So, what flowers grow well in Oregon?
If you live in Oregon, you can grow plants and flowers that thrive between USDA planting zones 4b and 9b. Some of these flowers need little care, so they’re suitable for less experienced gardeners, while others need more attention.
In this article, we’ll list some of the best flowers that grow well in Oregon, and can tolerate its weather, so keep reading to learn more about them.
10 Amazing Flowers that Grow Well in Oregon
With proper care and attention, your garden will always look its best throughout the year. Some flowers bloom for extended periods adding a pop of color to your landscape, while others will only bloom for a short period, so you should carefully plan your planting schedule.
Petunia
Petunias are among the longest-blooming flowers in your garden, with a blooming season that extends from spring to November. There are different varieties of petunias that you can grow in your garden with single or double blooms, and they come in every color except blue.
You can grow your petunias in containers or along your garden’s border, where they have access to full sun. However, if the weather is too hot, the partial shade will be appreciated in the heat of midsummer.
If your soil is too poor, petunias won’t work for you as they need to grow in light, fertile soil. Adding compost when they’re first planted and complementing the soil with liquid fertilizer on a monthly basis is recommended.
Bleeding Heart
The bleeding heart flower grows from a shade-loving woodland plant that blooms in the cool spring but disappears when the temperature increases in summer. However, the roots stay alive to regrow in fall or next spring.
The drooping blooms come in shades of white, pink, and red and are toxic to humans and pets, especially dogs. Each stem grows about 20 flowers, adding the needed pop of color to your cottage garden.
The bleeding heart plant prefers partial shade, so you can plant it near a deciduous tree, where the soil is rich, moist, and well-draining. You can apply compost before planting to support the plant’s growth. It needs about one inch of water per week and is a little sensitive to gardening problems like aphids and powdery mildew.
Sweet Woodruff
If your soil is slightly acidic or alkaline, it will be suitable for growing sweet woodruff. It can even grow in sandy and clay soil.
These star-shaped white blooms grow from a perennial lance-shaped dark-leafed herb. It’s an excellent addition to your garden because it’s deer-resistant, and the blooms are among the few rabbit-proof flowers.
Sweet woodruff herb grows and spreads quickly and might become invasive in your garden if you don’t pay it much attention. It grows in full to partial shade and is drought-resistant. If the soil is too moist, the plant can grow vigorously.
Daisy
Growing daisies will add bright colors to your garden, as the blooms come in shades of white, pink, purple, red, orange, yellow, and blue. They’re perennials that can handle heat and drought and don’t need much care or attention.
The plant grows up to a height of 2 feet and will also be an excellent indoor plant. You can grow daisies in slightly acidic soil, but it doesn’t need regular watering. You should allow the soil to dry out a little between waterings to prevent root rot.
Daisies thrive in full or partial sun and are resistant to pests. The leaves, flowers, and roots can be added to salads and sandwiches.
Butterfly Bush
The butterfly bush grows from a deciduous shrub, usually growing like a perennial. There are different varieties of these plants, and some cultivars can grow to a height of 12 feet.
The blooms are usually purple, pink, blue, or white, and some plants produce big clusters of flowers while others grow flowering spikes that attract butterflies. The butterfly bush is a hardy plant that tolerates urban areas’ pollution, pests, drought, and stress.
This plant needs full sun exposure and becomes weedy in shady conditions. It prefers well-draining, slightly acidic soil with weekly waterings, and you can add a layer of compost every spring to support the plant’s growth.
Sunflower
The sunflower is one of the most popular summer flowers and will stay in bloom till fall. Each flower stretches from 3 to 6 inches wide with yellow, red, or mahogany petals and a brown center.
These annual flowers grow on hardy stems that can be 10 feet tall. If you’re growing a taller variety, you might have to stake it to keep it upright. In the fall, the petals fall off, and the disk in the center attracts birds and other forms of wildlife to your garden.
Sunflowers need full exposure to sunlight and don’t tolerate the shade. They tolerate dry and poor soil but grow best in well-draining soil.
You should allow about 2 inches of the soil to dry out between watering, although sunflowers are tolerant of drought. A slow-release fertilizer will help support their growth if the soil is too poor.
Tulip
Tulips are spring bloomers, growing beautiful flowers that come in shades of red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, green, white, and even black. Most cultivars grow one flower per stem, although some varieties can grow multiple flowers.
The perennial bulbs are usually planted in fall, especially under taller trees that provide partial shade in the hot months of summer. However, during spring, they need full exposure to sunlight.
You can grow tulips in slightly acidic soil, and the bulbs need to be watered regularly. After that, they don’t need to be watered that much and can grow off rainwater if it rains once or twice a week in your area. Tulips can grow in indoor pots and are toxic to humans and pets.
Heartleaf Bergenia
Also known as pig squeak, heartleaf Bergenia get their funny name from the sounds the leaves make when they’re rubbed together. The pink, red, and white blooms appear in April and May, and the leaves turn bronze in fall and winter.
Heartleaf Bergenias are suitable for flower borders and reach full maturity between 2 to 5 years. The plant doesn’t need much care, although some deadheading is required to keep the plant looking great.
This plant thrives in rich loamy soil and can tolerate clay soil. It requires consistent moisture, and a layer of mulch will keep the soil moist. Heartleaf Bergenias can tolerate partial to full shade but are prone to snail and slug damage.
Marigold
Marigold blooms come in bright shades of yellow, orange, red, white, and even gold. Some of them are small single-petal blooms, while others are 4-inch double-petal flowers.
This plant is fast-growing in optimum conditions and will bloom throughout summer with little to no maintenance once established. Marigolds need access to the full sun because the shade can make the plant become too leggy.
The plant thrives in neutral to slightly alkaline soil and should be watered regularly as it doesn’t tolerate drought until it’s more established. However, Marigolds need regular fertilizing, and flowering will decrease slightly in the summer heat.
Black-Eyed Susan
The black-eyed Susan is a fast-growing plant that reaches its maximum height of 3 feet after two to three years of planting. The plant grows daisy-like yellow blooms with large seed heads.
If you’re a novice gardener, black-eyed Susans will work for you because they don’t need much care other than regular deadheading of spent flowers to keep them in bloom for a longer period. When planted in spring, the first blooms appear in the first summer.
You need to plant black-eyed Susans in full sun, but they can tolerate some partial shade. They need to grow in soil that is well-drained, but it doesn’t have to be too rich. They need about one inch of water per week until they’re well-established, but after that, they will become drought-resistant.
Wrap Up: What Flowers Grow Well in Oregon?
The weather in Oregon can be a little unpredictable, but this won’t stop you from growing some of the brightest blooms in your garden. Some of these blooms need very little care, so they’ll work for you even if you don’t have time to attend to your garden.
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