That’s why I’m excited to share these 12 fast-growing flowers that deliver quick, colorful blooms.
Whether you’re a beginner or just impatient (like me!), these flowers will transform your garden from bare to beautiful in record time.
So grab your gardening gloves, because we’re about to discover the perfect flowers for those of us who want gorgeous results – fast!
Jump to Your Favorite 12 Fast-growing flowers for quick blooms
Quick Comparison: How Fast Will They Bloom?
| Flower | Days to Germination | Days to Bloom | Sunlight Needs | Difficulty Level |
| Zinnia | 5-7 | 50-60 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Marigold | 5-10 | 50-70 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Nasturtium | 7-10 | 50-60 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Cosmos | 7-10 | 50-60 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Morning Glory | 5-10 | 50-90 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Sunflower | 7-14 | 60-80 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Sweet Alyssum | 5-10 | 60 | Part Shade | Easy |
| Calendula | 5-10 | 45-60 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Petunia | 7-10 | 40-60 | Full Sun | Easy |
| Pansy | 7-14 | 60-75 | Part Sun | Moderate |
| Snapdragon | 7-14 | 60-90 | Full Sun | Moderate |
| Black-Eyed Susan | 7-14 | 60-90 | Full Sun | Easy |
1. Zinnia
12 Fast-growing flowers for quick blooms
Zinnias are my absolute favorite fast-growing flowers because they’re practically foolproof.
These colorful blooms will transform your garden in just 50-60 days from seed to flower.
I love how they come in so many vibrant colors – from bright pinks and oranges to deep purples and crisp whites.
What makes zinnias special is their ability to keep blooming all summer long, especially if you deadhead the spent flowers.
They’re also excellent for cutting gardens, so you can enjoy them indoors too!
How to Grow Zinnias
- Planting Time: After the last frost date in spring
- Sunlight: Full sun (6+ hours daily)
- Soil: Well-draining, moderately fertile soil
- Watering: Regular watering at the base, allowing soil to dry between waterings
- Spacing: 6-18 inches apart depending on variety
Pro Tip: Deadhead spent zinnia blooms regularly to encourage continuous flowering throughout the summer and into fall!
2. Marigold
Marigolds are my go-to flowers when I need quick, reliable color.
These hardy annuals bloom in just 50-70 days from seed and keep flowering until frost.
Their warm golden, orange, and yellow tones instantly brighten any garden space.
But marigolds aren’t just pretty they’re also incredibly useful!
I plant them around my vegetable garden because they help repel pests naturally. Their strong scent keeps many harmful insects away from your precious veggies.
How to Grow Marigolds
- Planting Time: After danger of frost has passed
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Adaptable to most soil types, even poor soil
- Watering: Moderate – allow soil to dry between waterings
- Spacing: 6-12 inches apart
Pro Tip: Plant marigolds around tomatoes and other vegetables to naturally repel pests and attract beneficial insects!
3. Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are among my favorite fast-growing flowers because they’re not only beautiful but also edible!
These cheerful blooms germinate quickly and flower within 50-60 days, producing vibrant blooms in shades of red, orange, yellow, and cream.
I love how versatile nasturtiums are – they can trail from hanging baskets, climb trellises, or create a colorful ground cover.
Their round leaves are just as attractive as their flowers, creating a lush display even before blooming begins.
How to Grow Nasturtiums
- Planting Time: After the last frost
- Sunlight: Full sun to light shade
- Soil: Poor to average soil – avoid rich soil which produces fewer flowers
- Watering: Moderate – don’t overwater
- Spacing: 10-12 inches apart
Pro Tip: Both nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible with a peppery flavor similar to watercress. Try them in salads for a spicy kick and beautiful garnish!
4. Cosmos
Cosmos are my secret weapon for adding height and airy elegance to any garden.
These delightful flowers grow quickly from seed and bloom within 50-60 days.
Their daisy-like flowers come in shades of pink, white, magenta, and orange, creating a dreamy, cottage-garden feel.
What I love most about cosmos is how low-maintenance they are.
In fact, they actually perform better in poor soil!
