Tired of Mums? Try These 15 Fall Container Plants Instead
Tired of Mums? These 15 Fall Container Plants Are Easy and Beautifully Unexpected
While mums are the traditional flower of choice for fall container gardens, they can be demanding plants and common florist mums aren’t frost hardy. But there are lots of fall container plants that have all the autumn charm of mums but are easier to grow, more resilient in cold weather, and less prone to pests and diseases. Here are the best mum alternatives, plus planting tips to help you design a fall planter with unique charm and all the autumn color you crave.
Black Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia or black-eyed Susan come in a rainbow of colors, but classic golden-yellow black-eyed Susan is the perfect shade for autumn planters. These easy care plants sprout readily from seed, they grow quickly, and are incredibly cold tolerant. Not to mention, they make fantastic cut flowers and wild birds love their seeds.
Calendula
Andy Lyons
Also known as pot marigold, calendula is famous for its sunny yellow or orange flowers and their easy-going nature. Like rudbeckia, calendula is quick to sprout from seed and plants can flower nearly continuously from late spring until the first hard frost. These plants can also be used for cut flowers.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses add movement and height to fall planters, and a few also offer striking colors. While there are lots of ornamental grass varieties on the market, some of the best choices for fall containers include purple fountain grass or blue fescue. If you’re going for a dark, Halloween look, black mondo grass can be a fun choice as well.
Pansies
Don’t be fooled by pansies’ delicate look. These plants are surprisingly cold hardy and they’re actually at their best when nighttime temperatures are around 40°F. Best of all, pansies come in tons of colors to match any fall decor and their compact size makes them easy to slip into hanging baskets or use as fillers between larger ornamentals.
Marigolds
Kelsey Hansen
With their yellow, orange, and red flowers, marigolds look right at home in autumn planters. But make sure that you know what type of marigold you’re getting. French marigolds are a classic choice for autumn planters and they generally grow about 6 to 12 inches high; however, some types of marigolds can stretch over 3 feet tall.
Zinnias
Marigolds and zinnias are both easy to grow from seed, but zinnia flowers come in a wider variety of colors. While warm yellows, oranges, and reds are traditionally associated with the fall season, planting zinnias in your container garden can allow you to play around with purples, pinks, and other shades you won’t see in other fall container gardens.
Coneflowers
Native to North America, coneflowers come in different colors and sizes and they have lower water needs than mums and many other plants. Use coneflowers as fillers or thrillers to draw attention to fall planters or pair purple coneflowers with plants with yellow or orange blooms for an enchanting autumn display. If you don’t deadhead coneflowers at the end of the season, finches and other seed-eating birds are likely to stop in for some tasty coneflower seeds.
Sedum
Like other succulents, sedums store moisture in their fleshy leaves, which means they don’t need much supplemental water. But sedums also bring intriguing textures and colors to fall planters and some types of sedums can even keep their dried flowerheads through winter for added interest. Tall ‘Autumn Joy’ sedums are especially popular around this time of the year, but you can also experiment with ground-covering sedums like ‘Dragon’s Blood’ or ‘Angelina,’ which change color in cool weather.
Ornamental Peppers
Ornamental pepper plants bring a pop of color to fall planters, but they also produce edible peppers that can be used to spice up fall recipes. While peppers aren’t as cold tolerant as some of the other plants on this list, you can keep them growing a bit longer by covering them with a light sheet or a frost blanket when temperatures dip. Varieties like ‘Sedona Sun’ or ‘Black Pearl’ are especially well-suited for container growing since they max out at around 12 to 18 inches high and yield teeny-tiny peppers.
Cosmos
With their pink and white flowers, cosmos may not be the most obvious choice for fall. But these plants are super easy to grow from seed, they adapt well to containers, and they can continue flowering until the first fall frost. And some types have yellow or red flowers. Cosmos are also ideal for making autumn bouquets and you can encourage your plants to bloom more abundantly by harvesting flowers often.
Helenium
Also known as sneezeweed, helenium plants are prolific bloomers that produce tons of orange, yellow, and red flowers from summer to fall. These plants earned the name “sneezeweed” because they were traditionally used for medicinal purposes, not because they trigger seasonal allergies. For that fall feel, pair helenium with ornamental grasses and coneflowers, or mix and match them with sedums or ornamental peppers for a planter with unique flair.
Ornamental Brassicas
Cabbage, kale, and Swiss chard are mostly grown in veggie gardens, but you can also plant ornamental brassicas in window boxes and porch planters to bring extra color to your doorstep. While ornamental brassicas are edible, they aren’t as tasty as the brassicas in your vegetable garden. But they make up for it with their flashy leaves, which come in shades of purple, green, and white and coordinate beautifully with fall flowers and ornamental grasses.
Amaranth
Almost all types of amaranth are edible, but amaranths can also produce boldly colored seedheads and colorful leaves that display well in fall. While some amaranth varieties, like the colorful ‘Burgundy Amaranth,’ are too tall for most planters, dwarf amaranths like ‘Globe Amaranth’ or ‘Pygmy’s Torch’ are the perfect size for pots. Like ornamental grasses, amaranth is a top pick if you want to add movement and texture to your planter or attract seed-eating birds.
Asters
Asters come in many colors and sizes, but most types bloom from summer to fall and they may continue flowering through October and beyond. Many species of asters are native to North America, which makes them a great choice for growers with an interest in native planting. Asters are also an excellent cutting flower and they’re often visited by bees and other pollinators late in the season when other food sources are scarce.
Millet
Millet plants have lots to recommend them. They have a strong silhouette, they come in different colors, they’re easy to grow from seed, they blend well with other autumn plants, and they come in dwarf sizes for container growing. With its dark leaves and seed heads, purple millet (shown here) looks especially appealing beside plants with bright orange and yellow, or deep red blooms.
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