18 Plants With Gorgeous Pink Flowers (2024)

Gardening

Flowers

• 01 of 18

  Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

  

  There are both biennial and perennial species of foxglove, but the one most common in garden cultivation is a biennial (or short-lived perennial) known as Digitalis purpurea. Foxgloves are tall, slender plants, 2 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet in spread, blooming in summer with tubular flowers arranged on spikes.

  Foxgloves are commonly used in mixed border gardens and in cottage gardens, but be aware that plant is listed as a dangerously poisonous plant. It contains chemicals that are extracted and purified for medicinal use to control heart rhythm problems, but when any part of the plant is ingested, it can cause irregular heartbeat and other symptoms—similar to an overdose of the heart medication, digitalis glycoside. Fortunately, cases of fatality are quite rare.

  See Also

  25 Pink Flowering Vines - Identification Guide with Pictures23 Flowering Evergreen Shrubs With Pictures and Identification75 Types of Red FlowersPlants with red flowers

  • USDA Growing Zones: 4–8
  • Color Varieties: Strawberry pink, white, or purple
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, part shade

• 02 of 18

  Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata)

  

  Pink moss phlox is ideally used in combination with reds and purples to create striking color combinations. This plant is a popular ground cover that looks best when spilling down an incline, where the angle is just right for the eye to take in its masses of colorful blossoms in the springtime. It won't offer much visual interest during the other three seasons of the year, but its root system will help prevent erosion on mild inclines.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 3–9
  • Color Varieties: White, pink, violet, purple
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, humusy, well-drained

• 03 of 18

  Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera)

  

  Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is quite similar to Phlox subulata, and the common names are often used interchangeably. Both are low, matt-forming perennials. The flowers of this plant are a deeper shade, more appropriately described as violet than pink. Native to the Appalachian regions, this plant has a later bloom period (July to September) than P. subulata, and it is not appropriate for colder climates.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 5–9
  • Color Varieties: Violet, purple
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, humusy, well-drained

• 04 of 18

  Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

  

  Yet another species of phlox often grown for pink flowers is the tall garden phlox (Phlox paniculata). This 2- to 4-foot tall perennial has similar hues to creeping phlox and moss phlox, but it has summer blooms that begin in mid-summer and run into early fall. The flowers appear in large panicles, making for a very dramatic show. It is a common feature of perennial border gardens, where it mixes well with many other plants.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 4–8
  • Color Varieties: Pink, purple, red, white
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, fertile, well-drained

  Continue to 5 of 18 below

• 05 of 18

  Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia × candida)

  

  Though the white version is better known, this broadleaf evergreen shrub also comes in other colors, including pink and yellow. Pink angel's trumpet is tinged with a light salmon pink at the ends of its flowers; in a certain light, it can be almost a rust color. These sub-tropical and tropical plants are treated as annuals in the North. Bloom time will vary according to conditions. For many Northern gardeners, this is a shrub that blooms in late summer and early fall. In warmer regions, the bloom time is much longer.

  Angel's trumpet plants can grow several feet in height and can make a big splash in the landscape. Many who treat angel's trumpet plants as annuals grow them in large pots and use them as focal points when in bloom. But used in planting beds, their height makes them a valuable addition to the back-row.

  There are two caveats with this plant. First, it is a poisonous species, so be careful growing it around children. And It requires a lot of water and fertilizer, so it's not a shrub you can plant and forget.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 8–10
  • Color Varieties: White, pink, yellow
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, rich, well-drained

• 06 of 18

  Petunia (Petunia Group)

  

  Annuals such as pink petunias can provide a splash of color to "plug the gaps" between your perennials' blooming times. No matter how well you've planned the sequence of bloom for your perennials, there will almost inevitably be gaps in color—periods when no perennial in your garden is offering a particularly showy display. Many annuals, including petunias, have very long bloom periods that will ensure your garden has color for as long as the weather remains frost-free.

  To achieve color for as long as possible, cold-climate gardeners can supplement their perennial plantings with annuals with a reputation for cold-weather performance. Pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, and alyssum all have a good reputation for cold weather tolerance. And petunias, surprisingly, also makes this list. While petunia is a great hot weather annual, along with plants like impatiens, it has a surprisingly good performance in the cool days of spring and fall. Petunias don't tolerate frost, but in growing zones with cool but not freezing winters, they will flower reliably all year long.