Too much fertilizer will result in more foliage and fewer flowers, so they’re perfect for neglected garden spots.
How to Grow Cosmos
- Planting Time: After all danger of frost has passed
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Average to poor soil – avoid rich soil
- Watering: Low to moderate – drought tolerant once established
- Spacing: 12-18 inches apart
Pro Tip: Cosmos will often self-seed, so you might get volunteer plants the following year without any effort!
5. Morning Glory
Morning glories are my favorite fast-growing vines that can transform a bare fence or trellis into a flowering masterpiece in just one season.
These vigorous climbers bloom within 50-90 days from seed and produce stunning trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white.
True to their name, morning glory flowers open in the early morning and close by afternoon.
This daily show makes them especially magical for early risers who can enjoy their beauty with morning coffee.
How to Grow Morning Glories
- Planting Time: After soil has warmed in late spring
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Average, well-draining soil
- Watering: Moderate – weekly during dry periods
- Support: Provide trellis, fence, or other climbing structure
Pro Tip: Soak morning glory seeds overnight before planting to speed up germination. Be aware they can self-seed enthusiastically in some areas!
6. Sunflower
Sunflowers bring me so much joy with their cheerful faces and impressive height.
These summer favorites grow remarkably fast, with dwarf varieties like ‘Sunspot’ blooming in just 60-80 days from seed. Their iconic yellow blooms with dark centers create instant impact in any garden.
I’m always amazed at how quickly sunflowers grow sometimes several inches per week!
Children especially love growing these giants and watching their rapid progress throughout the summer.
How to Grow Sunflowers
- Planting Time: After the last frost when soil has warmed
- Sunlight: Full sun (6-8 hours daily)
- Soil: Average, well-draining soil
- Watering: Moderate – deep watering once a week
- Spacing: 6-24 inches apart depending on variety
Pro Tip: For the fastest results, choose dwarf varieties like ‘Teddy Bear’ or ‘Sunspot’ which mature more quickly than giant types!
7. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum is my go-to flower when I need a fast-growing ground cover or cascading plant for containers.
These dainty flowers bloom within 60 days from seed and create a carpet of tiny, fragrant blooms in white, purple, or pink.
What I love most about sweet alyssum is its delightful honey-like fragrance that attracts beneficial insects to your garden.
The plants stay relatively low (6-10 inches) but spread up to 14 inches wide, making them perfect for edges and borders.
How to Grow Sweet Alyssum
- Planting Time: Early spring or fall in warmer climates
- Sunlight: Part shade to full sun (prefers afternoon shade in hot climates)
- Soil: Well-draining soil
- Watering: Regular watering – keep soil consistently moist
- Spacing: 6-8 inches apart
Pro Tip: If sweet alyssum starts looking leggy in midsummer, trim it back by about one-third to encourage fresh growth and more blooms!
8. Calendula
Calendula, also known as pot marigold, is one of the fastest-growing flowers you can plant.
These cheerful blooms germinate in just 5-10 days and flower within 45-60 days, making them perfect for impatient gardeners like me!
I appreciate calendula for its bright yellow and orange daisy-like flowers that bloom prolifically from spring until frost.
But they’re more than just pretty calendula has medicinal properties and can be used in salves and teas.
How to Grow Calendula
- Planting Time: Early spring or fall
- Sunlight: Full sun to part shade
- Soil: Average, well-draining soil
- Watering: Moderate – allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
- Spacing: 8-12 inches apart
Pro Tip: Calendula is edible! The petals can add a peppery, saffron-like flavor to salads, soups, and rice dishes.
9. Petunia
Petunias are some of my favorite fast-growing flowers for adding vibrant color to containers and garden beds.
These popular annuals bloom within 40-60 days and continue flowering all season long with proper care.
What makes petunias special is their incredible variety they come in virtually every color except true blue, with solid, striped, or speckled patterns.
Their trumpet-shaped blooms can be single or double, ruffled or smooth, giving you endless options for garden design.
