Tennessee has a relatively mild climate all year round. This means that if you take good care of your garden, you can enjoy bright and attractive blooms most of the year.
So, what flowers grow well in Tennessee?
There are a lot of warm-climate perennials that can grow well in Tennessee. All plants that grow well between USDA growing zones 5b to 8a will tolerate the weather in your Tennessee garden.
Keep on reading because, in this article, we’ll highlight some of the most attractive flowers to consider if you want to add a pop of color to your garden if you live in Tennessee.
8 Splendid Flowers that Grow Well in Tennessee?
Enjoying vibrant colors to enhance your landscape is easy if you live in Tennessee. In this section, we’ll talk about the top flowers that you should consider growing.
Purple Passionflower
The purple passionflower is an eye-catching flower that grows from an evergreen tendril-climbing vine. The plant grows beautiful tropical-looking flowers in shades of pink and purple that bloom in summer, attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators to your garden. From September to November, this plant grows fruits.
This plant spreads fast, growing on walls and trellises. However, if you want to encourage flowering and fruiting, grow it in a container, as this will restrict foliage growth and preserve the plant’s energy.
The purple passionflower thrives in full sun, but it’s not picky regarding the soil. As long as the soil is well-draining and kept moist, this plant will grow properly. As a matter of fact, it prefers poor soil over fertile and rich soil.
Slow and deep watering at the roots keeps the plant in excellent condition, and you can even apply a layer of mulch to retain moisture. Regular light feeding can help this plant as long as the fertilizer isn’t too rich in nitrogen.
Bee Balm
The bee balm is a weedy plant that reaches a maximum height of 4 feet in optimum growing conditions. It blooms in the summer with spiky flowers that can be purple, pink, or scarlet red. These beautiful blooms attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds to your garden.
You can plant the bee balm even if you’re a beginner because it doesn’t need much care. Just make sure you divide it every few years to control its growth because it can spread quickly.
Although it can tolerate partial shade, this plant thrives when it receives at least six hours of sun exposure. The bee balm plant prefers slightly acidic, moist, well-draining soil, and a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer will boost growth when applied every spring. You should water it once per week in the colder months and more often in the warmer months.
Balloon Flower
This plant is a clump-forming perennial that grows puffy balloon-like star-shaped flowers. The flowers bloom in summer and come in different shades of blue, violet, pink, and white, although the blue-violet cultivars are more common.
This is an excellent choice for beginner gardeners who want to add a pop of color to their gardens. You can plant your balloon flowers after the last frost, and they’ll bloom in the first year.
The flowers thrive in full sun, but some afternoon shade will be appreciated if the area is too hot. They prefer to grow in slightly acidic to neutral loamy soil and need good drainage, or they can suffer from root rot.
Balloon flowers require a moderate amount of moisture in the soil but can tolerate some drought. Thanks to their attractive shades, balloon flowers are suitable for rock gardens and will attract pollinators to your butterfly garden.
White Wakerobin
If you have a wildflower garden in Tennessee, then a white wakerobin should be on top of your list. The plant is a hardy perennial that reaches a size between 1 and 3 feet tall, depending on the growing conditions.
On top of every stem, a single waxy white flower grows, and it turns pink with age. Some cultivars are pink or red, but they’re less common.
Native Americans often ate the roots of the white wakerobin for medicinal purposes, and the leaves are still cooked in several traditional recipes. This plant thrives in full sun but can tolerate some partial shade, and the blooms usually appear in May and June.
The white wakerobin takes about five years to bloom when grown from seeds. It prefers to grow in slightly acidic, moist, loamy or sandy soil to guarantee good drainage. Adding a layer of mulch will retain the moisture in the soil to support the plant’s growth.
Evening Primrose
Adding a night bloomer like the evening primrose will guarantee that your garden will look its best throughout the day. You can plant this fast-growing herbaceous perennial in late fall, and it will bloom in the summer of the second year of its life, growing attractive yellow flowers.
The fragrant lemon-scented flowers open in the afternoon and at night, attracting different nighttime pollinators like bats and moths to your garden. The evening primrose plant self-seeds, so you need to pay attention to how it spreads, or it might take over your garden.
In order to grow, this plant should receive between six and eight hours of sunlight, although it can tolerate some partial shade. It can grow well in rocky and sandy soil, but having good drainage is a must.
The evening primrose requires regular watering, especially in the summer when the temperature is high. Adding a layer of mulch keeps the roots cool throughout summer.
If you’re a novice gardener, you can definitely manage to plant the evening primrose in your moon garden. Just remove the spent flowers and discard them to control the plant’s growth.
Lenten Rose
The Lenten rose isn’t a real rose but actually a perennial that gets its name from the flower’s blooming season, which is around the Christian season of Lent in winter. The plant grows to reach a maximum height of 18 inches, and the blooms come in different colors of cream, white, pink, rose, purple, yellow, purple, and even maroon. Different cultivars can have markings or be smooth or ruffled.
This plant is rather hardy and deer-resistant, so it’s suitable for woodland gardens. However, it’s toxic to humans and pets, so you need to plant it where your kids and pets won’t reach.
The Lenten rose takes about three years to reach full maturity when grown from seeds. This plant is sensitive to light and thrives in partial or full shade. The perfect spot to plant your Lenten rose is under a big deciduous tree, which provides shelter from the hot sun in the summer. However, the plant can receive some light when the leaves fall in winter.
The Lenten rose thrives in rich, fertile, well-draining soil, and adding a layer of compost or fertilizing the plant regularly will enhance its growth. The water should be moist but not soggy to avoid root rot.
Virginia Bluebell
If you have a shady garden in Tennessee, you can still enjoy vibrant and attractive flowers by growing the Virginia bluebell plant. This plant reaches a height of 2 feet and grows pink buds that open to show blue hearts. The flowers are bell-shaped and bloom in the early summer, attracting bees and butterflies.
Virginia bluebells are among the earliest bloomers in your garden, and you should leave a space of 12 to 18 inches between rhizomes to give them room to grow. Growing the plant under an old tree will protect it from the strong sun in the summer, as this plant thrives in partial to full shade.
Moderate watering is needed, especially when the plant is still young until the rhizomes establish. You can add a layer of compost on top of the soil to promote growth, as Virginia bluebells thrive in rich, fertile, well-draining soil.
Wrap Up: What Flowers Grow Well In Tennessee?
In Tennessee, you can grow multiple beautiful flowers that bloom at different times of the year to enrich your garden with vibrant colors. You need to study your landscape design and choose adequate plants that suit your garden’s nature and your experience level to enjoy the flowers’ beauty year after year.
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