These Are the Best Plants to Start Growing in Autumn

While we mourn the departure of summer, gardeners can start to rejoice that spring is slowly approaching. And although you might associate autumn with leaves dying and dropping, it’s actually a great time to grow plants as the weather starts cooling down.

In case you’ve ever wondered, leaves start turning shades of brown and orange during autumn because trees are preparing for winter dormancy. According to Flower Power, trees actually recover nutrients from each leaf before they let them fall. Trees also know that winter is coming so they stop producing chlorophyll (which gives leaves their green pigment).

So, if you want to take advantage of the warm colours autumn tends to bring, here are the best plants and trees to grow at this time of year, according to Flower Power.

The best plants to grow during autumn

Autumn plants and shrubs 

• Ash (especially claret and golden ash)
• Chinese tallow
• Crepe myrtle
• American and Japanese maples
• Ornamental pears
• Persimmon
• Ornamental grapevines
• Wisterias
• Sasanqua camellia
• Roses
• Salvia

From seed or seedling

• Ageratum
• Alyssum
• Calendula
• Candytuft
• Canterbury bells
• Cineraria
• Cornflower
• Dianthus
• Lobelia
• Lupin
• Marigold
• Pansy
• Poppy
• Primula
• Polyanthus
• Snapdragon
• Verbena
• Viola
• Wallflower
• Sweet peas
• Frangipanis

The best bulbs to plant in Autumn

• Anemone
• Babiana
• Bluebells
• Daffodils
• Dutch Iris
• Freesias
• Grape hyacinth
• Hyacinth
• Ixia
• Jonaquils
• Ranunculus
• Tulips

Obviously, some of these plants won’t properly bloom until the end of autumn, but that means you’ll get a stunning display just before winter arrives. With the trees and shrubs, you’ll want to plant them when they are already a little mature so you can enjoy their lovely leaves straight away.

Fun fact about sweet peas, apparently it’s good luck to plant them on St Patrick’s Day. According to Irish tradition, sweet pea seeds planted by lamplight between sunset and sunrise of St Patrick’s Day will produce more fragrant and larger flowers. Isn’t that fun?

If you’re looking to grow some vegetables this March, we’ve already got you covered on a list of the best things to plant.