Select a month below to see what's in bloom this season at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
What's in Bloom by Month
January
Dendrobium spectabile
Dendrobium spectabile
Orchidaceae
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Gnetum gnemon
Scientific Name:Gnetum gnemon
Family:Gnetaceae
Information:Gnetums occur in both the old and new world tropics and grow as both trees and climbing vines. The leaves of both the Asian and African species are prepared as a cooked vegetable, while in Southeast Asia the fruits are cooked and eaten like popcorn.
Garden Location:Tropical Rotunda
Japanese Camellia
Common Name:Japanese Camellia
Scientific Name:Camellia japonica ‘Little Slam’
Family:Camellia japonica
Information:A cultivar of horticultural origin from the species Camellia japonica from Japan. The Garden’s plant is about 8′ tall by 6′ wide, and could mature at 10′ by 10′.
Japanese Rice Paper Plant
Common Name:Japanese Rice Paper Plant
Scientific Name:Edgeworthia chrysantha
Information:One of the many winter-flowering plants at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Japanese Rice Paper plant is smothered with fragrant, bright yellow flowers in late January and February. Reaching a height of six feet, its large leaves lend a tropical look to the shade garden. The bark of the plant is used to make banknote paper in Japan.
Mahonia hybrid
Common Name:Mahonia hybrid
Scientific Name:Mahonia x media
Family:Berberidaceae
Huge flower clusters (up to 24 inches) of bright yellow flowers top these sturdy evergreen shrubs. Great for the dry shade garden, the flowers are followed by brilliant blue fruits.
Rosy Periwinkle
Common Name:Rosy Periwinkle
Scientific Name:Catharanthus roseus
Family:Apocynaceae
Information:Source of alkaloids (vincristine and vinblastine) used in the treatment of some forms of leukemia such as Hodgkin’s Disease
Garden Location:Desert House
February
Cattleya amethystoglossa
Scientific Name:Cattleya amethystoglossa
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: The largest of the Cattleyas, this Brazilian species produces stems up to 40 inches tall. The flowers are creamy white suffused with rose and spotted with magenta. Our plants flower every year on or near Valentine’s Day.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Japanese Pussy Willow
Common Name:Japanese Pussy Willow
Scientific Name:Salix chaenomeloides
Family:Salicaceae
Information: A fast-growing, deciduous, winter-flowering willow, with fuzzy white inflorescences (yellow on male plants). Grow in moist conditions in sun to part shade.
Garden Location:Trustees Garden
Nun’s Orchid
Common Name:Nun’s Orchid
Scientific Name:Phaius tankervillae
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: This large terrestrial orchid performs well in cultivation, but is really only suitable for growers with ample space. A mature plant in a 5 gallon pot may produce multiple spikes reaching 3 inches, each bearing up to 30 flowers.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Schomburgkia splendida
Scientific Name:Schomburgkia splendida
Family:Salicaceae
Information: A robust epiphyte occurring in sunny exposed locations. Mature specimens can become quite large and make a riveting display in full spike. Flower spikes may reach 3 to 6 feet and produce up to 15 shiny black and rose-colored flowers.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Witchhazel
Common Name:Witchhazel
Scientific Name:Hamamelis mollis ‘Pallida’
Family:Hamamelidaceae
Information:These large, deciduous shrubs brighten the winter landscape with their yellow fragrant flowers. This is an Asian relative of our native Hamamelis, which was used to produce witchhazel, an astringent.
Yulan Magnolia
Common Name:Yulan Magnolia
Scientific Name:Magnolia denudate
Family:Mgnoliaceae
Information:A large, upright, deciduous tree with white flowers in late winter/early spring. Flowers can handle cold temperatures well, unlike some other early-flowering magnolias.
March
Algerian Iris
Common Name: Algerian Iris
Scientific Name:Iris ungicularis
Family:Iridaceae
Information:Iris unguicularis is a beardless iris that blooms from late fall through late winter and is hardy to zone 7. The flowers are typically a medium lavender-blue, with yellow to orange markings on the falls; but variation does occur.
