Updated on Jun. 07, 2024
Black flowers may not be everyone's fave, but we can't get enough of these statement-making, attention-grabbing, out-of-the-ordinary black beauties.
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Hollyhocks, Alcea rosea, stand tall in any garden, with flower spikes growing up to six feet tall. ‘Blackknight‘ and ‘Nigra’ are two varieties with almost black, single-petal flowers.
This perennial flower, hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 3 through 9, prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Once established, hollyhocks can tolerate some periods of dryness. Stake them in windy areas to keep them from falling over just as they bloom.
Officially known as Aquilegia vulgris var. stellata ‘Black Barrow,‘ this perennial columbine, aka Granny’s Bonnets, grows up to 18 inches tall. It features dark plum-colored, almost black, double-flowering blooms in late spring. Hardy in USDA Zones 3 through 9, it’s considered a short-lived perennial.
Grow it from seed or purchase plants. If blooms are left to form seeds, it will often self-sow around a garden, but seedlings are easy to pull out where you don’t want them. If growing around other similar columbines with different flower colors, they will cross-pollinate, and seedlings may be any color.
Another great late-blooming flower, ‘Dahlia ‘Black Satin,‘ adds a little dark mystery to your garden. Its dark red flowers are almost black in their centers.
Dahlias are easy to grow as perennial flowers in Zones 8 through 10, or as annual flowers in colder zones. Purchase tubers to pot up in early spring, then plant them when all danger of frost is past. Or you can plant them directly in the garden. In colder zones, dig up the tubers in the fall to save them to grow again the following year.
In early spring, no one expects to see black flowers unless they’re growing Helleborus ‘Wedding Party Dark and Handsome.’ This early-blooming perennial pairs well with other brighter-colored hellebores to provide contrast with its dark, nearly black blooms.
Hellebores grow best in well-drained soils with part-shade. They’re hardy in Zones 3 through 8. Once established, they don’t require much to keep them going other than trimming off old foliage in late winter. The flowers hang on for several months.
Several tulips come in shades dark enough to be almost black, including ‘Queen of Night.‘ Tulips are hardy in Zones 3 through 8.
Plant tulip bulbs in mid-to-late fall in areas with full sun in spring, like around deciduous trees. They prefer well-drained soils and require a cold period before growing and flowering. Cut back spent blooms in spring to encourage bulb formation for the following year’s flowers.
Until black petunias like ‘Black Cat.‘came along, it was hard to plant a display of annual flowers in my college’s school colors of black and gold.
Petunias are easy-to-grow annual flowers. You can sow seeds for them indoors in early spring, about eight weeks before your predicted last frost, or buy starter plants. They grow well in sunny locations in the ground or in containers.
Many new varieties continue to flower even if old blooms aren’t removed, but cutting them back occasionally keeps them flowering well all the way until frost in fall.
Another nearly black flower for the perennial garden is Baptisia ‘Decadence Dark Chocolate,’Â aka False Indigo. It grows in Zones 4 through 9 and prefers sunny locations. It isn’t too fussy about soil as long as it isn’t too wet.
After flowering, Baptisia fades into the background with blue-green foliage. Remove old foliage before early spring when new growth emerges from the roots.
Black Bat Flower, Tacca chantieri ‘Black,’ is a tropical plant hardy in Zones 9 and warmer that can also be grown as a houseplant. The dark, unusual flowers show up in late summer and early fall, resembling a bat or cat face. It grows up to three feet tall and prefers part-shade to shade, so put it in a big container you can bring inside for the winter.
