15 of the Best Annuals for Vivid Fall Color

15 of the Best Annuals for Vivid Fall Color

The end of summer doesn’t have to mean the end of color in the garden. With bright annuals, you can rejuvenate the autumn garden and extend the growing season until the winter winds blow.

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Read on to discover 15 plants that are either true annuals, or tender perennials commonly grown as annuals, with vivid hues that shout, “Welcome, fall!”

Calendula, Calendula officinalis, aka pot marigold, is actually a tender perennial in warm climates, but it is widely grown as an annual in cool locales. Sow seeds in spring for richly-hued orange, yellow, and peach blossoms right through fall.

Heights range from dwarf to approximately two feet. And you can deadhead spent blossoms to encourage blooming throughout the growing season.

Calendula seeds are available from Eden Brothers in a variety of hues, petal configurations, and sizes.

Read more about growing pot marigolds here.

I’m sure to get a few comments about including cardinal climber, Ipomoea sloteri, because it can become invasive.

A hybrid created by Logan Sloter of Columbus, Ohio, this cross between a red morning glory (I. coccinea) and a cypress vine (I. quamoclit) was created by hand pollination. It’s also known as I. x multifida.

Often called cypress vine, its flowers are brilliant red trumpets, and its leaves clearly represent both species, with both a heart-shaped and a feathery formation.

What’s fun about this plant is that it’s a vigorous grower that will happily climb a trellis or spread out across a fence from summer until frost, punctuating the landscape with invigorating red