27 Brilliant Red Flowers to Plant in Your Garden and Bring Your Landscape Together

Planting red flowers is all it takes to cultivate an eye-catching garden. Red is not just a pleasing color to human eyes – it is an excellent way to attract pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies to your space. By choosing red flowers exclusively, you can create a mesmerizing sea of red. Alternatively, layering red with other colors of flowers can give your garden a little variety. Of course, even when limited to red, there are so many different kinds of flowers you can choose from. Bring your red flower plants inside for the winter to enjoy the dazzle all year long.

27 Meaningful Red Flowers to Plant in Your Garden and Take it to the Next Level

1. Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia ‘Country Red’)

Famous for their great gobs of gorgeous flowers, crape myrtles are an excellent choice for many garden landscapes. This variety features massive red flowers and dark green foliage. How large it will get depends on how harsh your winters are – further south, a crape myrtle can grow up to 10 feet.

2. Spider Lily (Lycoris Radiate)

Slender red stamens arc gracefully to give the spider lily both its name and its distinctive appearance. Because it blooms during the autumn equinox, this beautiful lily is associated with transitioning to a new existence. Plant it to remember someone you have lost or simply to enjoy its elegant flowers.

3. Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium ‘Paprika’)

When yarrow blooms, the spray of tiny flowers almost looks like an enchanted mist. All varieties of yarrow are known for medicinal properties, but the ‘Paprika’ variety features dusty rose flowers and aromatic foliage. Using it in a dried flower arrangement is a treat for the nose as well as for the eyes.

4. Columbine (Aquilegia ‘Red Hobbit’)

Featuring fanciful folds and a delicate structure, every aspect of a columbine’s artful petals is designed to attract pollinators. Choosing a specimen with red flowers will entice hummingbirds to your garden. Although you can find columbine with petals in nearly any hue, the ‘Red Hobbit’ variety reveals two-toned petals for an attractive contrast.

5. Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum ‘Yoraquel’ Raquel)

Luscious blooms from fall until frost make chrysanthemums an autumn garden staple. While often seen in containers, they can also overwinter when planted in the ground, depending on your local conditions. If this variety’s moody maroon flowers are not right for your space, chrysanthemums come in plenty of other red shades.

6. Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea ‘Balsomsed’ Sombrero Salsa Red)

Native to North America, coneflower is the perfect red flower to plant in a pollinator garden. Butterflies and birds are particularly partial to these picturesque blooms. This particular variety is distinguished for its red petals and center cone. Although these are usually finished flowering by September, you might spot occasional blooms until frost.

7. Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus ‘Cranberry Crush’)

For generous flowers that measure up to 10 inches, pick a hardy hibiscus. These types of red flowers are a great choice for that patch of soil that never dries out completely. To keep the big blooms coming all season long, you will need to diligently deadhead the old flowers.

8. Tall Bearded Iris (Iris ‘Dutch Chocolate’)

When springtime flowerbeds are overrun with pastels and pale colors, the intensely red chocolate elegance of the ‘Dutch Chocolate’ really shines. However, that might be because tall bearded iris flowers can reach heights of up to 40 inches. When this iris is in bloom, it is a conversation-starting showstopper.

9. Parrot’s Beak (Lotus Berthelotii)

Making a statement is easy when you feature parrot’s beak. Cool, silvery foliage creates a dazzling contrast against the unique red-tipped yellow flowers. If you do not live in the listed hardiness zones, you can still cultivate this tropical plant in a container as long as you mix sand in with your potting mix.

10. Bee Balm (Monarda ‘Gardenview Scarlet’)

Bursts of bright red characterize bee balm’s cheerful appearance. Beyond attracting the eye, this bush attracts pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies to your garden. ‘Gardenview Scarlet’ features tumbles of tubular red flowers that are the perfect landing strip for many passing pollinators. To keep it looking great all season, remove old flowers regularly.

11. Peony (Paeonia ‘Red Charm’)

For a brief 7-10 days, you can bask in the beauty of these breathtaking blooms. Although that flowering season is very short, the resulting flowers are absolutely glorious. To avoid bare spots in your flower garden, plant the ‘Red Charm’ variety alongside other peony varieties that flower at different times.

12. Poppy (Papaver Bracteatum)

With the distinctive dark eye and scarlet petals, poppies are one of the most recognizable types of red flowers. Because of their rich meaning, you can plant a cluster to remember anyone who has fallen in war. To achieve those 8-inch flowers, poppies do require a period of cold winter dormancy.

