16 Fiery Red Perennial Flowers to Set Your Garden Ablaze Year After Year

There’s something about red flowers that stirs the soul—fiery, unmissable, and brimming with energy. Like the crackle of a campfire or the blush of autumn’s first maple leaf, red blooms bring passion and vitality into any garden. And when they’re perennials? Well, that’s a gift that keeps on giving, year after year, without you having to start from scratch each spring.

Picture this: scarlet sprays dancing above the green, ruby petals catching the light like drops of garnet, and deep crimson blooms anchoring your borders like flickers of flame among the foliage. These aren’t just flowers—they’re storytellers. They speak in the language of emotion—love, courage, even a bit of drama—and they do it with an intensity that’s hard to ignore.

Red perennials don’t just decorate a space; they define it. Set against a canvas of green, or nestled beside silvery whites and cool blues, they create sparks of color in hues like apple, vermilion, burgundy, and amaranth. And whether it’s the proud stance of a dahlia, the delicate flare of a freesia, the bold flare of a poppy, or even the serene grace of a red water lily—there’s a bloom out there waiting to steal your heart.

So before we dig into some of my all-time favorite red-flowering perennials, let’s pause and ask: why choose red in the first place?

Why Grow Red Flowering Perennials

Perennials are a favorite among gardeners for good reason—they come back year after year, often growing stronger with time, and the variety available is nothing short of extraordinary. But when those long-lasting blooms come in shades of red, something special happens.

Red is the most commanding color in the garden. That’s not just opinion—it’s how our eyes work. When faced with a sea of colors, we naturally notice the reds first. It’s instinctive. So red-flowering perennials don’t just blend in—they lead. They grab attention, making them ideal for drawing focus or creating bold focal points in beds and borders.

But red goes deeper than just visibility. It’s a color steeped in meaning—linked to love, passion, fire, even blood. It’s alive with energy and emotion. Whether it’s the soft heat of a rosy hue or the bold blaze of crimson, red flowers don’t just decorate a space—they bring it to life.

Mixing Red Flowering Perennials with Other Colors

Because red is so powerful, you need to be careful with how you combine it in your beds and borders. It always changes their overall look, feeling and the impression viewers get of them.

You can mix red with all warm colors, white and green, however. It is, on the other hand, very hard to mix it with blue in all its shades. But be careful with the balance. A lot of red can become overwhelming, and it can overshadow the other colors.

So, use it wisely and choose a perennial variety you love…

16 Best Red-Flowering Perennials to Paint Your Garden with Shades of Fire and Passion

Red is a common color in flowering perennials, especially in summer and fall, a bit less in spring and winter. I’ve handpicked some standout varieties: bold, beautiful, low-maintenance, and suited to a range of gardens and climates. Whether you’re after drama, resilience, or just a splash of warmth, these red bloomers have you covered.

Here they are!

1. ‘Babylon Red’ Dahlia (Dahlia ‘Babylon Red’)

let’s start with a magnificent variety of dahlia, ‘Babylon Red’ for a shocking effect. Its blooms are impossible to miss, because they are fully fiery red, very bright and strong, and massive! In fact, they are 8 inches across (20 cm), fully double and with long, pointed petals arranged in a natural, harmonic but not geometric way. Coming for months on purple stems, they may steal the show from the broad, glossy green leaves.

Instead, the foliage provides an ideal backdrop for this impressive cultivar, by far one of the most showy of all! And it looks even better when butterflies come to visit it…

‘Babylon Red’ dahlia is ideal for a big – very big – effect. It will suit borders perfectly, even stealing the show, or tall flower beds. Of course, it is also an excellent cut flower, also because the stems are long and upright.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 8 to 11.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: mid summer to fall.
• Size: 3 to 4 feet tall (90 to 120 cm) and 1 to 2 feet in spread (30 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: average fertile, well drained and consistently humid loam, clay or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

2. ‘Single Red’ Freesia (Freesia ‘Single Red’)

Also grown as an annual, ‘Single Red’ freesia is actually a fiery cormous perennial for warm regions. The super fragrant blooms come in linear clusters on arching stems, in racemes, opening one after the other. Scarlet red, their lovely rounded and cup shaped, they also have a golden center which you cannot see from outside, but it adds extra brightness and energy to the blooms.

