10 Flowers To Plant In October For A Burst Of Colorful Blooms In The Garden

With fall pumpkins popping up on neighborhood stoops, you might think it's too late to plant flowers in your garden, but you'd be wrong. The spookiest month of the year can actually be a surprisingly good time to plant some fall-loving flowers as well. So we've gathered together the top 10 flowers to plant in October. 

Some flowers love pumpkin spice season because there tends to be more consistent rain, and sometimes even more of it. The soil also tends to be cooler and more hospitable than during the heat of summer. October can also be a time when weeds start to ease up or even die back, which means that your fall-planted flowers won't have to fight as many unwanted plants trying to crowd them out. It's probably why fall is also a good time to think about the perennials you should be dividing now. 

But if you're looking for a garden refresh this October, you've got options. No-fuss goldenrod will give you pretty gold flowers in the yard even as temperatures begin to drop. Asters, the friendly-daisy-like flower, are also a great addition to your garden. Pansies live their best lives in the cooler weather and might even be more cold hardy than you think. You can even try planting a succulent, such as sedum, this fall for interesting texture and color in the garden. So there's still plenty of planting left to do.

Mums (Chrysanthemums) will love to find a place in your garden this October since they adore the decreasing hours of sunlight in the fall. They're called short-day plants for a reason. As sunlight begins to wane and nights get longer in autumn, this late bloomer unfurls pretty gold, pink, purple, or white blooms, depending on the type of mum. Hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 to 9, mums prefer at least six hours of sun a day and soil that's not waterlogged. They do well in containers or in borders, too. 

For a pop of bright yellow in your fall garden, plant goldenrod (Solidago) this October. It's no wonder this cold-hardy plant doesn't mind the cooler weather of fall. It's hardy down to zone 2! It'll also thrive in zones as warm as 8. Just pick a place in the garden with six hours of sun a day and acidic soil, and this herbaceous perennial will thrive. It's a no-fuss plant that will grow in both loam and clay soils, and even manages not to mind short periods of drought. 

If you love the idea of an autumn succulent in the garden, then try flowering stonecrop (sedum), which grows well in containers, garden beds, or wherever there's sun, partial sun, and soil on the drier side. A particularly versatile blooming succulent, sedum loves zones 3 to 9 and tends to bloom in the fall. Because of this, some varieties are even named after the season, like 'Autumn Joy' sedums. 

October will be the time for hardy Saxifraga rubrifolia to shine. Not only will its small spikey, star-like flowers be a unique addition to any fall garden, but it's also perfect for the shadier parts of your yard. This plant will be hardy in zones 6 to 9, so while it's not as cold hardy as other flowers, it can be a dependable fall bloomer. In colder climates, this white flower will do well in containers that can be brought indoors for the winter, too. 

Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) can add texture and color to any fall garden. It does well in zones 3 to 9, loves sun, and will grow tall bunches of pretty purple flowers. It even tolerates pretty damp conditions, so it won't mind fall rains. Pollinators love this flower, so it'll draw in butterflies and bees. Birds love to eat its plentiful seeds, too, and it keeps coming back year after year. Joe Pye weed is among 11 hardy perennial flowers you can rely on for a lush and colorful garden.

If you want a reliable cool-weather flower, look no further than the hardy aster, which grows and flourishes in zones 3 to 8. They're a fantastic fall flower to plant in October because these cold-hardy perennials tend to wilt in the heat. They also prefer damp soil. Just make sure to plant more established potted flowers in the fall, and not seeds, if you want better blooms now. Make sure to give the plant a chance to establish itself before the winter freeze.

Sometimes, we just need a little bit of pretty color before winter gray settles in. Pansies may be short, but they come in a bunch of bright and cheery colors. They are a good addition to your containers or flower beds in October since they love cooler temperatures and will wither in summer heat. Pansies can actually be pretty tough when it comes to plunging temperatures, and have even been known to survive single-digit dips! It's no wonder they thrive in zones down to 3.

October in some areas of the country means erratic weather that can be sunny one day and snowy the next. Camellias don't seem to mind the cooler weather, producing pretty blooms that look a little like a rose late into fall. They're not too picky about moisture, either, being a little tolerant of both dry and wet conditions. Camellias prefer to grow in zones 6 to 9. If you live in a warmer region of the country, the flowering camellia shrub might even stay green all year round. 

Who doesn't love beautiful, sweet-smelling peonies? These big, showy flowers brighten up any yard. October might just be the perfect time to plant them for most places in the U.S., or even later if you live in much warmer zones. Peonies don't usually thrive when propagated in the spring, and may even be about a year behind in maturity. So plant in fall, but just make sure you put peonies in the ground about 6 weeks before truly cold temperatures arrive and the ground freezes.

In order for wild hyacinth (Camassia) flowers to properly bloom, they need a dormant time spent in the cold. That's why they like to be planted in October when the ground has cooled off and the temperatures start dropping. Hardy in zones 3 to 8, wild hyacinth bulbs will grow well in as little as 2 hours of direct sun a day. Fun fact: You can eat the bulbs of these flowers. Native Americans have been known to use them as a food source when foraging.