  • USDA Growing Zones: Hardy in zones 10–11; grown as annuals everywhere
  • Color Varieties: All colors except brown and black
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained

• 07 of 18

  Million Bells (Calibrachoa Group)

  

  Million bells is a warm-season perennial that is usually grown as an annual in most regions. The plants look very similar to petunias, but with much smaller flowers. The blooms come in many colors, including a variety of light and dark pinks.

  A trailing plant, million bells can also be used effectively in container gardens and hanging baskets. Million bells can also be planted in rock gardens or tall raised beds that give them room to spread out fully while spilling over the sides.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 9–11
  • Color Varieties: Violet, blue, pink, red, magenta, yellow, bronze, white
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Moist, rich, well-drained

• 08 of 18

  Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis)

  

  See Also

  40 Types of Red Flowers with Names and Pictures

  Common hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) is a bulb plant that blooms with full spikes of very full, very colorful, very fragrant flowers in early spring. The strap-like leaves appear around the same time as daffodils, but flowers usually follow the daffodil blooms by a week or so, blooming about the same time as the large hybrid tulips.

  Hyacinth bulbs contain alkaloid compounds that can be poisonous to dogs who dig them up to eat them. Sensitive individuals may experience skin irritation from handling the bulbs while planting them.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 4–8
  • Color Varieties: Pink, blue, purple, red, white
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Average moisture, well-drained

  Continue to 9 of 18 below

• 09 of 18

  Weeping Higan Cherry (Prunus subhirtella)

  

  Not all pink flowers blooming in in spring are herbaceous plants. A variety of pink-flowering trees bloom in spring, and one of the best is the weeping Higan cherry (Prunussubhirtella), a 30-foot deciduous tree that blooms in mid-spring. This species has a better tolerance for summer heat and winter cold than most flowering cherries.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 4–8
  • Color Varieties: Pinkish white to medium pink
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Moist, fertile, well-drained

• 10 of 18

  Mandevilla (Mandevilla spp. and Hybrids)

  

  Mandevilla plants are tropical perennial vines that are often treated as annuals in northerly climes, discarded each fall when the weather turns cold and planted afresh each spring. In warmer climates, they are grown as garden climbers on fences and trellises, growing 10 to 15 feet tall.

  Alternatively, you can plant Mandevilla vines in containers so that they can be brought inside before the frost. Prune them back so that only about 6 inches of growth remains, and store them in a cool nook in your cellar (about 55 degrees Fahrenheit). Water your Mandevilla vines very sparingly during this period. Return the Mandevilla vines to your yard when good weather returns.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 10–11
  • Color Varieties: Pink, white, red
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Rich, well-drained; general-purpose potting mix for container specimens

• 11 of 18

  Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)

  

  Cosmos is an annual flower that grows 1 to 4 feet tall with delicate lacy foliage and large daisy-like flowers that bloom all summer and well into fall. It displays best when combined with plants bearing relatively coarse leaves for contrast.

  Another form of cosmos is Cosmos suphureus. It is a taller plant than C. bipinnatus, with lance-shaped leaves, and it has golden yellow flowers.

  • USDA Growing Zones: Grown as an annual in zones 2–11
  • Color Varieties: Pink, red, or white rays, with yellow centers
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Average moisture, well-drained

• 12 of 18

  Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria)

  

  Rose campion (Lychni coronaria) is a clump-forming perennial plant which has wooly, silver-gray foliage that is equally attractive to the pink-magenta flowers that appear for several weeks in late spring and early summer. It is often grown as an annual or biennial since it is short-lived as a perennial. Plants reach a height of 2 to 3 feet.

  Rose campion is often used in mixed perennial borders, and it also looks good in mass plantings. If flower stems are cut back after blooming, the silver foliage becomes an attractive ground cover.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 4–8
  • Color Varieties: Rose magenta
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun
  • Soil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained; good tolerance for dry soil, which brings out the best foliage color

  Continue to 13 of 18 below

• 13 of 18

  Bleeding Heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis)

  

  Formerly categorized as Dicentra spectabalis, the common bleeding heart has been reassigned to a new genus and is now identified as Lamprocapnon spectabalis. Bleeding heart is a 2- to 3-foot tall perennial plant with leaves that dangle from arching stems and delicate heart-shaped flowers that appear in late spring. The foliage is generally medium green, but there are cultivars with striking golden-yellow foliage, as well.