The long and sword shaped green leaves arch beautifully under the floral display. It will require very low maintenance and it is virtually disease free, and it’s a popular variety, easy to find. And it will also flower soon after planting, about 10 to 12 weeks.

‘Single Red’ freesia will bring energy and a strong visual element to beds and borders, but if you live in temperate or cold region, you may wish to grow it in containers. As a cut flower, it will last about 3 weeks!

• Hardiness: USDA zones 9 to 10.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: late spring to early fall.
• Size: 1 to 2 feet tall (30 to 60 cm) and about 6 to 10 inches in spread (15 to 20 cm).
• Soil requirements: average fertile, well drained and evenly humid to dry loam, chalk or sand based soil with pH from neutral to mildly alkaline. It is drought tolerant.

3. ‘Red Sun’ Blanket Flower (Gaillarda x grandiflora ‘Red Sun’)

To light up fires in natural looking gardens even in cold regions, use the blooms of ‘Red Sun’ blanket flower! About 2 inches across, the flowers come in great profusion with their daisy like, round shapes, looking up to the sky. And lighting up your garden with their rich, bright scarlet to eosso corsa red petals, adorned by tiny yellow spots on the tips!

You will see many butterflies and bees hovering above them in search of pollen, and this will add to the herbaceous, gray green and dense foliage that rests under this floral display of heat and energy.

Very strong and reliable, ‘Red Sun’ blanket flower will suit natural looking gardens, in beds, borders and even wild prairies and meadows, always bringing lots of warmth and energy to them!

• Hardiness: USDA zones 3 to 9.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: from early summer to late fall.
• Size: 10 to 24 inches tall (25 to 60 cm) and 1 to 2 feet in spread (30 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: average fertile, well drained, dry to medium humid loam, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline. It is drought and salt tolerant.

4. ‘Red Mountain Flame’ Ice Plant (Delosperma ‘Red Mountain Flame’)

Ice plant is a fairly cold hardy, low and spreading perennial succulent with lovely, drop like leaves tightly packed together. And ‘Red Mountain Flame’ has lovely, stiff and daisy like red flowers with a bright magenta halo in the center that reach about 2 inches across (5.0 cm). They come generously on top of this sweet looking plant, almost covering it completely.

The blooms also offer an interesting contrast with the evergreen foliage, which is bluish green in color. Attractive for butterflies and garden lovers alike, it is also easy to propagate.

Grow ‘Red Mountain Fire’ ice plant in low beds, rock gardens, banks and slopes, containers and border fronts and you will get a low maintenance explosion of energy each year, and jt is also ideal as ground cover.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 6 to 10.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: late spring and early summer.
• Size: 3 to 4 inches tall (7.5 to 10 cm) and 2 to 3 feet in spread (60 to 90 cm).
• Soil requirements: well drained, dry to lightly humid loam or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline. It is drought and rocky soil tolerant.

5. ‘Redhot Popsicle’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia ‘Redhot Popsicle’)

Grow a perennial that looks like flames coming out of your borders for a fiery vertical accent; and ‘Redhot Popsicle’ red hot poker is ideal for this effect! The upright spikes of tubular flowers stick out of the foliage with long lasting blooms, and of course, they are bright scarlet in color! Easy to grow, this energetic plant also offers you a tuft of thin, grass like leaves that sops just under the inflorescences.

This variety is a magnet for pollinators and it combines two personalities, which make it eclectic: it is herbaceous and exotic at the same time!

For this reason you can grow ‘Redhot Popsicle’ red hot poker in naturalistic settings, even cottage gardens, as well as in a tropical garden! It is suitable for beds, borders or containers, also on dry soil.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 6 to 9.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: early summer to mid or late fall.
• Size: 1 to 2 feet tall and in spread (30 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: humus rich, well drained, dry to medium humid loam or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to neutral. It is drought tolerant.

