by Erin Marissa Russell
While green is one of the most common colors in the garden when it comes to foliage, it’s much more unexpected when it’s the hue of a flower. We’ve put together this list of the prettiest green flowers you can grow in your garden. Just take a look at all the green flower options on this list.
Bells of Ireland (Moluccela laevis)
Bells of Ireland is also termed shell flower or Moluccela Balmis. The green bell-shaped calixes cover the foliage spikes, which grow up to four feet tall. The actual flowers are tiny and white, hiding inside the green bells. Bells of Ireland are winter hardy in zones 2 through 11.
Bells of Ireland are a bit slower to develop than most other flowers. Sow them in spring, then it can take up to a month for the seeds to sprout. Then you’ll need to wait another two months for the plants to mature and establish themselves before they begin to blossom. The plants can be grown in full sun or partial shade. They need moist soil that provides good drainage and has a neutral pH (from 6.5 to 7.5).
For more information on cultivating Bells of Ireland, see our article How to Grow Bells of Ireland (Moluccela laevis).
Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata ‘Lime Green’)
The star-shaped blooms of flowering tobacco are surrounded by sticky, fuzzy foliage. These blossoms are prized for their fragrance as much as for their beauty. The flowers open between late afternoon and evening. The plants grow to reach around two feet tall. They’re treated as annuals in much of the U.S. but can be grown as perennials in hardiness zones 9 through 11. The flowers are also known as jasmine tobacco, sweet tobacco, or winged tobacco.
Give flowering tobacco a place in the garden that gets at least six hours of sunshine each day. They like soil that’s kept moist and rich in organic material, with plenty of drainage. Flowering tobacco prefers soil with a pH level between 6.1 and 7.8. Let two weeks pass after the last frost in your area before you plant flowering tobacco, as the plants require warm weather and warm soil.
For more information on cultivating flowering tobacco, see our article How to Grow Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata).
Greensleeves Rose (Rosa ‘Greensleeves’)
Gardeners in zones 6a to 10b will enjoy watching the colors of this green-hued rose, part pink and cream and part tinged with green, develop and change. The green shades range from lime green to sea green and are interspersed with the prettiest pale pink, cream, and pale yellow.
Greensleeves is a floribunda rose. Find the Greensleeves rose a spot in the garden that gets full sun, because Greensleeves won’t be happy in shade. With plenty of sun, it will bloom from late spring to early summer. Because Greensleeves flowers on new wood, you’ll want to prune early so there is plenty of new growth to encourage blooming.
Other green-tinged roses you might consider include Green Ice, Mint Julep, and St. Patrick. For more information about cultivating roses, see our article How to Grow Roses.
Green Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)
There are several green-hued varieties of chrysanthemums for you to choose from, including Green Mist, Green Star, Key Lime, Lime Green Mist, Star Mist, and Star Mist Yellow. These different varieties give you lots of options when it comes to the plant’s size and the shade of green the flowers blossom in.
Most chrysanthemums can be grown over the winter in zones 5 through 9. These flowers aren’t overly particular about their soil type and quality. However, they do require full sun, so look for a place in the garden that gets at least six to eight hours of sunshine every day. Chrysanthemums will usually begin to bloom three months after they were planted from seeds.
For more information on cultivating chrysanthemums, see our article How to Grow Chrysanthemums.
Green Daylily (Hemerocallis)
There are a few different varieties of green daylilies for you to choose from, including Green Flutter, Green Glitter, Green Iceberg, and Green Puff. Daylilies can grow up to seven feet tall. However, bear in mind that daylilies have a short blooming period.
Daylilies are low maintenance plants that are easy to care for because they resist disease and pests. They are also not picky about the soil they are grown in and can withstand heat and drought. These plants are winter hardy in growing zones 4 through 9.
For more information on cultivating daylilies, see our article How to Grow Daylily Flowers.