  Bleeding heart is a child of the spring. While it doesn't bloom as early as some of the spring bulbs, it's vegetation is irrepressible once it emerges, seeming to grow before one's very eyes. Bleeding heart foliage tends to yellow after the plants are done flowering, however; worse yet, the vegetation leaves behind holes in a perennial bed after it dies back. Plant some "summer companions" such as hosta adjacent to your bleeding heart to address this issue.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 2–9
  • Color Varieties: Pink with white, white
  • Sun Exposure: Part shade to full shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained

• 14 of 18

  Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa spp.)

  

  There are several species within the Chionodoxa genus, all known collectively as glory-of-the-snow. These are bulbous plants, which as the name suggests, bloom very early in the spring, often while snow still blankets the ground. Most are blue, violet, or white in color, but one popular cultivar is 'Pink Giant', which is thought to be a cross between C. luciliaeandC. forbesii). Pink Giant isn't all that gigantic, at only 4 to 5 inches tall. The delicate pinkish-white flowers appear in late winter and early spring, then quickly go into dormancy. Glory-of-the-snow will readily spread and naturalize. It is often mixed with daffodils, tulips, and snowdrops in rock gardens, lawns, and woodland gardens.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 3–9
  • Color Varieties: Pink, blue, white
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained

• 15 of 18

  Ornamental Onion (Allium spp.)

  

  The Allium genus includes several bulbous perennial plants that have pink (or pinkish) flowers. Related to the garden onions grown for the table, ornamental onions can bloom from late spring to late fall, depending on species. The flowers are difficult to describe, but are sometimes likened to the look of exploding fireworks—spherical umbrels that in some species can be 9 to 12 inches in diameter. Some notable varieties with pink flowers include:

  • Allium schubertii (tumbleweed onion), with huge rose-purple flowers that bloom in late spring
  • Allium thunbergii (Japanese onion), with 1-inch flower heads that bloom in early fall
  • Allium cernuum (nodding onion), notable for growing well in part shade
  • Allium karataviense (Turkistan onion), with 3- to 6-inch flower heads that appear in late spring to early summer
  • Allium 'Millenium', a hybrid form with 2-inch flower heads that bloom in late summer

  Deer do not like this plant, which is a good thing. But pets may nibble it out of curiosity, which is a bad thing: they can become ill upon ingesting parts of it. Alliums are poisonous plants for cats and dogs.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 4–8 (varies according to species)
  • Color Varieties: Pink, purple, white
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Dry to medium moisture, well-drained

• 16 of 18

  Barrenwort (Epimedium spp.)

  

  The common name barrenwort is used for a number of species in the Epimedium genus as well as hybrids derived from those species. Also known as bishop's hat, these are shade-loving plants that spread by means of rhizomatous roots. A particularly good variety is Epimedium grandiflorum 'Rose Queen', with bold pink flowers that look like little jesters' hats. This plant is valued for its foliage (bronzy in spring) as well as its flowers.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 5–8
  • Color Varieties: Pink, rose, violet, purple, white
  • Sun Exposure: Part shade to full shade
  • Soil Needs: Dry to medium moisture, well-drained, acidic

  Continue to 17 of 18 below

• 17 of 18

  Showy Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp.)

  

  There are several perennial species and cultivars in the Oenothera genus that carry the name "showy evening primrose" and have pink flowers. One, shown here, is Oenothera macrocarpa 'Siskiyou', a widely grown cultivar that blooms from late spring to mid-summer. Another is Oenothera speciosa, a native grassland plant found from Kansas to northwest Mexico.

  The evening primroses are known for having flowers that close during the heat of the day and open up as the sun goes down. They are a good choice for meadows, rock gardens, native gardens, and naturalized areas.

  • USDA Growing Zones: 3–9 (depends on species)
  • Color Varieties: Pink, white, yellow
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
  • Soil Needs: Dry to medium moisture, well-drained

• 18 of 18

  Azaleas (Rhododendron spp.)

  

  Azaleas are deciduous woody shrubs (a few are evergreen) that are closely related to the rhododendrons (and, in fact, belong to the same genus). There are many species and cultivars with pink flowers, and your best bet is to consult a large local nursery or your nearby University Extension service for recommendations on the best species and cultivars for your area.

  Azaleas bloom in early to late spring, and sizes can range from 2 or 3 feet to 20 feet. There are no shrubs more spectacular in the landscape than pink azaleas.

  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–9 (depends on species)
  • Color Varieties: Pink, red, purple, white, yellow, orange
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to full shade, depending on species (most prefer part shade)
  • Soil Needs: Medium moisture, rich, well-drained, acidic