6. ‘Fire of Love’ Tulip (Tulipa greigii ‘Fire of Love’)

There are many red varieties of tulip, and in fact they are your best choice to have this color in spring, but ‘Fire of Love’… We had to pick this cultivar of Tulipa greigii, because the blood red flowers, cupped with pointed and outward turning petals, like a star, and with a dark center are exceptionally bright. And they are big, at 4 inches in diameter (10 cm). But that’s only the start.

The low lying, almost prostrate fleshy leaves, pointed and broad are a match to the floral display. On them, you will see an amazing variegation with stripes of pale blue, purple, cream and gray green!

A spectacular bulbous perennial, ‘Fire of Love’ tulip is a real, show stopper for your beds, border fronts or containers. And you can even naturalize it – and it is very cold hardy as well! Although it makes a good cut flower, you would waste the mind blowing foliage…

• Hardiness: USDA zones 3 to 8.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: mid and late spring.
• Size: 6 to 8 inches tall and in spread (15 to 20 cm).
• Soil requirements: fertile and organically rich, well drained and evenly humid loam, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

7. Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal flower is a herbaceous perennial that takes its name from the color of its blooms: cardinal red indeed! They are small but profuse, and with the typical shape of the Lobelia genus: three long and large lower petals and two smaller ones on top – they look a bit like butterflies. They come on upright stalks that display a purplish color, just above the pointed, mid to bright glossy leaves.  It is a winner of the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Cardinal flower is ideal for gardens with harsh conditions, like wet soil and poor drainage; ideal for pond sides, this disease free perennial can bring a fiery vertical accent also to beds, borders, wild prairies and naturalized areas. And it is a magnet for beneficial insects.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 3 to 9.
• Light exposure: full Sun or partial shade.
• Blooming season: mid summer to mid fall.
• Size: 2 to 4 feet tall (60 to 120 cm) and 1 to 2 feet in spread (30 to 60 cm),
• Soil requirements: even poorly drained, moist to wet loam based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline. It is wet soil tolerant.

8. ‘Sombrero Salsa Red’ Coneflower (Echinacea ‘Sombrero Salsa Red’)

‘Sombrero Salsa Red’ is a flaming variety of Echinacea, one of the world’s favorite daisy like perennials! The flowers are about 3 inches across (7.5 cm), and they look up to the burning Sun with their tart red petals, which softly bend downwards, like a hat for some shade on a hot summer day, hence the name.

Well, the bowl of this floral cap too adds to the similarity, and it is of a darker shade, tending to purple. And these profuse blooms that last from June to the end of August are lightly fragrant as well! The lush, hard and rough, hairy foliage stays under this display, forming a dense clump of medicinal leaves.

‘Sombrero Salsa Red’ coneflower will set your summer beds, borders and wild prairies alight with its energetic blooms and powerful presence. And seeing butterflies and pollinators hovering over this sea of red is an extra pleasure!

• Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 9.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: all summer.
• Size: 2 to 3 feet tall (60 to 90 cm) and 1 to 2 feet in spread (30 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: average fertile, well drained, dry to medium humid loam, clay, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline. It is drought, rocky soil and heavy clay tolerant.

9. ‘Cannova Bronze Scarlet’ Canna Lily (Canna x generalis ‘Cannova Bronze Scarlet’)

Canna lilies are queens of exotic red blooms for hot countries, so it was hard to pick one, but at the end, we opted for ‘Cannova Bronze Scarlet’; let’s see if you agree… The lush, tropical looking blooms that come at the top of this perennial in succession are of the most convincing bright scarlet color ever, hence part of the name. The stalk is actually purple, giving you a lovely contrast.

But then there’s also the bronze… And you will find it in its lush, glossy, broad and long evergreen leaves! Spectacular and easy to grow, this compact variety is a real show stopper and a winner of the Fleuroselect Star Award!

