Phlox drummondii), which is a Texas native plant, grows fast and puts out fragrant flowers in as little as 50 days.

Though this delicate beauty is an annual it easily reseeds itself, so you may only have to plant it once to enjoy it year after year. Annual phlox’s sweetly-scented blooms make it a wonderful addition to both the cottage garden and the cutting garden. It’s low-maintenance, too. This phlox holds its shape well all season, blooms from spring to fall, and doesn’t require much water.

Buy 'Blushing Bride' Phlox drummondii seeds from Burpee for pastel blooms.

4. French Marigolds (50-65 days to bloom)

French marigolds are a classic garden plant that many gardeners admire for both their fiery blooms and their ability to repel pests. But their quick time from seed to bloom is another one of their wonderful benefits. French marigolds take only 50-65 days to start flowering and they’ll continue to bloom all summer long.

Grow these lovely flowers in pots on your patio to add a pop of color you can enjoy just outside your door. Or plant French marigolds in your vegetable garden to help prevent nematodes and get rid of common vegetable pests naturally.

Get a gorgeous mix of bloom colors with this blend of French marigold seeds from Botanical Interests.

5. Borage (50-70 days to bloom)

Borage is an underrated annual you can start from seed in spring. It has so many benefits in addition to its icy blue blooms. This beautiful blooming herb is edible, it attracts bees and other beneficial pollinators, and you can even use it as a cover crop to help add nutrients back into your soil naturally.

Borage blooms in as few as 50 days, making it an excellent choice for the impatient gardener. Its edible blooms, which taste similar to cucumber, last all summer long. You can use them in dips, to decorate cakes, or add these flowers to cocktails as a decorative and delicious garnish.

Get borage seeds from Botanical Interests to start growing this flowering herb today.

6. Common Poppy (65-85 days to bloom)

The common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is another fast-growing flower you can start from seed in spring and get blooms before summer. The instantly-recognizable blooms are bright red and add vibrancy and whimsy to any garden.

Poppies are easy to grow, too. Just scatter the seeds outside in early spring, tamp them down lightly, then watch your poppies sprout and bloom in as little as 65 days. These seeds are easy to harvest in fall, so you can grow more next year for free.

You can find common poppy seeds for sale from the Old Farmer's Almanac on Amazon.

Laura Walters is a Content Editor who joined Gardening Know How in 2021. With a BFA in Electronic Media from the University of Cincinnati, a certificate in Writing for Television from UCLA, and a background in documentary filmmaking and local news, Laura loves providing gardeners with all the know how they need to succeed, in an easy and entertaining format. Laura lives in Southwest Ohio, where she's been gardening for ten years, and she spends her summers on a lake in Northern Michigan. It’s hard to leave her perennial garden at home, but she has a rustic (aka overcrowded) vegetable patch on a piece of land up north. She never thought when she was growing vegetables in her college dorm room, that one day she would get paid to read and write about her favorite hobby.