7 Gorgeous Fall Annuals with Vibrant Colors

The looming dreary winter weather doesn’t have to mean the loss of cheerful colors. Plant fall annuals to brighten your landscape with shades of purple, yellow, pink, and orange. 

Fall annuals -- including pansies and snapdragons -- are plants that complete their life cycle within one growing season (or sometimes two, if you’re a pansy), blooming throughout the fall and early winter. They can be grown in containers, in the ground, and serve as beautiful borders in your garden. 

Below is a curated list of seven colorful annuals (or perennials often grown as annuals) that grow well in Georgia. We’ve also included expert planting tips and insights from our ServeScape designers. 

1. Delta™ Premium Lavender Blue Shades Pansy

Add a touch of lavender to your garden with the Delta Lavender Blue Shades Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana). This bright perennial (grown as an annual) is tightly branched and has dark green leaves. Its fragrant flowers come with various saturations of lavender-blue with darker centers and can be deadheaded to prolong bloom nearly year long.

Planting tip: Plant this medium-maintenance pansy where it will have full sun. Water regularly and ensure moist, well-drained soil. Watch out for snails and slugs. 

2. Delta™ Premium Yellow Blotch Pansy

The Delta Yellow Blotch Pansy is a uniform, tightly branched annual/perennial and has dark green leaves. Hard to miss with its fragrant, cheery yellow flowers and dark blotch faces, this pansy produces up to three times the number of blooms as other pansy varieties.

Planting tip: Another medium-maintenance plant, the yellow blotch pansy prefers full sun and moist, well-drained soils. Water regularly to keep soil moisture consistent. Deadheading can prolong the bloom season.

3. Cool Wave® Golden Yellow Pansy

If you want an exceptionally hardy annual, look no further than the Cool Wave® Golden Yellow Pansy. One of the earliest pansies to bloom, the plant has uniform trailing branches, dark green leaves, and fragrant golden-yellow flowers. 

Planting tip: The Cool Wave® Golden Yellow Pansy thrives with full sun, regular watering and moist, well-drained soils. Its sunshine appearance makes it an ideal plant for containers, baskets, and garden beds.

4. Cool Wave® Blue Skies Pansy

Another extremely hardy pansy, the Cool Wave® Blue Skies Pansy is a beautiful, long-blooming compact perennial with uniform trailing branches and dark green leaves. It has soft blue flowers with a yellow marking. As with the other pansies, it can be deadheaded to prolong bloom year long.

Planting tip: This pansy prefers full sun and moist soil. It will grow to be six inches tall or eight inches tall when in bloom. If growing in masses, be sure to plant individual pansies around 24 inches apart as they’ll reach a spread of 30 inches at maturity. 

5. Inspire Plus® Orange Blotch Pansy

Orange is the new black! The Inspire Orange Blotch Pansy is a uniform re-blooming perennial, sporting large fragrant orange flowers with a dark face, dark green leaves, and tight trailing branches. It blooms in early spring and fall, and can be deadheaded to prolong blooms.

Planting tip: This medium-maintenance pansy does best with regular watering and full sunlight. It grows six to nine inches tall and nine to twelve inches wide.  

6. Liberty™ Rose Pink Dwarf Snapdragon

Pretty n’ pink, the Liberty Rose Pink Snapdragon is a compact, upright tropical perennial often grown as an annual. It has narrow foliage, and lightly-scented rose-pink flowers that bloom on tall spikes from spring into fall.  

Planting tip: This snapdragon is a low-maintenance plant that’s heat and humidity tolerant, and has no serious disease or pest issues. It grows best in moist, fertile well-drained soils. Ideal companion plants include Lupin, Allium, and Petunia. 

7. Liberty™ Bronze Dwarf Snapdragon

This classic snapdragon variety displays soft pink buds. These buds open to copper-bronze flowers that intensify as they age. They grow on tall spikes clad from spring into fall. The fragrant snapdragon also attracts a variety of pollinators, from hummingbirds to bees. 

Planting tip: This is another low-maintenance plant with no serious disease or pest issues. Just watch out for aphids and powdery mildew. And although heat and humidity tolerant (perfect for Georgia weather!), ensure moist, fertile well-drained soils. 

Create a beautiful fall and winter garden with fall annuals

Enjoy a bright, cheerful garden with fall annuals, no matter the weather. At ServeScape, we deliver quality, native plants to your door within one week of ordering. 

Order fall annuals and other plant selections online through the ServeScape website. Visit www.ServeScape.com to envision, design, and grow a beautiful and resilient landscape.