33 Native Plants That Bloom in Fall

There are so many benefits to gardening with native plants. Native species are extremely well adapted to natural conditions, making them low maintenance within their typical range. They don’t generally require extra watering, fertilization, or pesticides. Native plants are also the perfect food source for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. These locally-adapted flowers are usually colorful, diverse, and showy.

You’ll have the greatest success in your gardening projects if you choose the right plants for your site. Look up the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map to learn your zone. This will help you choose plants that should perform well in your climate. Then, spend some time observing the conditions in your yard:

Autumn Sage

Autumn sage, also known as Texas sage, is native to Texas, although several cultivars are available for other regions. In its native habitat, this herbaceous perennial develops semi-woody stems and remains evergreen throughout the year, more closely resembling a small shrub than an herbaceous wildflower. Autumn sage performs very well in warm, arid environments with coarse, well-drained soil and plenty of sunlight.

If you live in the desert Southwest and maintain a xeriscape, autumn sage would be a great addition to your landscape. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators adore the scarlet red flowers. Its fragrant leaves are somewhat leathery and unpalatable to deer. 

Blanket Flower

If you’re looking for a fast-growing annual to bloom in your container garden, raised bed, or native plant garden, blanket flower is a great choice. This compact plant grows in a variety of sunny habitats across the United States and performs exceptionally well in sandy soil. Blanket flower is tolerant of full sun and average-quality, well-drained soil. Use it in your xeriscape for a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow plant to fill in odd spaces.

Blanket flower is best started by seeds sown in the fall, mimicking its natural pattern. The seeds will overwinter and sprout in the spring. Blanket flower, also known as Indian blanket or gaillardia, has a long bloom season. Its showy red, orange, and yellow flowers bloom anytime from fall through spring, depending on the climate, and attract butterflies and bees.

Blue Mistflower

The blue mistflower is an herbaceous perennial with fall-blooming pale purple flowers. These showy flowers form rounded clusters of soft, fuzzy-looking petals. Butterflies will come to visit and enjoy this fall feast.

Although blue mistflower is a native species, it spreads quickly and can easily become weedy. Deadhead spent flowers and pull out unwanted new sprouts to keep your population under control. These plants love a partially shaded location with rich, moist soil. Physical barriers, such as containers and dry soil, will help limit their spread.

Cardinal Flower

The cardinal flower waits until fall to display its stunning scarlet red flowers. The flowers develop from the bottom up along bold flowering spikes at the top of their tall, upright, leafy stems. Each flower is tubular with prominent lips. This is an ideal flowering plant to attract any hummingbirds in the area!

You’ll need a moist location to grow cardinal flowers. If you have a rain garden or a low area in your landscape with moist or wet soil, you can grow these showy wildflowers. They perform well in full sun but seem to prefer a partially shaded location with some protection from intense mid-day sunlight. Cardinal flowers will spread in ideal conditions, although they won’t try to take over your garden.

Chocolate Flower

Chocolate flower is a colorful perennial native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Its name comes from the fact that its flowers smell a bit like chocolate! These wildflowers are easy to start from seed and will self-seed and spread in the garden. You can also easily grow chocolate flowers in a container garden or raised bed.

If you live in an arid environment and manage a drought-tolerant garden, chocolate flower is a great choice for your landscape. The flowers love long, hot summers and will bloom repeatedly throughout summer and fall. The bright yellow flowers have attractive brown central disks and will be buzzing with pollinator activity.

Climbing Aster 

If you’re looking for a vigorous wildflower to hide some fenceposts or scramble over a wall, climbing aster will do the trick. This perennial is native to swamps and wet thickets of the southeastern United States. It grows best in full sun with moist to wet soil, although it also tolerates light shade, average soil, and occasional dryness. 

Climbing aster can grow to a length of 10 feet but it won’t actually grow this tall unless it has a support structure to lean on. This plant starts blooming in late summer and continues until the first frost. The fragrant pale pink or purple flowers are very abundant and are much loved by pollinators. The climbing aster is also a larval host plant for the pearl crescent butterfly.

Closed Gentain

Closed gentian, also known as bottle gentian, is a native wildflower found in moist hardwood forests of the southeastern United States. This plant loves a shaded woodland habitat with moist, organically rich soil. If you have a suitable habitat in your landscape, it might be worth trying to establish a population of these beautiful woodland wildflowers.