Daffodil
Common Name:Daffodil
Scientific Name:Narcissus ‘Minnow’
Family:Amaryllidaceae
Information:Three to five fragrant, yellow and white flowers per stem make this diminutive daffodil stand out. Miniature daffodils typically stay six inches tall or less. Relatively pest and deer resistant, Narcissus add exuberant color in early spring.
Desert Rose
Common Name:Desert Rose
Scientific Name:Adenium obesum
Family:Apocynaceae
Information: Very showy flowers range from pink to red to white. They bloom in the Desert House in spring and fall. Garden Location:Desert House
Flowering Crabapple
Common Name:Flowering Crabapple
Scientific Name:Malus x ‘Robinson’
Family:Roseaceae
Information:‘Robinson’ is a fast-growing crabapple cultivar with good disease resistance. The leaves emerge bronze then turn green, and is prolific in spring with pink flowers. Birds love the bright red fruit that matures in fall.
Paperbush
Common Name:Paperbush
Scientific Name:Edgeworthia papyrifera
Family:Thymelaeacea
Information:A deciduous, small, suckering shrub with nice blue-green foliage. Likes moist, well-drained soils and semi-shady locations. Winter flowers, yellowish-white, extending into March.
Winterhazel
Common Name:Winterhazel
Scientific Name:Corylopsis pauciflora
Family:Hamamelidaceae
Information: Winterhazel forms a delicate, small shrub that reaches four to five feet and is covered with pale yellow flowers in March.
April
Apple
Common Name:Apple
Scientific Name:Malus x domestica
Family:Rosaceae
Information:Early April apple trees burst forth with 1-inch flowers that resemble pinkish white fluffy cotton candy. Once pollinated the flowers quickly drop and apples start to develop. They’ll grow all summer and mature in late September, early October. The apple trees in the edible garden include: ‘Gala’, ‘Liberty’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Arkansas Black’ and ‘Mollie’s Delicious’.
Cavendishia micayensis
Scientific Name:Cavendishia micayensis
Family:Ericaceae
Garden Location:High Elevation House
Crown of Thorns
Common Name:Crown of Thorns
Scientific Name:Euphorbia milii
Family:Euphorbiacaea
Information:A Madagascar native with flowers that range in color from yellow to pink to red. These spiny plants have a poisonous milky white sap inside the leaves and stems.
Dendrobium fimbriatum var. oculatum
Scientific Name:Dendrobium fimbriatum var. oculatum
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: Produces up to twelve apricot colored flowers, each with a velvety fringed lip.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Jade Vine Emerald Creeper
Common Name:Jade Vine Emerald Creeper
Scientific Name:Strongylodon macrobotrys
Family:Fabaceae
Information: This is a vigorous climbing vine that produces long panicles of striking, jade green flowers, up to 12-18 inches in length.
Garden Location:Tropical Rotunda
Woolly Groundsel
Common Name:Woolly Groundsel
Scientific Name:Packera tomentosa
Family:Asteraceae
Information: Native perennial found in granite outcrop habitats.
Garden Location:Conservation Gardens
May
Blue False Indigo
Common Name:Blue False Indigo
Scientific Name:Baptisia australis
Information:This native perennial adds structure to the early spring.
Bromeliad
Common Name:Bromeliad
Scientific Name:Tillandsia dyeriana
Family:Bromeliaceae
Information: This plant grows in the crowns of tropical trees. It forms a whirl of leaves that collect rain water and are frequently used as a nursery for poison arrow frogs’ eggs and tadpoles.
Garden Location:Tropical Rotunda
Georgia Plume
Common Name:Georgia Plume
Scientific Name:Elliottia racemosa
Family:Ericaceae
Information: Beautiful white flowering native deciduous shrub that is only found in Georgia.
Garden Location:Conservation Gardens
Hoya
Common Name:Hoya
Scientific Name:Hoya acuta
Family:Asclepiadaceae
Garden Location:Tropical Rotunda
Hybrid Musk Rose
Common Name:Hybrid Musk Rose
Scientific Name:Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’
Information:Introduced in 1939, the ‘Buff Beauty’ is a gorgeous apricot-colored rose which blooms repeatedly all summer. It is resistant to disease and its blooms tend to hold color better than other similarly colored roses. It can grow up to five feet tall and eight feet wide.
