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21 Must See Long Blooming Perennial Flowers

Perennial flowers are an easy way to add long-lasting beauty to your yard or garden. Whether you’re an avid experienced gardener or you’re just getting started, you’ll love these long blooming perennial flowers.

colorful echinacea flowers

Perennials return year after year and many of them bloom all spring or summer. Let’s dive in and explore some of our favorite long-blooming perennial flowers.

Favorite Long Blooming Perennial Flowers

1. Hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)

beautiful hydrangeas garden edge

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8

Hydrangeas are the superstar of the flower garden. These showy shrubs add gorgeous pastel colors to your garden, and they will bloom from late spring and into fall. Hydrangeas are remarkably low maintenance (here’s how to care for hydrangeas) and they produce giant flower heads that are covered with colorful clusters of flowers.

Hydrangeas can be found in blue, pink, white, and red (here’s how to change the color of your hydrangea’s flowers). These large plants make wonderful foundation plantings or shrub borders. Here’s another reason to love Hydrangeas: they will grow beautifully in partial shade to full sun.

2. Coneflower (Echinacea)

coneflowers in yellow and orange shades

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-10

Also known as echinacea, coneflowers bloom profusely all summer long in most areas. Equally important, these gorgeous long-blooming perennial flowers are extremely cold-hardy. The plants are tall, growing up to four feet in height, and the cone-shaped flowers can be found in shades of red, pink, purple, yellow, and orange.

Coneflowers are perfect for garden borders, flower beds, and as a background for other flowers in your garden since they’re so tall. These perennial flowers love the sun and thrive best in soil that drains well.

3. Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)

russian sage flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-10

Also known as Lacey Blue Russian Sage, this sturdy plant made our list because of its ability to remain upright and compact in the garden. In addition to adding vivid purple-blue spikes to the garden, Russian Sage also has a wonderful scent.

Because it blooms all summer long (about 12 weeks), Russian Sage is ideal for feeding pollinators late in the season. Plant some if you want hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees in your garden.

This plant is an excellent alternative to lavender. Also, if you have problems with deer getting into your garden, Russian Sage will deter them. For optimal effect, plant Russian Sage plants in groups.

4. Stella D’Oro reblooming daylily (Hemerocallis Stella D’Oro)

everbloming daylilies

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9

There are three types of Daylilies: rebloomers, one-time bloomers, and everbloomers. If you’re wanting perennials that come back every year, we suggest planting Everblooming Daylilies. These beautiful classic favorites bloom from early summer all the way into early fall. One gorgeous cultivar is the Happy Ever Appster series, which includes beautiful like “When My Sweetheart Returns.”

We also LOVE these “happy returns daylilies“.

With these flowers, you will be rewarded with hundreds of blooms every season. Everblooming Daylilies will grow in partial shade, but they will offer more blooms if they receive full sun for six or more hours every day.

5. Blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella)

a bunch of beautufl blanket flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-10

Known colloquially as “Indian Blankets” or “Sunset Snappy Blanket Flowers,” these perennials grow as wildflowers in some areas of the United States. That’s just how hardy they are. Blankets tolerate extremes of both cold and heat, and they make a wonderful ground cover in large flower beds and even meadows.

An exceptionally long-blooming flower, the blanket flowers thrive in sunny landscapes and bloom from early summer through the last days before frost in autumn.

These flowers are great for pollinators and attract butterflies and bees alike. To make sure they over-winter successfully, be sure to plant blanket flowers in well-drained soil and full sun.

6. Calamint (Calamintha)

calamint flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9

If you’re planning a “white garden,” calamint will make a gorgeous addition (get seeds here). The flowers range in color from very pale blue to white, and they are sure to add liveliness to any garden. These blossoms bloom profusely and produce thousands of tiny buds.

These flowers are the perfect size for attracting honeybees and the blooms are fragrant as well. Calamint blooms from early summer through early fall. To prevent reseeding, you can shear back the whole plant in late July by about 25%. This will ensure that you enjoy a fresh new flush of flowers and foliage.

7. Hummingbird mint (Agastache POQUITO orange)

Agastache POQUITO orange

USDA Hardiness Zones 6-10

For an energizing burst of orange consider the hummingbird mint (anise hyssop). Most people associate this gorgeous bush with the tall and spiky purple flowers of the anise hyssop that comes in varieties that bloom even longer and have feathery orange, pink, and yellow plumes. Like many of the other selections, anise hyssop attracts pollinators.

To get orange blooms, check out “Poquito Orange.” You can also plant some gorgeous “Rosie Posie” plants for even more color.

Anise hyssop will bloom without deadheading nonstop from early summer all the way through the end of early fall, making this plant one of the most prolific long-blooming perennials.