Green Gambler Hellebore (Helleborus viridis ‘Green Gambler’)
For gardeners in zones 6 to 11, hellebore is a perennial that you can count on to return every year in your garden. In addition to the cream, pink, and burgundy hellebore options, there’s also this pale green version. You might hear hellebores referred to as “Christmas rose,” “Corsican hellebore,” “Lenten rose,” “stinking hellebore,” or “winter rose.”
Hellebores prefer to grow in light shade, making them a valuable plant to cheer up those spots in the garden that aren’t sunny enough for some flowers. They grow to reach heights of 18 to 24 inches, with a spread of 15 to 18 inches. The green of their blossoms is a light chartreuse color, and the flowers appear from February to May. All parts of the plant are poisonous to people and animals, so don’t plant hellebore if your children or pets play in the garden.
For more information on cultivating hellebore, see our article How to Grow Hellebores Flowers.
Green Star Gladiolus (Gladiolus ‘Green Star’)
This gladiolus has pale yellow green blossoms on top of tall stem spires. You may also wish to consider Green Lace Gladiolus. The foliage spires that the blossoms emerge on top of grow to heights of between 2 feet and 5 feet. Gladiolas are winter hardy in growing zones 7 through 10 but can be grown as annuals outside of these zones.
To grow continuously blooming gladiolus, there’s a trick to the timing of planting the corms. Plant your first batch once the danger of frost has passed in your area and the soil has warmed to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Then plant the next batches of corms every 10 days until the beginning of summer. Your gladiolas will bloom continuously until the fall.
For more information about cultivating gladiolus, see our article How to Grow Gladiolus Flowers.
Green Tulips (Tulipa)
The Chinatown, Formosa, and viridiflora tulip varieties will give you green feathered blooms. The green is most noticeable on Chinatown tulips soon after flowering, when the blossoms are pale pink with vertical green feathering. The blossoms get darker as the flower matures, eventually a rich pink color with less prominent feathering. Formosa is a bright canary yellow with green feathering. Viridiflora has multicolored brightly hued blooms with dark green feathering.
Grow tulips in plant hardiness zones 3 through 8. As long as they’re provided with full sun (at least six hours of direct sunlight each day), they’ll bloom in late spring and reach heights between one and two feet. They’ll grow in chalky, loamy, or sandy soil with acidic, alkaline, or neutral pH as long as it offers good drainage.
For more information about cultivating tulips, see our article How to Grow Tulips.
Hydrangea Annabelle (Hydrangea aborescens ‘Annabelle’)
Though hydrangeas are best known for their blue and purple flowers, there’s a green hydrangea as well: Hydrangea Annabelle. The blossoms of this hydrangea range from pale, pale green to white and last from late spring to fall.
Hydrangea Annabelle is grown in hardiness zones 3 through 9. Mature, the plants reach 3 to 5 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 6 feet. The plant requires partial sun and soil that stays moist but not overly saturated.
For more information about cultivating hydrangeas, see our article How to Grow Hydrangeas.
Queen Lime Zinnia (Zinnia elegans ‘Queen Red Lime’)
There are a few different green zinnias you can grow, but this one is the prettiest. The double blooms are packed with petals, which have pale green centers surrounded by rosy pink. Different blossoms have different amounts and hues of pink, making for a really gorgeous bouquet if you decide to do a cut flower arrangement.
Zinnias are easy to care for, low maintenance plants. They do best in full sun, meaning their place in the garden needs to get at least six hours of direct sunshine every day. Established plants reach around 25 inches tall, with a spread of around 18 inches. These plants just can’t get enough sun, even during the hot season, and they’ll cheerfully flower under temperatures that can scorch other plants. Zinnias will have blossoms from midsummer to fall.
Whether you love the rarity of green blossoms or are such a fan of green that you can’t get enough green in your garden, this list has plenty of green-hued blooms for you to choose from. The only question remaining is how many of these green-tinged beauties you’ll decide to grow.
Learn More About Green Flowers to Consider Growing
https://balconygardenweb.com/types-of-green-flowers-names-list/
https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/flower-gardening/gorgeous-green-flowers/
https://www.countryliving.com/gardening/g32131343/green-flowers/
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