How to Grow Petunias
- Planting Time: After all danger of frost has passed
- Sunlight: Full sun (at least 6 hours daily)
- Soil: Rich, well-draining soil
- Watering: Regular watering – allow soil to dry slightly between waterings
- Spacing: 12 inches apart
Pro Tip: Pinch back leggy petunia stems by about half their length in midsummer to encourage bushier growth and more flowers!
10. Pansy
Pansies are my favorite cool-season flowers that provide quick color when many other plants aren’t blooming.
These charming flowers with “face-like” markings bloom within 60-75 days from seed and thrive in cooler temperatures of spring and fall.
I love pansies for their incredible color range purples, yellows, whites, oranges, and near-blacks often with contrasting centers that look like little faces.
They’re perfect for early spring gardens when you’re craving color after winter.
How to Grow Pansies
- Planting Time: Early spring or fall
- Sunlight: Full sun to part shade (afternoon shade in warmer regions)
- Soil: Rich, well-draining soil
- Watering: Regular watering – keep soil consistently moist
- Spacing: 6-10 inches apart
Pro Tip: Pansies are edible flowers with a mild, minty flavor! Use them to decorate cakes, garnish salads, or freeze in ice cubes for special drinks.
11. Snapdragon
Snapdragons add vertical interest and unique texture to any garden with their tall spikes of dragon-mouth shaped flowers.
These cool-season bloomers flower within 60-90 days from seed and come in a rainbow of colors from whites and yellows to pinks, reds, and purples.
What makes snapdragons special is their distinctive flower shape each bloom can be gently squeezed on the sides to open and close like a little mouth!
This feature makes them especially fun for children’s gardens.
How to Grow Snapdragons
- Planting Time: Early spring or fall
- Sunlight: Full sun to part shade
- Soil: Rich, well-draining soil
- Watering: Regular watering at the base of plants
- Spacing: 6-12 inches apart depending on variety
Pro Tip: Deadhead spent snapdragon blooms regularly to encourage more flowering. For the fastest results, choose dwarf varieties which bloom more quickly than taller types!
12. Black-Eyed Susan
Black-Eyed Susans are my favorite perennial for quick, reliable color that returns year after year.
While they take 60-90 days to bloom from seed, they’re worth the slightly longer wait because they’ll come back for many seasons, unlike annuals.
I love these cheerful yellow daisies with dark centers for their drought tolerance and ability to attract butterflies and birds.
They’re perfect for prairie-style gardens and naturalized areas where they can spread and create drifts of golden color.
How to Grow Black-Eyed Susans
- Planting Time: Spring or early fall
- Sunlight: Full sun to part shade
- Soil: Average, well-draining soil
- Watering: Low to moderate – drought tolerant once established
- Spacing: 18-24 inches apart
Pro Tip: Deadhead spent flowers to encourage more blooms, but leave some seed heads in fall to feed birds and allow for natural reseeding!
General Care Tips for Fast-Growing Flowers
Watering Tips
- Water deeply but infrequently to encourage deep root growth
- Water at the base of plants to prevent fungal issues
- Morning watering is best to allow foliage to dry during the day
- Use mulch to retain moisture and reduce watering frequency
Fertilizing Tips
- Use balanced fertilizer when planting for initial growth
- Switch to bloom-boosting fertilizer (higher phosphorus) when buds form
- Avoid over-fertilizing which can lead to more foliage, fewer flowers
- Consider organic options like compost tea for natural feeding
Maintenance Tips
- Deadhead regularly to encourage continuous blooming
- Pinch back leggy growth to promote bushier plants
- Provide support for taller varieties before they need it
- Monitor for pests and diseases – early intervention is key
Start Growing Your Fast-Blooming Garden Today!
I hope this guide has inspired you to try some of these fast-growing flowers in your garden this season!
With just a little effort and the right timing, you can transform bare spaces into colorful, blooming gardens in just a matter of weeks.
Remember, the key to success with fast-growing flowers is to provide the basics they need appropriate sunlight, well-draining soil, and consistent watering.
Most of these flowers are quite forgiving and perfect for beginners or anyone who wants quick results.
So grab some seeds, find a sunny spot, and get planting!
Your garden will be bursting with color before you know it. Happy gardening!