Closed gentian waits until fall to bloom. From the gardener’s perspective, it’s worth the wait. The elongated flowers are a purple-blue color and do not fully open, but rather appear partially or fully closed in a bottle-like form. Hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators that enjoy tubular flowers are attracted to this unusual floral form.  

Golden Aster

Also called the Maryland golden aster, golden aster is a showy wildflower native to the southeastern United States. This fall-blooming aster thrives in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil and would be an ideal choice for a xeriscape or prairie garden. Create a beautiful pollinator-friendly landscape with golden aster and an assortment of other native annuals, perennials, grasses, and shrubs.

Golden aster is a short-lived perennial that develops one to two-foot-tall leafy stems. From late summer into fall, you’ll enjoy its perky yellow flowers and the many pollinators they attract. Once established, golden asters will spread by reseeding, creating dense clusters but without becoming weedy. Its somewhat compact stature allows it to grow well along a border or in a prominent location near the front of your garden.

Goldenrod

There is a wide assortment of showy goldenrod species found throughout North America. These herbaceous perennials thrive in full sun and moist, well-drained soil. Goldenrods are a pollinator magnet, and you’ll find a healthy population of butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects visiting your goldenrods while they bloom during the autumn months.

Goldenrods tend to grow quickly and spread to form dense colonies. Look for some of the better-behaved species with less weedy tendencies. Anise-scented goldenrod (S. odora) and zigzag goldenrod (S. flexicaulis) are two of the many great options. There are also many wonderful cultivars bred specifically to be both showy and compact. The bright yellow flowers of any goldenrod are sure to brighten your flower garden!

Coastal Plain Joe Pye Weed

The coastal plain Joe Pye weed is a wildflower that’s hard to miss. While some species of Joe Pye weed grow a whopping eight feet tall, the coastal plain Joe Pye weed tops out at about six feet tall, which will still help it stand out above most surrounding vegetation. This plant loves bright sunlight and plenty of soil moisture.

From late summer and into fall, Joe Pye weed displays its broad flowering masses. Dozens of individual pale pinkish-purple flowers create rounded clusters of color at the top of their tall, leafy stems. This is a fantastic perennial to attract pollinators and birds will pick at the dried seedheads to gather the seeds. These plants grow fast and spread freely so you’ll want to allow them plenty of space. 

Longleaf Lobelia

Longleaf lobelia is one of several species of Lobelia native to the United States. This species is limited to moist marshlands, roadside ditches, and streamside edges of the southeastern United States. This is an ideal plant for a shaded wetland edge or rain garden plot.

This showy wildflower has shiny dark green leaves and sturdy upright stems. By late summer or early fall, bold flowering spikes top the stems, each flowering spike containing many relatively large and very showy flowers. Hummingbirds and many insect pollinators are especially fond of the flowers, and foraging winter birds will eat the seeds. 

Marsh Rattlesnake Master

Here’s a unique-looking plant for your rain garden or streamside garden. The marsh rattlesnake master is an evergreen perennial native to wetlands of the southeastern United States. In the home landscape, you’ll want to give it a fully sunny location with moist to wet soil. Unlike the spring-blooming rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium), this species is not drought-tolerant. 

The marsh rattlesnake master flowers start blooming in late summer and continue into fall. These curious flowers are spherical and prickly-looking with a greenish-purple hue. While they look nothing like the typical image of a flower, pollinators love them and songbirds enjoy the seeds. While not blooming, enjoy the unique yucca-like leaves that stay evergreen for year-round interest.

Mountain Mint

If you love the smell of mint, you’ll probably enjoy having mountain mint in your garden. This sweetly fragrant native mint comes from eastern North America, where it grows in fields, meadows, thickets, and along roadsides. It performs best in full sun with well-drained soil and is drought-tolerant.

Mountain mint is an herbaceous perennial with stiff, narrow leaves and many upright stems. It blooms continuously from mid-summer until mid-fall. Its dense clusters of small white flowers are favored by a wide assortment of pollinators. Like many mints, mountain mint is a vigorous grower and spreads quickly by rhizomes and self-seeding. Grow it in a container to limit its growth or be prepared to thin dense populations each year.