For lush and exotic borders or beds, and small enough to grow in containers for colder regions, ‘Cannova Bronze Scarlet’ canna lily is ideal for both vertical accent and even as a centerpiece.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 8 to 11.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: from late spring to fall!
• Size: 2 to 4 feet tall (60 to 120 cm) and 1 to 2 feet in spread (30 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: fertile, organically rich, well drained and medium humid loam, clay, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

10. Grand Flowered Horned Poppy (Glaucium grandiflorum)

Coming to your garden from the Middle East, grand flowered horned poppy is a perennial variety of the most iconic red flower of summer fields! The round blooms with the delicate looking petals are about 1.5 inches across (4.0 cm) and they bright candy in color, with broad black patches at the centers, which frame the golden anthers in the middle.

Blooming till late in the season, they give way to black pods that last till late in the year. The leaves are deeply cut, scalloped and blue gray in shade, giving you both rich texture and a lovely contrast with the blossoms.

Grand flowered horned poppy will spark up your summer days popping (pun) up its warm and sunny blooms from your beds, borders and even in naturalized areas or rock gardens, looking great in an informal style garden. And it’s ideal for xeriscaping as well!

• Hardiness: USDA zones 7 to 10.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: summer.
• Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and in spread (60 to 90 cm).
• Soil requirements: poor to moderately fertile, well drained, dry to lightly humid loam, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline. It is drought tolerant.

11. ‘Atom’ Sword Lily (Gladiolus nanus ‘Atom’)

Let’s now look at an unusual, dwarf sword lily with a special red elegance. Other varieties of Gladiolus have fuller inflorescences, and there are many of our color, but this heirloom cultivar, introduced in 1946, has become very popular for a reason. The blooms are spaced and loose on the stalk, giving it a natural looking personality, and the bright scarlet petals are defined by a silver white thin line that follows the margins.

Even if the flower heads are fewer than in other varieties, they will last for up to 3 weeks each. The thin and long, blade like foliage that points upward under the flowering spikes add to the thin and gentle appearance of this perennial.

Ideal for beds, borders and containers, and also good as a cut flower, ‘Atom’ sword lily is particularly suitable to traditional and informal gardens, including cottage garden and other naturalistic designs.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 5 to 10.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: all summer.
• Size: 2 to 3 feet tall (60 to 90 cm) and 3 to 4 inches in spread (7.5 to 10 cm).
• Soil requirements: fertile and humus rich, well drained and medium humid loam, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

12. ‘Red Elf’ Tickseed (Coreopsis ‘Red Elf’)

If you grow ‘Red Elf’ tickseed in your garden you will have floating disks of color that look like they hover above your borders… Yes, because the deep burgundy red blooms come on such thin stalks that they appear to fly.

Daisy like in shape and delicate looking despite the strong coloring, they come very abundantly from summer well into the late season, and they have an eye catching, bright golden yellow center that lifts the whole display up. The healthy foliage is mid green and very dense, a few inches under the floral display, and its stays fresh all through the season.

For its natural look, ‘Red Elf’ tickseed is really at home in an informal herbaceous border or bed, and really essential to bring a spark of fiery energy to a cottage garden. But you can also grow it in containers if you wish.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 5 to 9.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: summer and fall.
• Size: 8 to 12 inches tall (20 to 30 cm) and 10 to 24 inches in spread (25 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: average fertile, well drained, dry to medium humid loam, chalk or sand based soil with ph from mildly acidic to neutral. It is drought and rocky soil tolerant.

13. ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ Peony (Paeonia ‘Scarlet O’Hara’)

For a shrubby perennial with red blooms also in part shade positions, I suggest you have a look at ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ peony. As the name suggests, the flowers are cupped, almost like a bowl and bright scarlet. The sweet looking but also intense single blooms also display a ring of golden yellow stamens in the center.

The floral display will make an excellent contrast with the finely cut, dense and decorative bright green foliage, which will add texture to your garden. And this peony variety also blooms in late spring, where it is hard to get blossoms of the color of fire. It is a winner of the Award of Landscape Merit.