8. Fern-leaved bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa)

Dicentra formosa flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9

Flower enthusiasts love the old-fashioned bleeding hearts flowers, but they go dormant after going to seed in midsummer. To get this unique look in your perennial garden, consider an alternative like the Fern-Leaved Bleeding Hearts varieties “King of Hearts” or “Luxuriant.”

While the blossoms on these aren’t as showy as the old-fashioned cultivars, they bloom non-stop from late spring all the way into early fall.

These flowers are wonderful if you need something colorful to fill an area that is partially shady, and they also thrive in full shade. The soil for these flowers should be moist, rich, and well-drained.

9. Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata)

tickseed flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9

Thanks to advances in modern plant breeding, gardeners are able to enjoy some exceedingly long-blooming tickseed varieties, most notably the UpTick and Li’l Bang series. These series are less prone to worrisome powdery mildew than traditional varieties like Threadleaf.

Tickseed (sometimes called false sunflower), grow to be only about 12 inches tall, makes an excellent border flower, and thrives in average soil and all-day sun. Once they’re established, these flowers are drought tolerant. Even better, there is no need to deadhead them to get them to bloom all the way from late spring to early fall.

10. Yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea)

yellow Corydalis

USDA Hardiness Zones 5-7

For some refreshing yellow flowers, you will enjoy the lacy-textured Yellow Corydalis. This delicate-looking plant with bright yellow blooms produces brilliant color from early spring right up until frost yearly. Although it looks delicate, the Yellow Corydalis is hardy in Zones 5 and 6 and reseeds itself throughout the garden. The good thing is that it’s easy to pull them away from places where you don’t want them.

If you live in Zone 7 and plant Yellow Corydalis, your plants will bloom wonderfully in spring, but expect these plants to go dormant when it becomes scorching hot in summer.

11. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Rudbeckia hirta flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9

For a burst of traditional color, you can’t go wrong with black-eyed Susans. These flowers are tall perennials that bloom from early summer into fall. The bright yellow flowers grow on top of stems that are between two and three feet tall.

Black-eyed Susans thrive in full sun and work perfectly at borders, in cottage gardens, or at the back of flower beds.

You can grow rudbeckias in partial shade, but they thrive in full sun. Another benefit of these cheerful flowers is that they’re drought-tolerant. If you need a cold-hardy version, check out “Little Goldstar” or Goldstrum.”

12. Blue star Japanese aster (Kalimeris incisa)

Kalimeris incisa flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9

A Japanese Aster that is less well-known than other varieties, the Blue Star Japanese Aster is a blooming powerhouse of a flower in your landscape. Once they’re well-established, all these gorgeous flowers need from us is a drink of water occasionally. As a reward, they give us gorgeous colorful blooms from early summer through fall every year.

These flowers bloom early in the season and they don’t become as tall as the common Asters. Another benefit is that they don’t spread as other flowers do. The pale blue blossoms are reminiscent of small daisies, and butterflies love them.

13. Leather flower (Clematis)

pink clematis flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-10

Every garden needs a beautiful climbing flowering plant, so why not give Clematis a place in your perennial garden? Year after year, Clematis will deliver gorgeous blooms in whatever color you like. You can go with one color, or grow a variety in shades of white, pink, red, purple, lilac, and even bicolor.

Clematis enjoys full sun and it likes to be able to climb, so be sure to plant it near a wall, trellis, or arbor. The flowers are delicately scented and bloom starting from late spring through fall. There are also small evergreen varieties available that can grow in containers or flower beds in clumps.

14. Festival star baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata)

Gypsophila paniculata flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9

Do you love arranging flowers into bouquets to decorate your home or gift to other people? Then you definitely want some festival star baby’s breath in your garden. Most baby’s breath cultivars go to seed by the middle of summer, but festival star baby’s breath will reward you with blooms from late summer to early fall.

This flower likes alkaline soil that is well-drained. You will enjoy planting these in places that you can tuck anywhere in the garden because they grow into plants that are anywhere from 12- to 18-inches tall. These flowers dry beautifully as well.

15. Autumn joy stonecrop (Hylotelephium telephium)

PAPCOOL Sedum ’Autumn Joy’ 5 Cụttịngs, 4’’ and 6’’ in Height

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9

Autumn joy blooms in late summer and the flowers take several weeks to darken to purple or rust-red in the fall. The blooms are in fact large masses of smaller flowers. These small flowers clump together in groups that are often more than three inches across. This long-flowering perennial is also long-lived.

Autumn joy grows slowly and requires nearly zero maintenance. After frost, shear the stems back to ground level and you will enjoy your autumn joy plant for years to come. Plant this perennial in full sun for best results.