Narrow-Leaf Sunflower

The narrow-leaf sunflower is an herbaceous perennial native to grasslands of the central and eastern United States. This easy-to-grow wildflower needs plenty of space with full sun and moist, well-drained soil. This is an ideal plant for a large, naturalized meadow planting where it can develop into a large and robust focal point.

This cheerful sunflower blooms in late summer and fall with a proliferation of two to three-inch flowers. Its leafy stems are lined with thin, alternating leaves which provide a larval food source for the silvery checkerspot butterfly. Butterflies and bees love the flowers and a variety of birds feast on the abundant seeds.  

New England Aster

The New England Aster is an amazingly showy perennial wildflower native to eastern North America. This aster species thrives in full sun with rich, well-drained soil. It needs plenty of space, however, and isn’t well-suited for tight quarters. New England aster can grow to seven feet tall and equally as wide. If you love these asters but want something smaller, keep your plants pruned or look for a more compact cultivar.

During most of the growing season, this herbaceous perennial displays a densely rounded growth form comprised of many branching stems lined with slender leaves. Sometime in the fall, your plants will suddenly burst into bloom and transform into a mass of pale purple flowers. Pollinators adore these flowers and relish the late-season supply of nectar. 

New York Ironweed

The New York ironweed is a tall and vigorous perennial for a larger plot with moist soil. This plant is native to the eastern United States where it grows in moist fields and low-lying areas subject to periodic flooding. Give it plenty of sunlight for the most compact growth and fullest flowering.

Ironweed blooms late in the year, typically anywhere from mid-summer to mid-fall. In cooler climates, these plants bloom later in the season. If an eight-foot plant seems too large for your liking, you can prune them by half in late spring. They will have enough time to produce flowers on shortened plants. Butterflies love ironweed, making this an excellent option for a pollinator-friendly meadow planting.

Obedient Plant

Obedient plant is a showy herbaceous perennial native to moist meadows and thickets of eastern North America. It grows best in full sun or partial shade with moist, well-drained soil. In ideal conditions, this member of the mint family spreads quickly by self-seeding, creating large clumps. Keep your plants thinned and pull unwanted extra seedlings to prevent them from trying to take over your garden.

Despite its challenges, the obedient plant has many good qualities. It’s a superb option for a pollinator garden. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love the flower. With its scented leaves, deer and rabbits don’t bother it. If you are growing a naturalized meadow or pocket prairie, you’ll have a steady population of obedient plants to reliably populate your garden. The late-season blooms are either white or pink, adding striking spikes of color wherever you plant them.

Orange Coneflower

The orange coneflower is one of several species of Rudbeckia, commonly known as black-eyed Susans. Orange coneflower is native to the southeastern United States and has an extended blooming period from mid-summer until mid-fall. It thrives in full sun with well-drained dry to medium moisture soil. 

This wildflower is a superb addition to your native plant garden, butterfly garden, or pocket prairie. These plants are tolerant of drought, deer, and poor soil conditions. In ideal conditions, orange coneflowers spread freely by self-seeding and rhizomes. Deadhead spent flowers to minimize unwanted spread and also to encourage a longer blooming phase.

Pink Muhly Grass

Ornamental grasses add diversity and texture to your landscape. Fortunately, there are some extremely showy native grasses that look great and won’t try to take over your garden. Pink muhly grass comes from dry grasslands and open woodlands of the south-central and southeastern United States.

From spring through fall, pink muhly grass develops a rounded clump of long, thin, silvery green blades that blow gently in the breeze. In mid-fall, a dazzling mist of pink flower plumes creates a haze of color around the entire plant. When you have several pink muhlys growing together, and the sun hits them just right, it’s a beautiful sight. This grass will occasionally self-seed, and clumps grow thicker with age. But, unlike many ornamental grasses, these plants are not invasive in the landscape.

River Oats

River oats is an ornamental grass native to the Eastern United States and south into Mexico. It blooms from late summer to fall and is an appealing addition to a meadow garden, pocket prairie, or other spacious naturalized area. It does have a tendency to spread quickly by seed so be prepared to pull out unwanted seedlings each spring.

