Fall Annuals Are Here!! - What to Plant!

Welcome back to Bountiful Gardens! It’s hard to believe, but Fall is coming fast, and once again, we’re overflowing with the biggest and best selection of Autumn annuals around! 

Fall Asters in the foreground of our massive display of Mums and Fall annuals

In this post, you'll learn:

• Bountiful Gardens has the largest selection of Fall Annuals in New Jersey!

• We carry hardy mums that are perennial

• Fall Asters are like mums, but pink, purple and blue!

• Plenty of Fall annuals can provide interest through the whole Winter

• All about our favorite Fall annual offerings

We handcraft our own Fall arrangements bursting with the colors and textures of the season.

If you’re new to Fall planting and looking to fill your container gardens with color and texture, then this video is for you. We’ll be introducing you to some of the most quintessential Fall favorites that you need in your planters this season. So what are we waiting for? Let’s fall in! 

Celosia is a standout in our custom Fall annual container gardens.

Chrysanthemums

It doesn't get more classic than a bright orange Mum (Chrysanthemum)

When most people think about Fall, the first flower you think of is probably Chrysanthemums, or Mums for short. Here at Bountiful Gardens, we’ve got a variety of different sizes and colors you can pick from, starting at 4”, going up to 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”—even a whopping 14 inches!  

Some mums even feature multicolor flowers!

And when it comes to colors, we’ve got them all, starting with reds, maroons, oranges, yellows, pinks, whites and more. 

Each Fall, Bountiful Gardens is awash in a sea of Chrysanthemums (Mums)

A fun fact is that there are hardy Mums, meaning that they’ll come back year after year reliably and show these beautiful blooms in the Fall time. However, the mums that you typically buy as annuals are actually perennials too! As long as you plant them early enough, and preferably in the ground as opposed to a container, they’ll come back and bloom beautifully for you next year! 

Deep red Chrysanthemums bring dramatic depth to an arrangement.

Fall Asters

A purple Fall Aster beginning its bloom

If you love the look of mums, but you’d like some more color options, then our Fall Asters are the plant for you. You may notice that the Asters and Mums look pretty similar, and that’s because they’re both in the same family, the Asteracea family! What sets these two apart is that the Asters come in shades of blues, pinks and purples. 

Fall Asters come in pink, too!

Winter Pansies

Winter Pansies will keep blooming into the coldest months of the year!

Autumn is also the time of year that Pansies return to the store! They’re extremely cold-hardy and can last all the way through till Winter, earning them the name Winter Pansies. What’s great about them is that they come in such a wide range of colors that you can add an extra splash of vibrance to nearly any container or flower bed you choose. 

There are endless varieties of Winter Pansies to choose from at Bountiful Gardens.

Celosia

Celosia is a unique Fall annual that comes in multiple bloom types

Celosia is one of our favorite Fall annuals. We love them because they come in three distinct types: there’s one that looks like a feather, one that looks like a brain, and one that looks like wheat. This relates back to their scientific name, being plumosa, cristata and spicata. 

A selection of some our our favorite Celosia varieties

All types of Celosia will grow very similarly, they love sun, and they do require a good bit of water. They’ll keep on blooming through our first frost! 

Celosia flowers range in color from reds, oranges and purples to pinks, yellow and burgundy.

Ornamental Cabbage & Kale

Ornamental Cabbages and Kale make perfect additions to Fall and Winter planters.

For some hardy foliage in cooler tones, you can turn to cabbages and kales. These cold-hardy crops actually get more vibrant the colder it gets outside, making them the perfect addition to any Fall or Winter landscape. We have them in so many sizes and varieties, so there’s something for every garden. 

Looking for foliage that'll last through the Winter? Go with Ornamental Cabbages and Kale!

Ornamental Peppers

There's a variety of Ornamental Pepper for every Fall display!

Ornamental Peppers are another quintessential Fall annual. They love sun, and they’ll last through the Winter, with their peppers providing interest. These spicy little peppers are the reason that these are wonderfully deer-resistant!

Ornamental Peppers are hardy enough to last through the Winter

Sunbeckia

Sunbeckia is one of the most regal blooms in a Fall display.