16. Garden phlox ( Phlox paniculata)

garden phlox flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8

Every July, garden phlox begins gracing our gardens with its white and pink-purple blossoms. These long-blooming perennials bloom from mid-summer and on to fall. However, they are sometimes vulnerable to powdery mildew, a disfiguring fungal disease.

To grow garden phlox, go with one of the newer cultivars like the “David,” which is mildew resistant and remains nice and healthy all summer long.

Garden phlox performs well in mild summer temperatures and will give better blooms if it has good air circulation. To prevent rampant self-seeding, you will need to deadhead the spent flowers.

17. Becky Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Becky’)

a border filled with shasta daisies

USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9

All throughout history, daisies have been a mainstay when people think of romance and innocence. The name “Daisy” is a metaphor for the sun (day’s eye) and that’s exactly what these traditional favorites look like. It’s hard to look at daisies and not feel naturally more cheerful.

The Becky Shasta daisies are excellent cultivars. They’re hardy plants that show resilience and endurance. These flowers bloom from July all the way through September and the plants are between three and four feet tall. Becky Shasta daisy’s flowers are white with gorgeous brilliant yellow centers. They enjoy full sun and are drought-tolerant.

18. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

a butterfly on white yarrow flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8

Yarrow is technically an herb and it blooms from June through September on stems that are between two and three feet tall. Traditionally, yarrow has white flowers, but you can find cultivars in several different colors, including yellow, pink, rust-brown, and red. Historically, yarrow has sometimes been used medicinally to staunch blood flow.

In modern times, gardeners are in love with yarrow because it is a beautiful and low-maintenance flower. The plants need to be divided every three to five years, and if you deadhead, the flowers will bloom for longer. Plant yarrow in full sun.

19. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

blooming lavender field

USDA Zones 4-9 (depending on cultivar)

What do you think of when you think of lavender? For most people, it’s all about the scent. Lavender is used as an essential oil to give a calming aroma to homes, and you can find this fragrant herb in everything from laundry detergent to hand lotion and sachets. Above all, lavender brings elegance and grace to any garden.

English lavender grows to be between two and three feet tall and blooms from early summer through the end of August (learn how to grow lavender).

Most people know of lavender in shades of purple, but you can also find this flower in blue and even pink or white. Lavender thrives in full sun and well-drained soil.

20. Butterfly bush (Buddleja)

a bee on a white butterfly bush flower

USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9

A butterfly bush does exactly what you think it might do: it attracts butterflies. Butterfly bushes grow to be between six and eight feet tall, and sometimes even taller. However, you can find smaller compact plants. For example, “Blue Chip” is only one to two feet tall and doesn’t spread rampantly.

In colder climates, some cultivars grow back to ground level before resprouting in the spring. You can find butterfly bush in shades of purple, blue, pink, and white. These bushes love full sun and well-drained soil that is medium-moisture.

21. Bee balm (Monarda)

pinkish purple bee balm flower

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9

Bee Balm plants are prized by gardeners for their vibrant, bright flowers. These herbaceous perennials grow beautifully in North America because they’re native to our continent. Another interesting fact is that they’re also considered to be a part of the mint family, so technically, they are also herbs.

The leaves of the Bee Balm plant are aromatic and have lots of medicinal and culinary uses. This versatile plant will produce clusters of tubular flowers that are purple, pink, or scarlet. They bloom in mid-summer and are long-blooming perennials for your garden. Expect these plants to grow up to three feet or taller.

22. Ice Plant (Aizoaceae)

orange and pink ice plant flowers

USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8

If you’re looking for a perennial that thrives in a variety of different climates, the Ice Plant is an excellent choice. It’s interesting that this plant is native to Africa, and the plants originate from the cold plateaus found in the Great Karoo desert, the Drakensberg Mountains, and other areas of the continent.

Ice Plant has become a favorite with northern gardeners in the U.S. because of its cold hardiness. You can grow an Ice Plant in all sorts of colors, including orange, yellow, scarlet, purple, magenta, pink, and more. If you’re looking for good pollinators, go with the Delosperma variety, which is an amazing nectar source for valuable honeybees. 

Conclusion

If you’re ready to enjoy a flower garden that gives you blooms for more than just a few weeks every year, there are tons of options for you. Be sure to follow the instructions on the seed packets before planting and check your USDA hardiness zone.

The good news is that most of the long blooming perennial flowers on our list are super hardy as well as beautiful.

21 must see long blooming perennial flowers

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Adriana Copaceanu is a passionate nature lover living in the country on her dream property where she grows vegetables, lavender, and wildflowers that she shares with the wildlife they attract. When she's not in the garden, she loves spending time with her chickens and planning her next nature project. Check out her books below:

How to Grow Lavender for Fun and Profit: Lessons Learned from Planting Three Hundred Lavender Plants

How to Raise Chickens for Eggs: A Guide to Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens for Nutritious, Organic Eggs at Home

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