They typically grow two or three feet tall, although they can reach five feet in ideal conditions. It prefers a sunny location but is remarkably tolerant of modest shade so you can grow it along a woodland edge. In its natural habitat, this grass grows along streams and wetland borders. It loves moisture making it a good option for any plot with periodically wet soil.

Rose Mallow

The rose mallow, also known as swamp rose mallow, is a shrubby perennial native to eastern and southeastern North America. This plant can become quite large and robust, growing to seven feet tall and four feet wide. Rose mallow grows best in full sun with moist to wet soil. 

One of the most prominent features of the rose mallow is its large flowers. Each flower opens for just a day or two, but plants produce enough buds so that fresh flowers open every day over an extended blooming period. Each of the broad pink or white flowers can be six inches wide, providing plenty of showy color and an excellent source of nectar for a broad assortment of pollinators and hummingbirds.  

Rose Verbena

Rose verbena is a low-maintenance perennial native to the southeastern United States. This versatile wildflower inhabits roadsides and disturbed grasslands with plenty of sunlight and somewhat dry, well-drained soil. In the home garden, use it in your xeriscape, rock garden, or as a perennial border plant.

Rose verbena is both compact and low-growing, making it an excellent ground cover. While it’s a short-lived perennial, it will keep its populations alive by freely self-seeding. Rose verbena is also a great choice for containers and raised beds. Its clusters of bright pink or purple flowers add a dash of long-standing color during late summer into fall, and they’re very popular with pollinators.

Swamp Milkweed

Many native milkweeds thrive in a wide variety of different habitats across North America. The swamp milkweed, also known as marsh milkweed, is a moisture-loving species native to the southeastern United States. While many milkweeds bloom in the spring and summer, swamp milkweed takes its time before showing off, blooming in late summer and early fall. 

The flowers are worth the wait. Swamp milkweed displays numerous clusters of mauve-pink flowers atop tall, leafy stems. Not only will you get to enjoy these beautiful blooms, but hummingbirds and butterflies love these flowers as well. As with all native milkweed species, swamp milkweed leaves provide a critical food source for the monarch butterfly’s caterpillar.

Tall Larkspur

Tall larkspur is a beautifully showy wildflower native to mountainous regions of the east-central United States. It grows in full sun or partial shade with rich, moist, well-drained soil. Take note that this plant is highly poisonous, and no part of it should be consumed by people, pets, or livestock. 

Tall larkspur begins blooming in late summer and continues into fall. The tall spikes of deep purple flowers are popular with hummingbirds and a wide variety of pollinators. This spectacular wildflower prefers cooler climate zones and won’t perform well with long, hot summers. Grow it as an annual or perennial in your native garden, cottage garden, pollinator plot, or naturalized meadow.

Tickseed Sunflower

Tickseed sunflower is an annual or short-lived perennial from eastern North America. This showy member of the aster family is common in meadows and fields and along roadside ditches. It prefers full sun and moist soil and tolerates occasional flooding, making it a great choice for a rain garden or naturalized wetland area.

This prolific wildflower produces an abundance of cheerful yellow flowers starting in late summer and lasting through autumn. Each plant produces multiple flowers, and as the flowers set seed in the fall, they freely self-seed and provide ample foraging opportunities for hungry winter birds. While blooming, pollinators busily move from flower to flower, so your garden will be alive with activity.

Tufted Hair Grass

It can be difficult to find ornamental grasses that perform well and look good when grown in shaded locations. Tufted hairgrass is an easy-to-grow grass prefers a partially shaded location with average-quality, well-drained soil. You can use it in your woodland garden or along a shaded edge. This ornamental native grass is adaptable and widespread across much of North America. 

Tufted hairgrass grows into dense, rounded mounds. Mature plants fill out nicely and provide long-season interest. In warmer climates, they may even stay evergreen during the winter months. While blooming in the summer or fall, the purplish-bronze panicles offer some ornamental value, as well as seeds for foraging birds and other small wildlife.  

Turtlehead

Turtlehead is a perennial wildflower native to moist woodlands and streamsides of the southeastern United States. It blooms in late summer and fall and provides plenty of showy color for a woodland shade garden or native pollinator garden. While it tolerates full sun, turtlehead is happiest in a location with dappled shade and rich, moist soil.

