As we head into Fall here in the Ozarks, there is a good chance your gardens are starting to lose color. A great way to combat this problem is to plant fall flowering plants. With a little knowledge, you can add a lot of color to your garden. We have compiled a list of 3 fall flowering plants that come in perennial and annual form. In this article, we discuss only using the annual forms of each plant.
1. Chrysanthemum – “Mums” come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. 
They grow best in full sun and prefer a well drained soil. Make sure to dig the planting hole extra deep to keep water from standing at the bottom of the root system. A trick to make sure that you have color all fall with the mums is to pick plants that are in different stages of their flowering. Choose some mums that are already in bloom and some that will not bloom for another couple weeks. Also make sure to deadhead any wilted or dead flowers to keep a nice appearance and encourage more flowers to bloom.
2. Pansy/Viola – Pansies and violas are cool weather flowers that come in many different colors including bi-colors 
and tri-colors. They have a distinct look as many look like they have a face in the middle of the flower. Pansies and Violas are best grown in Full sun to partial shade and prefer partial shade as the temperature rises. They are a smaller flower reaching heights of 4-8 inches tall and 8-12 inches wide. They grow very well in pots or baskets or for best results when planting in the ground, make sure the soil is well drained, and slightly on the acidic side.
3. Aster – China Asters are the annual form of this beautiful flower. Many times the China Asters are mistaken for Mums. 
Coming in many colors and sizes, this fall bloomer is sure to add color to your garden. The China Aster is a low maintenance flower that needs rich, well drained soil when planted in beds. They are also great for planting in containers. Dead heading flowers does not encourage more blooms so all you need to do is plant this flower and water it once a week. A good fertilizer will help these flowers grow and re-bloom. These flowers do best in full sun and can take part sun as well
If you are in the Springfield, MO Metropolitan area and adding these plants to your garden seems like more work than you prefer, contact us now to schedule a free estimate. We can set you up with a landscape maintenance plan that ensures your garden and beds are always trimmed, weeded, fed, and have plenty of color.
