Our TOP TEN Plants For Late Summer

The later part of summer brings with it some of the most spectacular colours in the garden. August arrives, and the late season perennials and shrubs burst into bloom! Summer flowering shrubs and perennials blaze in the landscape, and most of them require very little maintenance. Here are our TOP TEN plants for late summer colour. Add them to your garden now and enjoy until frost!

1) Panicle Hydrangeas

hydrangea limelight prime — Paniculata Hydrangeas (like Limelight Prime, pictured) are tough and free-flowering.

The conical blooms arrive on these beautiful, easy-to-grow shrubs in July and deepen in colour through late summer. Our favourite varieties include Proven Winners selections like Limelight, Limelight Prime, Quick Fire, Quick Fire Fab, and dwarf varieties Bobo, Little Lime, and NEW Little Lime Punch.

Learn more about growing Hydrangeas here!

2) Rose Of Sharon

Rose of Sharon is available in several colours, and flowers prolifically in late summer.

Worth the wait! Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus) offer BIG blooms in purples, pinks, and whites. Add to the background of a mixed border, or in a group for a wall of flowers. Grows 6′ high and 5′ wide. Plant in full sun.

3) Japanese Maples

Japanese Maples offer unique colour and texture all spring and summer, and blaze with bright hues in the fall.

Warm hues begin to glow in August on these small-space favourites, and brighten through the Fall. Easy to grow, Japanese Maples are stunning accent trees that are slow growing, and are a must-have in any landscape!

4) Echinacea

Echinacea (Coneflowers) offer bright summer colour and help to attract and feed pollinators!

A rainbow of colours are available on these pollinator-friendly perennials. Coneflowers bloom in summer through fall, forming a showy, upright clump which is a favourite feeding station for many butterflies. Seed heads are useful in dried arrangements, and look attractive standing through the fall. Most varieties grow to be about 3′ high and 1.5′ wide. Look for dwarf or compact types for small spaces and containers, too!

5) Rudbeckia

Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum’) looks amazing when planted en masse.

Classic Rudbeckia (or Black-Eyed Susan) brings rich gold to the garden. Plants make a bushy, upright clump with a profuse display of brown-eyed, golden-orange daisies from midsummer through the fall. A terrific choice for mass planting, combining especially well with ornamental grasses. Excellent for cutting and attractive to butterflies!

6) Weigela

Weigela varieties offer summer colour with bright blooms AND outstandingly ornamental foliage in spring and fall, too. Pictured: ‘Midnight Wine Shine’ by Proven Winners.

There’s a Weigela for every garden, with sizes that range from little dwarf shrubs to giant, floral spectacles! The tubular, fragrant flowers that appear on this shrub are attractive to pollinators, and recent hybrid introductions (like new releases from Proven Winners) bloom in repeated flushes through the season. Find fabulous foliage in shades of glossy burgundy to black, or in dramatic variegation like in NEW ‘Vinho Verde’.

7) Coral Bells

Explore a range of colours all season in sun or shade! Heuchera (or Coral Bells) are an easy-to-grow perennial with attractive foliage and small, airy blooms. Effective in mixed borders, or try adding to a mixed patio planter for extra texture and interest. New varieties are introduced each season, with options from black, purple, and silver to bright chartreuse, orange, and peach.

8) Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental Grasses offer a surprising range of forms, colours & textures.

Ornamental Grasses perform well in a wide range of areas and have long seasonal interest, lasting into winter. These grasses are well suited to mass planting but can be used as a specimen as well. Varieties include forms that are tall and architectural, small and compact, large and full of movement, and everything in between!

9) Stella D’Oro Daylilies

Cheerful Stella D’Oro Daylilies bloom from June to fall, requiring very little care or maintenance.

This is by far the most popular Daylily selection of all time, because it performs so well in all zones, flowering for months on end. Stella D’Oro Daylily forms a dense clump of grassy green foliage, with upright stems of fragrant, golden-yellow trumpet flowers. Easy to plant and grow, blooming all summer long.

10) Sedum

Sedum is drought-tolerant, pollinator-friendly, and very easy to grow.

Sedum is a succulent perennial that is a joy in the garden! The unique flowers of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ are long-lasting and colourful. This tough, hardy perennial grows approximately 24 inches tall and wide, and blooms from August to frost. Thick, waxy leaves are succulent and drought-tolerant, and this plant can grow in sandy soils. Attracts pollinators!

Summer Garden Tips:

Planting new shrubs and perennials? Help to ensure success by digging large planting holes, and amend with nutrient rich TERRA Plus 3 Mix (triple mix) when planting. Keep new plantings well watered in the first 2 weeks, and use a transplant solution to reduce shock and help new roots to establish faster!