Hydrangea
Common Name:Hydrangea
Scientific Name:Hydrangea s. ‘Maiko’
Information:This lovely hydrangea forms a small-mounding, three-foot plant and is smothered with four-inch mophead flowers that begin white and age to pink. It is the perfect size for any small-space garden. The Hydrangea collection at the Atlanta Botanical Garden peaks from late May through August.
June
Climbing Noisette Rose
Common Name:Climbing Noisette Rose
Scientific Name:Rosa ‘Crepuscule’
Family:Rosaceae
Information:Crepuscule means ‘twilight’ in French, which eloquently describes the color of the flowers. Blooms intermittently all season long, robust and well suited to the Southeast. Look for these beauties climbing on the arbors in the Rose Garden.
Dwarf Pomegranate
Common Name:Dwarf Pomegranate
Scientific Name:Punica granatum var. nana
Family:Lythraceae
Information:This dwarf shrub catches the attention of every visitor that passes by. It has fiery orange flowers that bloom prolifically all summer long and mature into edible pomegranates. The ripe fruits are about 2 inches in diameter.
Garden Location:Edible Garden
Hardy Gladiolus
Common Name:Hardy Gladiolus
Scientific Name:Gladiolus tubergenii ‘Charm’
Family:Iridaceae
Information:Beautiful, vivid pink spikes grow 30 to 36 inches tall, and they are ideal for cut arrangements. Look for these gorgeous blooms in the Rose Garden.
Jungle Geranium
Common Name:Jungle Geranium
Scientific Name:Ixora coccinea
Family:Rubiaceae
Information: Forming a small to medium shrub, Ixora likes to grow in well-drained organic soils. It prefers an open, bright situation and will produce numerous red, star-like flowers all year round.
Garden Location:Tropical Rotunda
Rain Lily
Common Name:Rain Lily
Scientific Name:Zephyranthes sp.
Information:Our collection of these summer bulbs begins blooming this month as summer thunderstorms begin. With flower colors ranging from white to pink to yellow, clumps are a pleasant surprise to visitors exploring perennial borders.
Uncarina
Common Name:Uncarina
Scientific Name:Uncarina grandidieri
Family:Pedaliaceae
Information: Beautiful flowers that range in color from a golden yellow to white to purple.
Garden Location:Desert House
July
Evergreen Wisteria
Common Name:Evergreen Wisteria
Scientific Name:Millettia reticulata
Information:Not really “evergreen” as the common name says, but a fabulous vine for summer color. Intense purple, pea-like flowers are produced in July and August and have the fragrance of NeHi Grape!
Marsh Rattlesnake Master
Common Name: Marsh Rattlesnake Master
Scientific Name:Eryngium aquaticum
Family:Apiaceae
Information: Native member of the carrot family that bears striking blue colored flowers.
Garden Location: Conservation Gardens
Miltonia spectabilis var. moreliana
Scientific Name:Miltonia spectabilis var. moreliana
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: Miltonias are warm-growing Brazilian orchids. the variety moreliana has large plum colored lowers and a deeply veined lip. Best grown in pots to accommodate the sprawling rhizomes.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Monja Blanca
Common Name:Monja Blanca
Scientific Name:Lycaste skinneri
Information: An elegant orchid, once widely distributed from Mexico to El Salvador. It has become increasingly scarce as its cloudforest habitat disappears.
Garden Location: Orchid Display House
Plumleaf Native Azalea
Common Name:Plumleaf Native Azalea
Scientific Name:Rhododendron prunifolium
Family:Ericaceae
Information: The latest of our native azaleas to bloom, and with the ability to flower profusely in fairly dense shade, this shrub is a great choice for the shady garden. Unfortunately, the flowers are not fragrant like some of the other native azaleas. Deciduous in winter. Can reach sizes of 10′ tall and wide over many years. Found natively on sandy, moist creek banks in southern Piedmont forests, but very adaptable to average garden conditions in the shade
Information: This cultivar is the standard by which other blueberries are held. It can grow 6-8 feet tall and prefers full sun and acidic soils. Fruit set can be enhanced by planting several different varieties.