13. Garden Phlox (Phlox Paniculata ‘Red Riding Hood’)

Even for beginners, big clusters of cool, cherry-hued red flowers are possible. Phlox is easy to grow and reliably produces flowers that seem to glow with an intense inner fire. For an easy perennial that effortlessly returns year after year, ‘Red Riding Hood’ phlox is the red flower to plant.

14. Pineapple Sage (Salvia Elegans)

As an herb, pineapple sage pulls double duty. The elegant tubular flowers can be used as a cocktail garnish while the leaves can be used in potpourri mixes. Although pineapple sage does not overwinter in colder hardiness zones, it can still be grown in containers or treated like an annual.

15. Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus Radicans)

With a lipstick plant, you bring tropical forests right into your garden. Although it takes some extra effort to mix sphagnum into the potting soil, these vines are actually relatively low maintenance. With a distinctive flower-shaped like a tube of lipstick, this plant thrives when planted in hanging baskets.

16. Red Passion Flower (Passiflora Coccinea)

If you are looking for a show-stopping red flower to plant in a container, the red passion flower is the perfect choice. When it starts getting cool outside, bring your potted passion flower inside. If you live in hardiness zone 10 or warmer, your passion flower may even produce a passion fruit.

17. Hybrid Tea Rose (Rosa ‘Jacopper’ Veterans’ Honor)

When it comes to different types of red flowers, roses are the indisputable stars of the show. Roses may take extra care and vigorous pruning, but their long-stemmed blooms are the epitome of classic elegance. Plant this variety as a loose hedge to add a romantic border to your space.

18. Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Florida ‘Red Pygmy’)

Considered the most beautiful flowering tree native to North America, flowering dogwoods are a wonderful feature to accent. Although most varieties produce white flowers, this variety showcases flashy red flowers with distinctive white markings. In late summer and early fall, dogwoods produce a fruit that, while inedible for humans, is beloved by birds.

19. Begonia (Begonia ‘Bepared’ Dragon Wing Red)

Because begonias are so low maintenance, they are the perfect red flowers for beginners to plant. If you live in a cooler hardiness zone, bring your begonia inside during the winter. Alternatively, you could treat it as an annual. This variety features scarlet flowers that persist throughout spring until the first frost.

20. Slipper Flower (Calceolaria Herbeohybrida Group)

If you are an experienced gardener, you may be ready to tackle the temperamental slipper flower. When the cushiony flowers bloom, it feels like a true achievement. Petals are a rich red with yellow accents. Because of their unique shape, slipper flowers both stand out and create some variety in your container flower garden.

21. Powder Puff Tree (Calliandra Haematocephala)

If you live somewhere warm enough to plant this outside, you will be rewarded with joyful crimson puffs. For other climates, this plant can live quite happily in containers. Instead of consisting of petals like most flowers, the powder puff tree’s blood-red spherical flower is a feathery mass of stamens.

22. Tulip (Tulipa)

Whether planted as an accent or a field, tulips are a magical way to add red flowers to your landscape. If you want something more complicated than solid red, there are plenty of tulips that feature variegated petals. Because they perform best during their first two years, tulips are often treated as an annual.

23. French Marigold (Tagetes Patula)

When you think of marigolds, you probably think of cheerful yellow flowers. However, there are plenty of red and bicolor varieties. Red marigolds tend to be a deep burgundy that contrasts beautifully with bright yellows. These are fantastic flowers for beginners, and, if deadheaded promptly, produce a mass of fluffy flowers until frost.

24. Blanket Flower (Gaillardia Aristata ‘Arizona Sun’)

As a plant native to North America, blanket flower is an excellent addition to a pollinator garden. ‘Arizona Sun’ is an award-winning variety that showcases yellow-tipped red petals. Use it along a border or as a patio plant to enjoy flowers all summer long. Make sure to deadhead often, though!

25. Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia ‘Judith Hindle’)

Because it is carnivorous, including a pitcher plant in your landscape is an excellent conversation starter. A large, showy red flower blooms in the spring, and, when mature, the pitchers of this variety are a deep red. As a carnivorous plant, it has unique soil requirements and cannot go directly into potting mix.

The Top 27 Best Red Flowers to Spice Up Your Garden

Beyond visual appearance, red flowers can add so much meaning to your space. From true love to healing, plant flowers that resonate with your journey. While the symbolism for some flowers dates back hundreds of years, do not be afraid to define your own meaning for the red flowers you choose. Whichever red flowering plants you choose, remember to stagger the bloom times. This way, you will be able to enjoy bursts of red in your landscape throughout the year.