Best Orange Flowers: 14 From Spring to Frost

The best orange flowers for UK gardens give you colour from April to the first frost. Wallflowers and tulips start the season, geum takes over in May, and helenium, crocosmia and dahlias carry on into autumn. Most want full sun, and a few cost no more than a packet of seed.

Orange is a cheerful, warm colour. Use it where you want the eye to land, and cool it with blue or purple nearby. If you’re planning a whole fiery border, our guide to hot border planting shows how to put the scheme together. This list helps you pick the orange plants themselves.

Orange flowers for spring

You don’t have to wait for summer for orange. These three bring warmth to the garden from April.

Tulip ‘Ballerina’ and wallflower ‘Fire King’ bring warm orange to the garden in April and May.

Wallflower ‘Fire King’ (Erysimum cheiri) has scented orange-red flowers from April to May. It’s grown as a biennial, so plant young plants in autumn for flowers the next spring.

Tulip ‘Ballerina’ has elegant, pointed orange flowers with a sweet scent in late April and May. Plant the bulbs in November, about 15cm deep.

Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ grows about 90cm tall, with orange-red flower heads in May and June and good autumn leaf colour. It spreads at the roots, so give it room.

Warning: Euphorbia sap irritates skin and eyes. Wear gloves when you cut it and wash your hands afterwards.

Long-flowering orange perennials

Orange perennials come back every year and bulk up over time. Many flower for months if you deadhead them.

Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is a star. Its airy apricot-orange flowers wave on stems up to about 75cm from May to September. It’s sterile, so it puts its energy into flowers instead of seed. Lift and divide the clump every few years. Our guide to growing geum covers other varieties too.

Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ has orange and red daisies from June to October, at about 90cm. Bees love it. Heleniums like full sun and soil that doesn’t dry out in summer.

Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’ has large orange flowers with a dark red throat in August and September, at about 60cm. Our crocosmia guide explains how to divide the corms.

Kniphofia, or red hot poker, sends up orange torches in summer. Give it a sunny, well-drained spot.

Achillea ‘Terracotta’ has flat heads of rusty orange flowers from June to September, fading to soft gold. It suits a sunny, well-drained border.

Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’ opens in August, keeping the orange going into early autumn.

Orange dahlias for late summer

Dahlias give some of the boldest orange of all, from midsummer to the first frost. They aren’t fully hardy. In cold or wet gardens, lift the tubers in autumn and store them frost-free. In milder areas with free-draining soil, a thick mulch may be enough.

Dahlia ‘David Howard’ has warm orange double flowers over dark bronze leaves, at about 1m. Dahlia ‘Bishop of Oxford’ has single orange flowers with dark leaves, and its open centre is easy for bees to reach.

Deadhead dahlias every few days to keep the flowers coming. Our guide to growing dahlias covers planting, staking and storing tubers.

Orange dahlias with dark leaves look rich in late summer, especially beside purple flowers.

Easy orange flowers from seed

For quick, cheap orange, sow a few packets of annuals. They fill gaps while perennials settle in.

Calendula (pot marigold) is a hardy annual. Sow it straight into the ground from March to May. It flowers through summer and often self-seeds. Our guide to growing calendula covers sowing and deadheading.

Nasturtium trails or climbs, with round leaves and bright orange flowers. Sow outdoors in May once frosts have passed. The leaves and flowers are edible.

California poppy (Eschscholzia) has silky orange flowers and loves poor, dry soil in full sun. Sow it where it’s to flower, as it hates being moved.

Tithonia ‘Torch’, the Mexican sunflower, grows tall with big orange daisies in late summer. Sow it under cover in April and plant out after the last frost.

Calendula and nasturtium are cheap to grow from seed and look cheerful on a veg plot too.

Orange flowers compared at a glance

Month-by-month plan for orange colour

What colours go well with orange?

Blue and purple make orange look its brightest, because they sit opposite each other on the colour wheel. Salvias, catmint, agapanthus and purple verbena are all good partners. Our list of purple, pink and blue flowers has plenty more.

For a hotter look, mix orange with red and yellow. Our pick of the best red flowers gives you the scarlet end of the scheme. Dark bronze foliage, such as on dahlia ‘David Howard’, calms things down. Silver leaves cool orange off nicely too.

Orange geum next to deep blue salvia. Opposite colours make each other look brighter.

Common mistakes with orange flowers

• Too little sun. Nearly every plant here wants full sun. In shade they flower poorly and flop.
• Forgetting to deadhead. Geum, dahlias and calendula slow down once they set seed. Snip off faded flowers each week.
• Planting tender plants too early. Dahlias, nasturtiums and Tithonia are killed by frost. Wait until late May or June to plant them out.
• Choosing only doubles. Double flowers are harder for bees to use. Mix in singles and daisy shapes.
• Letting heleniums dry out. They like sun but sulk in very dry soil. Water in long dry spells and mulch in spring.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best orange flower for a UK garden?

Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is a great all-rounder. It’s hardy, flowers from May to September and doesn’t set seed, so it keeps on flowering. Its airy apricot-orange flowers suit the front or middle of a sunny border.

Which orange flowers bloom for the longest?

Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ and orange dahlias flower for the longest. The geum runs from May to September, and dahlias from midsummer until the first frost. Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ also flowers for months.

Are there orange perennials that come back every year?

Yes, plenty. Geum, helenium, crocosmia, kniphofia, Achillea ‘Terracotta’ and Euphorbia griffithii all come back each year. Dahlias come back too if you lift the tubers or protect them over winter. Calendula and nasturtium are annuals but often self-seed.

What orange flowers grow quickly from seed?

Calendula and nasturtium are the quickest and easiest. Both flower in their first summer from a spring sowing. California poppy is just as easy sown straight into the ground, and Tithonia gives big orange daisies by late summer.

What colours go well with orange in a border?

Blue and purple make orange look its brightest. Salvias, catmint and agapanthus are good partners. For a hot scheme, mix orange with red and yellow, and add dark bronze foliage to calm it down.

Do orange flowers attract pollinators?

Single orange flowers are good for bees and hoverflies. Helenium, single dahlias, calendula and crocosmia are all popular with insects. Fully double flowers look lush but hide their pollen and nectar, so they’re less use to bees.

Now you’ve picked your oranges, add sunny partners from our guide to the best yellow flowers for UK gardens, or browse the plants hub for more ideas.