Summer in the garden is all about flowers. If you plan your beds and containers right, you should have a profusion of color through July and August. Many of these summer beauties need deadheading to continue producing blooms. Snipping off spent flowers signals to the plant to put energy into making more.
If you feel like your entire summer revolves around deadheading in order to keep the flowers coming, there’s good news. Some flowers bloom all summer without deadheading. They either simply keep producing in spite of spent blooms or are so-called self-cleaning plants that naturally shed their flowers.
I’ve curated a list here of my favorite no-fuss summer flowers that provide non-stop color without the chore of deadheading.
Tips for Keeping Your Flowers Blooming Longer
Choosing plants that bloom continuously is only the first step to getting summer-long flowers. Even these reliable summer producers can struggle without the right care. Here’s how to ensure they keep blooming and stay healthy:
- Water your bedding flowers deeply and less frequently to encourage stronger, healthier roots.
- Potted plants need to be watered more often, even every day, when it’s not raining, as they dry out quickly.
- Use a bloom-boosting fertilizer to ensure plants have the nutrients they need to keep flowering.
- Most repeat-blooming flowers need full sun to perform optimally. This means at least six hours of direct sunlight per day.
- Use mulch around flowers to keep weeds at bay, regulate soil temperature, and keep more moisture in the soil.
Bloom-Boosting Essentials
Keep the flowers coming with this high-phosphorus plant feed that helps plants bloom. Feed every 1–2 weeks for best results.
This attractive pair of hanging baskets features self-watering inserts. Not only does this cut down on watering, but it keeps plants moist so they can keep blooming.
This expanding mulch helps lock moisture and nutrients in the soil while keeping down weeds – so plants can focus on flowering rather than surviving.
Flowers That Bloom All Summer With No Deadheading
With the right flowers and these pro tips, you can expect an abundance of blooms all summer with minimal effort and no more deadheading.
1. Lantana
Lantana is a tough plant that flowers all summer and thrives even in very hot weather and in poor, dry soil. You can pick up a set of two mixed-color lantana live plants from Walmart to fill your garden with color this summer. The attractive clusters of small flowers are multi-colored, draw in pollinators, and naturally fade as new blooms appear.
Lantana can be an issue in some areas where it is invasive. Its toughness is what helps it outcompete native plants. If you live in cooler climates, use lantana as an annual. In areas where it will survive winter, grow it in containers.
2. Summer Snapdragon
Summer snapdragon – aka angelonia – is a perennial in zones 9 through 11 and an annual in cooler climates. It produces fresh spikes of colorful flowers all summer without the chore of deadheading. I love the blue-purple varieties, like this Angelface Blue Summer Snapdragon from Plant Addicts.
Angelonia thrives in the heat of July and August and won’t let you down even when conditions get tough for other plants.
These flowers are great for beds, borders, and containers. They need soil that drains very well and full sun. They won’t need frequent watering, but you should fertilize monthly to keep the flowers going.
3. Supertunias
Petunias have long been popular summer annuals with their large, trumpet-shaped flowers that come in a wide range of colors. Traditional petunias need deadheading to keep flowering, but the newer Supertunia varieties are self-cleaning. They’ll drop their spent flowers and keep producing more without your help.
Walmart stocks a good color range, including this four-pack of vivid watermelon-hued Proven Winners Pink Supertunia Vista Paradise.
Supertunias have a trailing habit, so they are great for borders, edges, containers, and hanging baskets. They need full sun and well-drained soil to thrive. Use a bloom-boosting fertilizer every couple of weeks for the best results.
4. Madagascar Periwinkle
Also known as annual vinca, this type of vinca is hardy only in very warm climates and is an annual in most gardens. It thrives in summer weather and continuously produces new flowers as old ones fade, so there’s no need to deadhead them.
Pick up a glorious multicolor vinca hanging basket from Lowe’s.
Madagascar periwinkle is very heat and drought-tolerant and grows well along borders and in containers in full sun and well-drained soil. Unlike some repeat bloomers, this type of vinca doesn’t need a lot of feeding to keep producing.
5. Million Bells
Million bells, or calibrachoa, is yet another annual in cool climates that doesn’t require deadheading. It is naturally self-cleaning, producing hundreds of small, trumpet-shaped flowers all summer. Million bells look especially nice in containers, including hanging baskets and window boxes, as their trailing stems spill over the sides.
Plant Addicts stocks a fantastic collection of calibrachoa plants, but I have a soft spot for this Pink Lemonade variety.
Provide million bells plants with full sun and soil that drains well but stays moist with regular watering. Because they bloom so heavily, you will need to feed these plants with a bloom-specific product all summer.
6. Wax Begonias
This classic and perennially popular flower is a staple for shade gardening. An annual in most climates, wax begonia has characteristic waxy leaves and small bright flowers that persist all summer. Pick up a three-color mix from Walmart. The blooms are self-cleaning, naturally dropping as new flowers form.
You can grow wax begonias in beds or containers as long as they don’t get too much sun. Partial shade is ideal, but they’ll also grow in full shade. Use moist, rich soil that drains well and feed monthly to keep the flowers coming.
7. Impatiens
Impatiens is the other classic shade annual. Like begonias, they readily drop their spent blooms, and new ones will quickly take their place. Also like begonias, impatiens grow best in moist, rich soil and partial or even full shade. Plant Addicts stocks a lovely range of Impatiens.
For the best results from your impatiens, make sure the soil never totally dries out and feed the plants at least every three weeks with a flower-focused fertilizer. In addition to standard impatiens, look for New Guinea impatiens, which are larger plants with bigger leaves and flowers. They’ll also tolerate more sun.
8. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum blooms in summer in a carpet of tiny flowers, often white but also pink or purple. Traditional varieties stop flowering in July, but new, sterile hybrids keep going and don’t need deadheading. They put all their energy into their sweet-scented flowers. Grow sweet alyssum along edges of beds and as the “spiller” element in mixed containers.
Sweet alyssum grows best in full sun or partial shade and doesn’t require rich soil. It flowers best when watered consistently. Examples of sterile varieties for ongoing flowers include ‘Snow Princess,’ ‘White Knight,’ available as a four-pack from Lowe’s, and ‘Blushing Princess.’
