17 Best Flowers to Grow in Georgia (With Pictures)
- Pete Ortiz
- Last updated:
Living in Georgia gives you the rare benefit of gorgeous weather all year and plenty of beautiful days to enjoy outside. For the ambitious gardener, it’s the perfect setting for a vibrant flower garden—a chance to put your planting prowess on full display in magnificent patterns of rich colors and lush textures.
Growing conditions are prime for several types of flowers, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all landscape. Covering USDA zones 6a–9a, Georgia demands a certain amount of hardiness for plants to tolerate the more intense heat and humidity. If you’re wondering how to make it easy to develop a thriving flower garden, here are the 17 best flowers to grow in Georgia.
The 17 Best Flowers to Grow in Georgia
1. Black-Eyed Susan
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | pH neutral, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
With its striking yellow petals and eponymous, dark contrasting centers, the black-eyed Susan is a gorgeous decoration for any garden. It thrives in hardiness zones 3–9, and it stands up well in the face of some of the harsher aspects of Georgia’s growing conditions.
Although it needs well-draining soil and ample watering during the hot Georgia summers, black-eyed Susans can tolerate various soil types. And don’t feel limited to the classic yellow/black-eye combo—you can find these flowers in numerous hues, with some sporting red petals or light green eyes.
2. Swamp Sunflower
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, moist |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial/full |
Swamp sunflower also called the narrow-leaf sunflower, is easy to grow in Georgia and a perfect filler for areas where other flowers may not work. As you can guess by its name, it prefers moist soil, preferably poorly draining clay soil. Unlike other sunflowers, this variety grows reliably year after year.
The swamp sunflower blooms during the fall months, growing up to 8 feet tall and producing bright yellow blossoms about 3 inches across. It requires partial sun, and because it prefers moist soil, it’s a perfect plant to grow near a pond.
3. Coreopsis
Flowering Type: | Annual |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
A pleasantly low-maintenance wildflower, coreopsis provides one of the easier ways to fill a garden with a bouquet of colors. With dozens of varieties available, some annual and some perennial, you can find hues ranging from blinding yellows to neon pinks and deep reds.
Coreopsis grows well in full sunlight and well-draining loamy or sandy soil. Although it needs decent amounts of water before germination, it’s easy to care for once it starts growing. You generally only need to water it during droughts, and it can usually go straight into un-amended soil.
4. Gaillardia
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Slightly acidic, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
Growing up to 2 feet tall, Gaillardia is a fast-growing, short-lived perennial with petals featuring a magnificent gradient of bright red to pale yellow. These plants prefer full sun and good airflow, but otherwise, they’re carefree and easy to please. They do fine in poor quality soil as long as it is well-draining.
Gaillardia is versatile, working well in pots, borders, or growing wild in thick covers. You can transplant or grow them from seed after the final frost, with blossoms arriving the second year after planting.
5. Bleeding Heart
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, moist, rich |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial |
Bleeding hearts can be slightly demanding and they’re toxic to humans and pets, but the delicate pink heart-shaped flowers are so captivating that they deserve a place in your garden nonetheless. Because they thrive in partial shade, they can take up space near trees and structures that may not accommodate other flowers.
You will likely need to prepare the soil with compost before planting bleeding hearts in the fall or spring. Bleeding hearts need rich, organic soil, so you may need to fertilize it depending on the quality of your soil. It requires frequent watering throughout the summer, though it is slightly drought-tolerant.
In Georgia, you can expect well-tended flowers to emerge for several weeks before the heat pushes them into dormancy. If you keep them in a shady spot and well-watered, they’ll bloom for as long as possible.
6. Christmas Rose
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Alkaline/neutral, moist, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial |
The Christmas rose is a savvy addition to a flower garden, particularly in the northern Georgia regions. When most plants go dormant for the winter, the Christmas rose endures, giving your garden life and color all year long.
An evergreen plant, the Christmas rose blooms snowy white flowers in December in warm regions like Georgia. Plant Christmas roses in humus-rich soil and keep them moist. Aim for a sheltered area that gives them the partial shade they prefer and a wind block to help them weather chilly winter gusts.
7. Periwinkle
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic, moist, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial/full |
Growing under trees and down slopes, periwinkle is an evergreen groundcover, an excellent measure for erosion control that also delights with vivid color. The lush, gleaming leaves provide a perfect contrasting backdrop to the colorful blooms that emerge from March to April. With several species available, you can get flowers ranging from the standard periwinkle blue to purplish and white varieties.
Periwinkle is an easy plant to grow, and you may even need to monitor its growth to ensure it doesn’t get out of hand. It does well in moist, rich soil, but it can tolerate diverse growing conditions and even withstand drought.
8. Shasta Daisy
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | pH neutral, moist, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
The Shasta daisy is a classic cut flower throughout North America, beautifying everything from roadside fields to tabletop vases. It grows best in full sun and moist well-drained, organic soil, though it can withstand drought and infrequent watering.
Shasta daisies are a hybrid from the late 1800s, a cross between the oxeye daisy with various field daisies. The result is a hardy perennial with glorious white blooms and dazzling yellow centers.
9. Cardinal Flower
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, moist, rich |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial/full |
The Cardinal flower provides towering bursts of radiant red to your garden during the hottest days of summer when other perennials fade. Not only do they inject some much-needed color into the landscaping, but they may even attract some hummingbirds to your lawn.