Hummingbirds and insect pollinators, especially native bees, love turtlehead flowers. These deep, tubular flowers have a down-curved hood so they always appear partially closed, even at their peak of blooming. There are several turtlehead cultivars available, so if you’re looking for the true native species, make sure you aren’t buying a hybrid.

Virgin’s Bower

Virgin’s bower, also known as woodbine, is a native clematis vine from moist forest edges and floodplains of the southeastern United States. While virgin’s bower grows well in full sun, it’s a great plant for a shaded location where it might be difficult to grow other fall-blooming ornamentals. It appreciates plenty of soil moisture and is not drought-tolerant. 

Unlike most other clematis varieties, virgin’s bower doesn’t start blooming until late summer or fall. Large masses of star-shaped white flowers cover these vines like clumps of living snow.  This is a vigorous, twining vine that can spread quickly. You’ll want to give it a trellis, fence, or arbor to grow on. Don’t confuse this native virgin’s bower with the very similar-looking invasive Japanese clematis (Clematis terniflora).

White-Leaf Leather Flower

The white-leaf leather flower is a native clematis species from the southeastern United States. In its natural habitat, it grows along streamsides and forest edges. In a garden setting, allow it to climb a trellis, arbor, or fence in a partially shaded location with rich, moist, well-drained soil. 

The leather flower is a highly ornamental vine with bell-shaped flowers. If grown with sufficient shade and consistent soil moisture, the flowers bloom anytime from summer through fall and attract hummingbirds and native bees. While not common in the wild, this native clematis is easy to grow in a garden setting if provided favorable growing conditions. Flowers develop from new growth, so you’ll want to prune these vines each winter.

White Wood Aster

The white wood aster is a woodland plant that loves partial shade and rich, moist soil. This native to eastern forests is a welcome addition to your woodland garden. It’s tough to find fall-blooming woodland wildflowers and this little aster will add a touch of modest beauty to your shaded naturescape. 

White wood aster has heart-shaped leaves that form loose clumps. In late summer and early fall, its dainty white flowers bloom atop tall, leafless stems. While the flowers aren’t extremely showy, they add plenty of interest to your landscape and attract pollinators and as the flowers mature into nutrient-packed seedheads, they attract foraging fall and winter birds.

Wild Bergamot

Are you looking for an adaptable, easy-to-grow plant that you can start from seed just about anywhere? Wild bergamot is a fast-growing herbaceous perennial native to central and eastern North America. This hardy and fragrant perennial is a member of the mint family that loves full sun and moist, well-drained soil.

Wild bergamot blooms throughout the summer and fall. Its pale purple flowers grow in rounded clusters and attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and many other species of pollinators. This is an ideal addition to your pollinator garden, or use it as a companion plant around the edge of your garden to help attract pollinators to your yard.

Wild Senna

Wild senna is a moisture-loving shrub native to eastern North America. It thrives in full sun or light shade, with the best flowering in sunnier habitats. Wild senna prefers rich, moist soil and is often found along streamsides and in moist meadows. This deciduous shrub tolerates occasional flooding and, once established, also performs well in drier soils. 

Wild senna, also known as American senna, is a member of the pea family. It has smooth, bright green, pinnately compound leaves, which add an appealing texture to your landscape. The bright yellow flower bunches bloom in the fall and attract an assortment of beneficial insects. During late fall and winter, the seeds provide a valuable food source for hungry winter birds. This is also a larval host plant for several species of sulphur butterflies.

Witch Hazel

While many flowering shrubs bloom in the spring and summer, witch hazel blooms in the fall and winter. This deciduous shrub is native to forest edges, thickets, and moist streambanks of eastern North America. Witch hazels are easy to grow in the home landscape. They perform well in full sun or partial shade and rich, moist soil. You won’t need to do anything special with these beautiful natives except enjoy them!

What makes witch hazel special? In the fall, the leaves turn yellow and contribute their autumn color to the season. Then they bloom when most other plants are dormant, anytime from fall until late winter. The flowers typically appear on bare branches, so they’re not obscured by any leaves. These flowers are bright yellow, and their thin, elongated petals have a fluffy, pom-pom appearance.