Okay, so there's a million varieties of perennials to choose from to plant in your Southern garden. But you want the one's with the longest flowering season. And why not?...who wouldn't appreciate more flowers in their garden? That being said, there are many, many varieties of perennial plants that will return year after year in your garden which don't have the long flowering period or do not flower at all, but are very worthy of a spot in your garden. However, this article is about perennials with the longest flowering period, so I'll stick to these.
I selected the perennial plants in the listing below based on my own experience growing them in Zone 8 of mid-Georgia and on: dependability, ease of growing, overall performance and availability.
Sun-Loving Long Bloomers
Lantana (Perennial)
Flowering Period: Late Spring through Fall.
Best Varieties: Sonset (pictured left), Miss Huff (tricolor), Chapel Hill Yellow, Chapel Hill Gold, Mozelle (pink), Pink Caprice, Sunny Side Up, Trailing Lavender.
Verbena (Perennial)
Flowering Period: Mid-Spring to Frost
Best varieties: Homestead Purple, Homestead Red, White Hail
Ice Plant - Delosperma
Flowering Period: Mid-Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: D.cooperi (purple), D. nubigena (yellow)
Mexican Petunia - Ruellia
Flowering Period: Late Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: Purple Showers, Katie Dwarf, Ragin Cajun (Red)
Perennial Salvia
Flowering Period: Mid-Spring through Early Winter
Best Varieties: Black & Blue, Hot Lips
Pincushion Flower - Scabiosa
Flowering Period: Early Spring to Mid-Winter
Best Varieties: Butterfly Blue
Butterfly Bush - Buddleai
Flowering Period: Late Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: Lo And Behold Dwarf Series, Buzz Dwarf Series
Black Eyed Susan Daisy - Rudbeckia
Flowering Period: Mid Summer to Early Fall
Best Varieties: Goldsturm
Anise Hyssop - Agastache
Flowering Period: Late Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: Too many to name! All of them!
Coreopsis (Tickseed) - Coreopsis verticillata
Flowering Period: Late Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: All C. verticillata varieties
Shasta Daisy - Leucanthemum
Flowering Period: Early Summer to Early Fall
Best Varieties: Becky
Gaura (Wand Flower)
Flowering Period: Mid-Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: Whirling Butterflies, Siskiyou Pink
Blanket Flower - Gaillardia
Flowering Period: Mid-Spring to Frost
Best Varieties: Arizona Sun, Goblin, Mesa Yellow
Cone Flower - Echinacea
Flowering Period: Summer into Fall
Best Varieties: Too many to name!
Hummingbird Plant - Dicliptera suberecta
Flowering Period: Summer thru Fall
You can buy long blooming flowering perennial plants from GardenerDirect.com
Part Shade to Shade Loving Long Bloomers
Heuchera - Pronounced: "HEW-ker-uh" - These have flowers but it's really the foliage colors that pack the punch in the garden!
Flower & Foliage Color Period: Mid-Spring to Early Winter (Sometimes year round!)
Best Varieties: Too many to name but the Heuchera villosa varieties are best for the South
Hosta Lily - These produce flowers but are more sought after for their colorful foliage
Flower & Foliage Color Period: Mid-Spring to Late Fall
Best Varieties: Too Many to name! Patriot, Sum & Substance, Halcyon Blue, Blue Angel...to name a few.
Endless Summer & Forever & Ever Hydrangeas - Considered more of a perennial shrub
Flower Period: Late Spring to Mid-Fall
Best Varieties: Endless Summer Original, Forever & Ever Series
Helleborus (Lenten Rose)
Flower Period: Mid-Winter to Mid-Spring
Best Varieties: Too many to name!
Fringed Bleeding Heart - Dicentra eximia
Flowering Period: - Late Spring through Summer
Best Varieties: All D. eximia