The soil must be damp and fertile for cardinal flowers to perform well, especially as you establish the seeds. They need daily watering, but they are easy to care for when you plant them in a naturally moist area. Expect blooms to emerge in the summer and peak in early-mid fall.
10. Purple Coneflower
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
If you want to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds to your lawn, the purple coneflower should be a definite addition to your flower garden. Surrounded by attractive pinkish-purple petals, the massive center cone is full of nectar and seeds for all manner of wildlife to feast on.
Reaching a maximum height of 2 feet, the coneflower can grow in a variety of sunlight and soil conditions. As a prairie flower, it prefers full sun and dry conditions, but as long as it isn’t too wet, it can grow in sandy, clay, loamy, or just about any other kind of pH-neutral soil.
11. Yarrow
Flowering Type: | Perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/alkaline/neutral, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
Despite its wispy, delicate flowers, yarrow is a tough plant that doesn’t need much to grow, staying resilient through drought, poor soil conditions, and lax maintenance. Stalks grow up to 3 feet with small flowers of white, pink, or yellow.
It’s common to start yarrow from divided transplants, but you can start them from seed about 2 months before the last frost as well. Seeds germinate in about 2 weeks and blooms emerge for the summer. They need full sun to grow. Otherwise, they can handle a wide range of soil pH levels and consistencies as long as it doesn’t get too wet.
12. Verbena
Flowering Type: | Annual/perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic, well-drained |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
Including over 200 species, verbena spans a vast spectrum of growing tolerances and colors such as white, purple, red, and peach. Verbenas can be annuals or perennials, but almost all of them grow quickly in the first year, giving you a garden full of intense color for several months.
Many of the low bedding types of verbena aren’t ideal for Georgia climates, but perennials fare well and give bright blooms from spring until early-mid fall. Verbenas need full sun and frequent watering during the first few weeks after planting. When they begin blooming, they only need weekly watering and little fertilizing unless the soil is notably poor.
13. Zinnias
Flowering Type: | Annual |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, well-draining, rich |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
When you want robust blooms of brilliant color, the layered petals of zinnias are ready to provide. These annuals come in a variety of heights, from under 6 inches to over 4 feet, making them a versatile accent to the rest of your flower garden.
Grow zinnias under full sun and well-draining soil. Beyond that, there aren’t many rules to follow for healthy growth, as they handle everything from drought to poor soil with relative ease. Zinnias are one of the easiest flowers to grow from seed, a hassle-free way to get a rainbow of colors to grace your lawn from spring until the first frost.
14. Cosmos
Flowering Type: | Annual |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic/neutral, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Full |
Cosmos are a gardening staple, with more cultivars emerging seemingly every day. There are countless colors, patterns, and heights to fill out a garden. It’s perfect if you’re a flower garden novice because every variety is simple to grow in Georgia’s summers.
If you plant them where they get full sun, it takes almost no work to get cosmos to flourish. Scatter some seeds in unamended, well-draining soil and watch it grow. It can withstand drought and poor soil, and it will even self-seed, making it maintenance-free from one year to the next.
15. Violas
Flowering Type: | Annual/perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic, moist, well-draining, rich |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial/full |
The intriguing floral pattern of violas is guaranteed to please no matter which of the over 500 species you choose to plant. In Georgia, you may be able to plant them alongside your Christmas rose plants for a wintertime arrangement. Because violas don’t like the summer heat, you can get them to grow well during the fall season in full sun.
Violas can be demanding when it comes to soil. They need well-draining soil with compost to keep it nutrient-rich. While they need regular watering, you also can’t drown them for the risk of mold developing.
16. Azaleas
Flowering Type: | Annual/perennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic, moist, well-draining, rich |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial/full |
An azalea shrub is a bountiful display worthy of showing up in any southern garden. With mild Georgia winters, virtually any type of azalea is a perennial, able to survive and provide gorgeous blooms every year in plants up to 8 feet tall.
Though they’re easy to maintain, a spectacular azalea plant doesn’t just happen. They require acidic soil between 4–6 pH, and you’ll likely have to supplement the soil with compost. In many cases, the soil will need mulch layers and acidic fertilizer to meet the pH, nutrient, and drainage requirements.
Related Read: 15 Best Plants to Grow in Georgia (With Pictures)
17. Foxglove
Flowering Type: | Biennial |
Soil Requirements: | Acidic, well-draining |
Sunlight Needs: | Partial/full |
With a tall stalk that supports a drooping bouquet of tubular flowers, foxglove is a beacon of beauty in a Georgia flower garden. The biennial plant only forms its foliage in its first year, but the wait is well worth it when you see the thick arrangement of spotted white and purple blooms the following season.
Though it towers above other garden flowers at a maximum height of 5 feet, foxglove grows best in partial shade. As a biennial, foxglove is ideal as a transplant for people wanting to ensure proper growth and faster results. But since it’s self-seeding, you can easily grow them every year if you provide rich, well-draining, and slightly acidic soil.
Related Read: 15 Best Flowers To Grow In Arizona (With Pictures)
Conclusion
Under the bright Georgia sun, flower gardens come to life, lending power, grace, and intrigue to even the most modest landscape. The unique growing conditions and long seasons provide a wealth of opportunities to beautify your property. Whether you’re a novice or a long-time flower garden aficionado, you’ll be sure to love the stress-free aesthetic boost of these 17 stunning flowers.
Featured Image Credit: june88, Pixabay
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