5 shrubs with magnificent blooming in fall and autumn

Updated on 22 September 2026Published on 20 July 2019

Some shrubs have the advantage of flowering during the entire fall season.

They let us make-believe that the summer is extendeduntil the beginning of winter and decorate your garden accordingly.

Part of a hedge or standalone, in pots or garden boxes on your own terrace, here are the shrubs that bloom in fall.

Autumn-flowering shrubs at a glance

The shrubs below are all widely sold in garden centres and seed catalogues, and each one carries flowers or fruit into the second half of the year. Compare them on height first, then on flower colour and on how long the display lasts.

Autumn-flowering shrubs at a glance
Variety	Height	Flower colour	Flowering season
Caryopteris × clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’	About 1 m	Deep blue	Late summer to early autumn
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’	About 2 m	Lime-green ageing to pink	Midsummer to mid-autumn
Leycesteria formosa ‘Golden Lanterns’	1.5–2 m	White flowers in claret bracts	Midsummer to mid-autumn
Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii ‘Profusion’	2–3 m	Pale lilac flowers, then violet berries	Midsummer flowers, berries from mid-autumn

Shrubs that bloom in fall

Himalayan honeysuckle keeps flowering right through autumn	Himalayan honeysuckle
Clerodendron extends the summer look into autumn	Clerodendron (also shown in main picture above)
	Caryopteris
Callicarpa, the candy tree, decorates the autumn garden	Callicarpa, the candy tree
Cestrum flowers on until the beginning of winter	Cestrum

Read also on shrubs:

Frequently Asked Questions

How late in the year do these shrubs keep going?

They flower through the whole of autumn and keep the garden furnished until the beginning of winter. That is what makes them so useful: they stretch the season well past the point where most summer shrubs have finished. Planted together, they carry colour from the end of summer to the first weeks of winter.

Can autumn-flowering shrubs be grown in pots?

Yes. They suit pots and garden boxes on a terrace just as well as open ground, which is handy if you want the late flowers close to the house. The same shrubs can also be planted as a standalone specimen where you want a single focal point.

Are these shrubs suitable for a hedge?

They are. Any of them can be used as part of a hedge, or grown standalone if you prefer to show off one plant on its own. Using late-flowering shrubs in a hedge means the boundary is still in flower when the rest of the garden has wound down.

Images: CC BY 2.0: chuck b., Pete Beard; Pixabay: Biokiskert, Manseok Kim, Manseok Kim, Sonja Kalee

Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.

La page de Gaspard Lorthiois

Autumn-flowering shrubs at a glance

Shrubs that bloom in fall

Get our gardening tips, recipes and seasonal advice