Ideal for herbaceous borders and informal flower beds, ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ peony is a low maintenance and very generous perennial that likes a sheltered position, like near a wall, and it doubles as a passionate and romantic cut flower.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 3 to 8.
• Light exposure: full Sun or partial shade.
• Blooming season: late spring and early summer.
• Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and in spread (60 to 90 cm).
• Soil requirements: fertile and organically rich, well drained and medium humid loam, clay, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

14. ‘Monte Negro’ Asiatic Lily (Lilium auratum ‘Monte Negro’)

With lilies too, there is a large choice of red varieties, some jaw dropping too, like ‘Black Beauty’, but the Asiatic ‘Monte Negro’ has one special quality: the whole bloom is red! The stamens and pistil are dark wine red in color, on the burgundy side, the petals shade from dark to crimson and scarlet, and they have very dark red spots towards the center. About 8 inches across (20 cm), they have narrower petals than other species, which gives them extra elegance. The long green stems with pointed leaves will bear about 7 to 10 heads each!

Shade tolerant but extremely showy, ‘Monte Negro’ is a great asset for beds, borders and of course as a cut flower as well. If you plant the bulbs in groups of 3 to 5, you will get exotic looking clumps of show stopping red flowers!

• Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 8.
• Light exposure: full Sun or partial shade.
• Blooming season: early and mid summer.
• Size: 2 to 3 feet tall (60 to 90 cm) and 1 to 2 feet in spread (30 to 60 cm).
• Soil requirements: fertile, well drained and loose, medium humid loam, clay, chalk or sand based soil with pH from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

15. Red Trillium (Trillium erectum)

But you can even have spring flowers of our fiery color in spring, and in shade! And a very interesting one as well: red trillium. The blooms have 3 dark ruby to wine red petals in a triangle shaped like drops. Between them, you will see 3 sepals of a green copper tint that repeat the geometric theme on a thinner and smaller scale. The whole flower is about 2 to 4 inches across, or 5 to 10 cm.

The dark purple centers shows off the pistils, which are white! And the foliage… The large, bright green, herbaceous and veined leaves look like beating hearts from whose center the blossoms come!

Perfect for woodland gardens and shady spots, this unusual red flowering perennial, red trillium, is also excellent to underplant shrubs and roses, and it has won the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society.

• Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 7.
• Light exposure: partial shade or full shade.
• Blooming season: from mid spring to early summer.
• Size: 1 to 2 feet tall (30 to 60 cm) and 1 foot in spread (30 cm).
• Soil requirements: deep, fertile and humus rich, well drained and medium humid loam, clay or sand based soil with pH from acidic to neutral.

16. ‘Red Flare’ Tropical Water Lily (Nymphaea ‘Red Flare’)

And you may want to have amazing red blooms from perennials in your ponds as well… So ‘Red Flare’ is a rare water lily variety that satisfies your needs… The elegant, iconic looking flowers that rise above the surface are in fact ruby red, and massive in size, reaching a whopping 10 inches across (25 cm)!

This aquatic plant has more to offer you… The large, round and serrated leaves that float on the water have a diameter of up to 12 inches, or 30 cm, and they are deep, dark purple, of a shade that is called “mahogany”! What an impressive looking variety! Then again, it is also very fragrant!

You don’t even need a deep pond to grow this jaw dropping variety of water lily, ‘Red Flare’ because it is quite short but it spreads wide. In any case, just have a look at it: it’s literally incredible!

• Hardiness: USDA zones 10 to 11.
• Light exposure: full Sun.
• Blooming season: early summer to mid fall.
• Size: 8 to 12 inches tall (20 to 30 cm) and 4 to 6 feet in spread (1.2 to 1.8 meters).
• Soil requirements: poorly drained, wet clay pellets containing the corms in clay or loam based soil under about 1 foot of water (30 cm).

RED FLOWERS, LIKE FIRE, IN ANY GARDEN

Red like love, red like fire, and red like the amazing flowers of our perennials! Beautiful and impossible to miss, you have seen amazing varieties for all gardens and all conditions. From dry loving beauties to water lilies, summer, fall and even spring bloomers, for sunshine and for shade… So, if you want some crimson, ruby or scarlet, you now know which varieties to choose…