Long blooming flowers

What gardener does not want constant colour in their garden? Long blooming flowers are always appreciated in a garden by both the gardeners themselves and by the wildlife. While annuals are known for their long blooms, there are quite a few perennials that have bloom times of 6 -8 weeks or more. Unlike annuals, many of these perennials are native. Many cultivars are bred for longer blooms and they are not marked here as native. Here is a list of these plants.

In some cases, you can get a longer or double bloom period by cutting off the flowerheads as soon as they have finished blooming. Some plants have composite flowers with fertile disc flowers in the centre and sterile ray flowers around the periphery. These flowers will continue to look good in the garden because the sterile ray flowers remain long after the fertile disc flowers have matured.

 

Name Notes
Agastache foeniculum native Will bloom for two months starting in July.
Agastache scrophulariifolia native Will bloom for two months starting in July.

Aquilegia canadensis native

A spring flower for hummingbirds.
Calamintha nepeta Late June until frosts in November
Coreopsis lanceolata native Commonly planted and has cheery colourful flowers. Cut off the flowerheads as soon as they have matured to get a second wave of flowering.
Coreopsis verticillata As long as you keep deadheading, the flowers keep coming. It may be easier to deadhead the whole plant in which case you get two sets of blooms.
Echinacea purpurea Two months beginning in July as it has composite flowers.
Euphorbia corollata native It blooms during July and August
Gaillardia sp. native Long bloom period but a short lifespan.
Helenium autumnale native Does well in moist soils.
Helianthus "Lemon Queen" This particular cultivar of sunflower has an extended bloom time.
Heliopsis helianthoides native A tough plant that will bloom in a variety of conditions. It has composite flowers with sterile ray flowers. Deadhead the first set of flowers.
Houstonia longifolia native It actually blooms with fertile flowers for many weeks
  Houstonia longifolia  
  Houstonia longifolia is a great plant to edge a border with.  
Monarda didyma native Blooms for over 8 weeks starting at the end of June
Ratibida pinnatanative Blooms over the summer and attracts different bees.
Rudbeckia hirta native Disc flowers are present for a few weeks, but ray flowers remain for 6 - 8 weeks.
Rudbeckia laciniata native Starts blooming in mid-July and will keep blooming until the frost. Other rudbeckia also have long blooms.
Tradescantia ohiensis native Spiderworts bloom in the spring and early summer.
Veronica spicata native When the flowers are near the top of the flowerhead, shear off all the heads and you will get a new set of blooms within a couple of weeks.
Zizia sp. native Can get a double blooming period by deadheading in the spring.