What Flowers Are Purple?

Plants with purple flowers can be found for every niche in the garden: from trees to vines to container plants. They appear in rock gardens, cottage gardens and xeric landscapes. The purples can be vivid or subtle, slide towards pink on one end of the spectrum to blue on the other. Combined with orange or yellow flowers, they help create a vivid landscape; combined with white flowers, the garden can be more subtle and cool.

Jacaranda (Jaracaranda mimosifolia) thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9b through 11. In mid- to late spring the tree is covered with blue to purple blooms. "Purple Robe" Locust (Robinia "PurpleRobe") does well in drier, hotter climates in USDA zones 4 through 8. However, it can spread by suckers and the bark, leaves, seeds are poisonous. Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) has striking purple/pink blooms on bare branches in early spring in USDA zones 4 through 8. Crape myrtles are smaller trees or shrubs that are often trimmed as trees. The cultivar Lagerstromia indica "Muskogee" has blue/purple flowers in summer in USDA zones 7 through 9.

From summer into fall, butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) produce purple spires that attract butterflies and hummingbirds in USDA zones 6 through 8. Hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) grow in USDA zones 3 through 9. They produce rounded bunches of flowers whose colors vary according to soil pH: acidic soils with a pH less than 5.5 produce blue/purple flowers, while greater than 5.5 produce pink/purple. The hardy common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) grows well in USDA zones 3 through 7 and produces fragrant blossoms in spring. Rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.) require acidic soils, moisture and shelter. They bloom from late spring into summer in USDA zones 4 through 9.

There are a large number of hardy perennials with purple flowers that can be the backbone of sunny, xeric or cutting gardens that attract bees and hummingbirds: salvias (Salvia spp.; USDA zones 3 through 10); lavenders (lavandula spp.; USDA zones 4 through 10); penstemons (Pennisetum spp.; USDA zones 3 through 10); Russian sage (Perovskia spp.; USDA zones 4 through 8); and coneflowers (Echinacea spp.; USDA zones 3 through 9). The daisy-like purple asters (Aster spp.; USDA zones 3 through 8) bloom summer into fall. Delphiniums (Delphinium spp.; USDA zones 3 through 7) are more tender, requiring only part sun and moist cool summers for their purple spires.

Morning glories (Ipomoea purpurea) are hardy annual climbers whose purple flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds in USDA zones 2 through 11. However, the seeds can be poisonous and they can be invasive in warmer areas. Wisteria (Wisteria spp.) are deciduous perennials that produce hanging bunches of purple flowers in spring in USDA zones 4 through 9. These vines can be invasive and are also poisonous. Clematis (Clematis "Jackmanii") has single blue/purple blooms in July and grows in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 8.

Annuals are grown in all USDA zones for seasonal interest. Purple annuals can add interest to rock gardens, borders, hanging baskets and containers. Purple pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are hardy annuals that produce flowers winter through fall. Petunias (Petunia spp.) have large deep-purple trumpets from spring into fall -- sometimes with striking white contrast. Lobelia (Lobelia erinus) have showy small blue to violet flowers that do best in cool spring weather. They are deer resistant.