Fall containers offers opportunities for two very different sets of gardeners. For one group, fall containers can be an Act 2 (or even Act 3) in home decor. The change of seasons is a chance to switch out light-colored summery plant palettes with hues appropriate for cooler, shorter days and the upcoming ghoul-and-goblin holidays. For other gardeners, fall is more of a “redo” than an Act 2. Perhaps their gardens suffered through summer droughts, pesky pests, and hungry marauding mammals. After throwing up their hands in surrender and taking a break for a few weeks, fall is an opportunity to clear the decks and start again.
No matter the group you find yourself in, rest assured you have plenty of plant options to either start anew or casually integrate into existing container plantings. Using both annuals and perennials—and even some fancy foliage—your fall container décor can work its magic until the winter holidays
Jennifer Rust Botanicals in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the region’s premier container design and installation services. We spoke to Jennifer to find out her go-to items for fall designs. She may be Zone 7b gardening professional, but don’t worry, her combo suggestions are appropriate for more northern regions, too.
Jennifer’s Fall Favorites
Annuals:
Annual flowers that can handle Georgia’s late-summer heat but can also take a touch of frost are tops on Jennifer’s list. These include:
Celosia—She loves the vibrant and deep reds of some varieties.
Multi-colored marigold—Jennifer uses these in lieu of mums (more on why later on).
Coleus—The rich fall colors of the variety ‘Wedding Train’ is one of her favorites to use. Pro Tip from Jennifer: “If you go to a nursery or a garden center [in August] it’s the Coleus that still looks phenomenal.”
Zinnia—She uses the fall-appropriate colors in the shorter-statured Profusion series with great results.
Pansies and violas—Jennifer loves the range of colors available. Watch for them to get leggy if you have a hot start to fall, so maybe use these as a mid-season container refresher.
Perennials:
Echinacea—Echinacea’s rich colors don’t hold up well under Southern summer heat, but they are gorgeous in fall containers with their muted reds, oranges, and yellows.
Euphorbia—‘Ascot Rainbow’, ‘Silver Swan’, and ‘Miner’s Merlot’ add three different accent colors to fall containers—from white and cream variegation to dark purple, each with an unmatched softness about them.
Heuchera—Jennifer tends to plant these later in the fall, but their wide range of leaf colors—from dark purples to bright peaches—will pair really well with pretty much anything you have in your container.
Foliage:
Colocasia—While not necessarily a fall plant, colocasia can take some cool nights, and as a tall center plant in a container, “it just has such a presence about it,” Jennifer says.
Cool-weather greens—Ornamental and culinary kale and cabbage are some of Jennifer’s go-to plants for fall containers. She’s also over the moon about mustards, aka mizuna, specifically the variety ‘Miz America’.
Grasses—Jennifer loves using grasses and carex as other tall plant alternatives. She’s fond of just about all of the fountain grasses as well as ‘Shenandoah’ switch grass.
Jennifer’s Tips for Fall Containers
After numerous seasons of preparing fall planters for her clients, Jennifer has picked up a few tips that result in the best fall displays possible.
About those mums. We mentioned mums above. It’s not that Jennifer doesn’t use them, but she plants them separately and not within a mixed combination. Why? “Mums require cool weather and water when we still have 90 F temperatures,” she explains. “This really makes mums last about a week. So what we do is we will do full fall planting, and then I may do a separate container of mums, like an accent.” And if they do die, Jennifer adds, they can be pulled or replaced without ruining a design.
Think foliage, not flowers. “You need to get less excited about the flowers and more about the colors of the foliage and texture in the fall.” Jennifer also loves to integrate branches from the yard, dried hydrangea flower heads, and seed pods. “It just brings another level of depth to the design,” she adds.
Don’t forget to water. “A big myth is that summer is over and you don’t need to water,” Jennifer says. “We still have warm days, and the warm days are lasting longer and longer.” Always finger touch your soil before you water to gauge the water needs of your containers.
Repurpose your summer plants! You don’t need to start from a blank slate for fall containers. Keep some of your summer blooming and textural plants if they are still looking fresh, such as coleus and summer grasses (they’ll look great as they dry).
Scour the end-of-summer garden center. Many of the components in Jennifer’s fall displays—coleus, celosia, grasses, etc.—can be found as summer leftovers in your local nursery. You might even get them for a discount.
Keep within a color palette. Plants offer so many different colors, and you don’t have to use all of them! Pair the colors well and keep the palette simple.
Lean into the Basics for Success
As mentioned above, fall offers a new season and a new opportunity to garden. There are fewer stressors—heat, humidity, drought, and pests—this time of year. Fall is a chance to end your gardening year with success. We’ve pulled together a few more tips on making sure that’s the case.
Choose the Right Containers: Use containers that have adequate drainage holes to prevent waterlogging. Consider the size of the mature plants and choose pots that are deep and wide enough to accommodate their root systems.
Use Quality Potting Mix: As you’ve heard us say a thousand times before (because we are the experts!), use a high-quality potting media that provides proper drainage, holds essential nutrients and provides “homes” for beneficial microorganisms. Our Container Blend Potting Soil, combining compost, aged forest products, coir, earthworm castings, and rice hulls, fits the bill. And so does our 110 Blend Potting Soil, which includes amazing added components such as biochar, compost, earthworm castings, bone char, azomite, zeolite, alfalfa meal, and kelp meal. Your container designs will thrive in these through the entire season.
Heed Local Frost Advisories: While many fall plants can tolerate some frost, sudden cold snaps can still cause damage. Use frost covers or light blankets to protect your containers during unexpected temperature drops.
For a lot of us in the US, the season’s length can start hot and dry and end in cool flurries. Fall containers can ensure most of that time is spent looking fabulous with flowers and foliage. For inspiration on fall plantings—and all the other seasons—check out Jennifer Rust Botanicals on Instagram.