One of our favorite Fall-blooming flowers is the Rudbeckia—more specifically, Sunbeckia! Like mums, these can be perennials, but most people treat them as annuals. 

Give late season pollinators a snack with the giant blooms of Sunbeckia!

With a long bloom time and amazingly large flowers, Sunbeckia can add interesting color and texture to your garden, especially with all the varieties we carry, like Carla, Juliana, Paulina and Sarah! 

There are plenty of varieties of Sunbeckia, so you can find the right one to suit your vibe.

Sunbeckia is generally hardy in zones 7-10, so if you live in those zones, you can expect yours to come back next Spring! If you’re colder than zone 7, you’re probably going to treat this as an annual. 

A closeup on a classic red-centered Sunbeckia

Strawflower

A close look at an orange Strawflower in all its glory.

One of our favorite unsung heroes of the Fall color palette is going to be the Strawflower. Pollinators love them, and so do we! They have super dry petals that make such a satisfying sound when you run your fingers over them. This also makes them fantastic for dried floral arrangements! 

Strawflower's texture needs to be felt to be believed!

Sunflowers

Sunflowers make the ultimate statement, and they're beloved by bees!

Another end-of-summer all-star is the Sunflower. Not only do bees absolutely love them—they also add great height and color. They even fix soil too! Their deep taproots help aerate your soil, and remove toxins and heavy metals from your property. Plus, they’ll give you a near-endless supply of fresh-cut Fall florals for the table. 

Some Sunflowers (Heliopsis) can reach over 10 feet tall!

Marigolds

Marigolds help keep rabbits out of your garden in style!

Another gorgeous Fall annual is the Marigold. A lot of people see these more as a late Spring and early Summer bloomer, but an amazing fact about Marigolds is that they bloom well into the Fall, with an array of beautiful Fall colors and can even survive a frost! 

Marigolds pair beautifully with annuals like Verbena

Marigolds come in a large range of sizes, anywhere from 6 inches up to about four feet for African Marigolds! They have a nice, light chocolate-y scent to them that helps deter deer, so you can plant them around other plants to help keep those deer away. Marigolds also attract beneficial insects to the garden, which help get rid of pesky pests! 

There are so many more Marigold varieties than you think!

Gazania

Gazania is also known as Treasure Flower, probably because it's so beautiful!

Gazania is an amazing Fall annual, boasting orange, red and yellow colors that we so commonly associate with Fall. These lovely annuals with bloom through our first frost! 

Gazania also comes in a wide array of colors and patterns.

African Daisies

African Daisies (Osteospermum) are dainty blooms with a wide range of colors and heights.

Osteospermum, otherwise known as African Daisies, are a sun-loving annual. They will bloom until frost, and sport these beautifully unique flowers. 

Some African Daisies even look like cosmic exploding stars!

Purple Fountain Grass

Purple Fountaingrass is a fantastic "thriller" for any Fall arrangement.

Pennisetum rubrum, commonly called Purple Fountain Grass, is a fantastic addition to any Fall container. They get 2-5 feet tall, creating a feature in any arrangement. 

A closeup of the bloom on Purple Fountaingrass (Pennisetum rubrum)

Chocolate Cosmos

A single bloom of Chocolate Cosmos

Chocolate Cosmos are a sun-loving Fall annual that will bloom until frost, and it’s one of the more unique ones, due to its deep burgundy color. 

Chocolate Cosmos feature dainty flowers that deeply saturated with color.

Millet

Create a focal point while feeding the birds with ornamental Millet!

One of the best ways to add some height or a focal point to a Fall container is by planting some Millet. We carry all different varieties, from neon greens to deep purples, but no matter what you choose, you can look forward to plenty of beautiful birds feasting on the seedheads later in the season! 

A closeup on the blooming stalks of ornamental Millet

So there you have it! You’re now ready to plant up gorgeous Fall containers to celebrate the season with color and texture. All that’s left to do is come on down to Bountiful Gardens and pick out your favorites! We can’t wait to see you! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9kgXJN86L0