Garden Location:Edible Garden
August
Dove Orchid
Common Name:Dove Orchid
Scientific Name:Peristeria elata
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: The name is derived from the Greek peristerion, meaning “dove,” because of the fancied resemblance of the interior parts of the flower to a dove. Peristeria elata is the national flower of Panama.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Fig
Common Name:Fig
Scientific Name:Ficus carica ‘LSU Gold’
Information: Edible are golden outside with a creamy white flesh inside. The LSU varieties are very popular and successful in the South. ‘LSU Purple’ and ‘LSU Black’ can also be found in the Edible Garden.
Garden Location:Edible Garden
Ginger Lily
Common Name:Ginger Lily
Scientific Name:Hedychium coronarium ‘Kinkaku’
Information:One of the many ginger lilies in our collection, this cultivar has pale yellow flowers flushed with salmon on four-foot stalks. It will bloom in sun to part shade and is a nice addition to the late summer perennial border.
Joe-Pye Weed
Common Name:Joe-Pye Weed
Scientific Name:Eupatorium purpureum ‘Joe White’
Family:Asteraceae
Information:Joe-Pye Weed is a tall perennial. It is often mistaken as a common roadside weed and undervalued for its ornamental attributes. When in bloom, it may attract swarms of butterflies looking to feed.
Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica
Scientific Name:Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: An exceptionally free-flowering species. A well-grown plant with keikis can produce 50 or more flowers. Named for the hieroglyphic patterning on the petals and sepals.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Water Lily
Common Name:Water Lily
Scientific Name:Nymphaea ‘Barbara Dobbins’
Family:Nymphaeaceae
Information: Water lilies are native the world over in temperate and tropical areas. This hardy lily blooms a beautiful peachy color and as it ages, turns yellow. It’s called a “changeable”.
Garden Location:Aquatic Plant Pond
September
Beautyberry
Common Name:Beautyberry
Scientific Name:Callicarpa americana
Information:A durable deciduous shrub prized for its shiny colorful clusters of small ornamental fruits which appear all along its stems in autumn. The fruits are a favorite food source for many birds. Many cultivars of Asian beautyberry species have been selected for fruit color, ranging from white to purple to pink.
Helianthus
Common Name:Helianthus
Scientific Name:Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’
Information:Numerous pale yellow flowers burst open in late summer into fall. Naturally reaches 6 to 8 feet, but height can be controlled by cutting back by one-third in May.
Ironweed
Common Name:Ironweed
Scientific Name:Vernonia angustifolia
Family:Asteraceae
Information: Purple flowering perennial native to Longleaf Pine habitats.
Garden Location:Conservation Gardens
Ladies’ Tresses
Common Name:Ladies’ Tresses
Scientific Name:Spiranthes cernua
Family:Orchidaceae
Information:Beautiful white flowering native orchid that occurs in bog habitats.
Liberty Apple
Common Name:Liberty Apple
Scientific Name:Malus ‘Liberty’
Information: A beautiful apple that is resistant to cedar-apple rust, apple scab, powdery mildew, and fire blight, all of which make apple growing difficult. The red-over-green apples ripen in early September. To get a good fruit set, more than one variety must be planted.
Garden Location:Edible Garden
Orange Tea-Olive
Common Name:Orange Tea-Olive
Scientific Name:Osmanthus fragrans v. aurantiacus
Information:The fragrance of this evergreen shrub perfumes the main entrance to the garden. This unusual, hard-to-find variety produces orange flowers instead of the typical white flowers. Blooms from September into October.
October
Autumn crocus
Common Name:Autumn crocus
Scientific Name:Colchicum autumnale
Information:This fall-flowering crocus brightens the Crape Myrtle Allee with its purple-blue flowers. It can naturalize in the garden in either sun or part shade.
Dendrobium bullenianum
Scientific Name:Dendrobium bullenianum
Family:Orchidaceae
Information:Dendrobium bullenianum can have pseudobulbs up to two feet long with clusters of many one inch brightly colored flowers lasting two weeks. This lowland species native to the Philippines will often bloom more than one time each season.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Mountain Sage
Common Name:Mountain Sage
Scientific Name:Salvia regla ‘Jame’
Information:This western U.S. native is one of the many perennials that offer late season color to borders at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Mountain Sage forms a three-foot wide shrub with shiny, heart-shaped leaves. Tubular, bright orange flowers attract hummingbirds to the fall garden. It is also very drought tolerant.
Information:A stunning bounty of creamy yellow daisies that last until frost in full sun. This lush 2-3 foot tall and 4 foot wide perennial will dazzle in the late blooming season.
Pink Muhly
Common Name:Pink Muhly
Scientific Name:Muhlenbergia capillaris
Family:Poaceae
Information:Native grass with masses of breathtaking pink, wispy blooms.
Spider Orchid
Common Name:Spider Orchid
Scientific Name:Brassia longissima
Family:Orchidaceae
Information:Brassia longissima is a species from Costa Rica to Peru sometimes called the “Spider Orchid” because of its elongated flower parts. The inflorescence can be 18 inches long with several fragrant flowers lasting several weeks.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
November
Christmas Camellia
Common Name:Christmas Camellia
Scientific Name:Camellia sasanqua
Information:The sasanquas are the smaller flowered of the camellias. But the beautiful white, pink or red flowers put on a late fall and early winter show in the Camellia Garden.
Cobb’s Dendrochilum
Common Name:Cobb’s Dendrochilum
Scientific Name:Dendrochilum cobbianum
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: Of the 100+ species of Dendrochilum scattered throughout Southeast Asia, Dendrochilum cobbianum, with its weeping chainlike inflorescence is among the most striking. Easy to grow and readily forms large clumps.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Guzmania jaramilloi
Scientific Name:Guzmania jaramilloi
Family:Bromeliaceae
Garden Location:High Elevation House
Huntleya wallisii
Scientific Name:Huntleya wallisii
Family:Orchidaceae
Information:Huntleyas are medium to large epiphytes with soft leaves and fan-like shoots. Ten species range from Costa Rica to Brazil, all residents of wet montane forests. Huntleya wallisii, with its star-shaped blood-red flowers, is perhaps the most attractive in the genus.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Linden Viburnum
Common Name:Linden Viburnum
Scientific Name:Viburnum dilatatum ‘Erie’
Information:Bright red fruit clusters put on a real show in the fall in the Children’s Garden. This deciduous viburnum, which reaches eight to 10 feet, produces white, flat-topped clusters of flowers in early summer.
Swan Orchid
Common Name:Swan Orchid
Scientific Name:Cycnoches cooperi
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: The arching column of Cycnoches flowers gives rise to the common name “Swan Orchid.” Dark bronze petals and sepal characterize this species.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
December
Aloe suprafoliata
Scientific Name:Aloe suprafoliata
Family:Aloaceae
Information: Aloe with blue-green leaves and salmon colored flowers.
Information:The Golden Japanese Plum Yew has two-inch long needles with new growth of bright gold. It reaches five feet in height and grows in part shade. The conifers change with each season, offering a myriad of colors and textures for Atlanta gardens.
Laelia anceps
Scientific Name:Laelia anceps
Family:Orchidaceae
Information: Among the easiest and showiest of the Mexican Laelias, L. anceps comes in many color forms. In Mexico it grows in full sun on trees and rocks on the eastern side of the Cordillera.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Paphiopedilum primulinum
Scientific Name:Paphiopedilum primulinum
Family:Orchidaceae
Information:Paphiopedilum primulinum is in a group of Asian lady slippers whose flowers open one at a time but are produced successively often for many months. This species is only found in the wild in a small part of Sumatra.
Garden Location:Orchid Display House
Starfish Flower
Common Name:Starfish Flower
Scientific Name:Stapelia gigantea
Family:Asclepiadaceae
Information: Flowers are fly-pollinated and possess an odor similar to rotting flesh.
Garden Location:Desert House
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