Flower color
White flowers
344 garden plants with white blooms, with bloom times, hardiness zones, and sun needs. Build a white color scheme that lasts across the season.
Showing 1 to 60 of 344 plants
Of the 1,702 plants in this library, 344 carry white, and they are here for one reason above the others: white outlasts the light. As dusk falls the eye shifts toward the blue end of the spectrum, so reds go black while whites and creams stay lit, which is why the classic white garden is planted where people sit in the evening. White is also the peacemaker of a mixed bed: a drift of it separates two colors that would otherwise fight. Two cautions. It is not one color, and a cold blue-white beside a warm cream reads as dirty rather than subtle. And it shows every browning petal, so it asks for more deadheading than anything else here.
Related guides
Abbotswood
Potentilla fruticosa 'Abbotswood'
Full sunZones 2–72.6 ftLow
Acoma
Lagerstroemia 'Acoma'
Full sunZones 7–108.2 ftLow
Actaea
Narcissus 'Actaea'
Full sunZones 3–81.5 ftModerate
Adirondack
Malus 'Adirondack'
Full sunZones 4–816 ftModerate
Alaska
Leucanthemum × superbum 'Alaska'
Full sunZones 4–92.3 ftModerate
Alba
Scilla luciliae 'Alba'
Full sunZones 3–85 inModerate
Alba
Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Alba'
Part shadeZones 3–92.3 ftModerate
Alba Plena
Camellia japonica 'Alba Plena'
Part shadeZones 7–96.6 ftModerate
FoliageAlbostriata
Hakonechloa macra 'Albostriata'
Part shadeZones 5–91.6 ftModerate
Album
Colchicum autumnale 'Album'
Full sunZones 4–96 inModerate
Amazing Grace
Phlox subulata 'Amazing Grace'
Full sunZones 3–96 inLow
Annabelle
Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
Part sunZones 3–94.9 ftModerate
Apple Blossom
Hippeastrum 'Apple Blossom'
Part sunZones 8–111.6 ftModerate
Arabicum
Ornithogalum arabicum
Full sunZones 7–102 ftModerate
Arrowwood
Viburnum dentatum
Full sunZones 3–88.2 ftModerate
August Beauty
Gardenia jasminoides 'August Beauty'
Part sunZones 8–114.9 ftHigh
Autumn Brilliance
Amelanchier × grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'
Part sunZones 4–820 ftModerate
Bacopa
Chaenostoma cordatum
Part sunZones 9–116 inModerate
Ballerina Serviceberry
Amelanchier × grandiflora 'Ballerina'
Part sunZones 4–820 ftModerate
Beauty of Moscow
Syringa vulgaris 'Krasavitsa Moskvy'
Full sunZones 3–79.8 ftModerate
Becky
Leucanthemum × superbum 'Becky'
Full sunZones 5–93 ftModerate
Belle Étoile
Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile'
Full sunZones 5–84.9 ftModerate
Biokovo
Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
Part sunZones 4–810 inModerate
Blackhaw
Viburnum prunifolium
Full sunZones 3–913 ftModerate
Bolero
Rosa 'Meidelweis'
Full sunZones 5–93.4 ftModerate
Bolero Rose
Rosa 'Meidelweis'
Full sunZones 6–103.9 ftModerate
Boule de Neige
Rhododendron 'Boule de Neige'
Part shadeZones 4–83.9 ftModerate
Bridal Veil
Astilbe × arendsii 'Brautschleier'
Part shadeZones 3–82.3 ftHigh
Bridal Wreath
Spiraea × vanhouttei
Full sunZones 3–85.9 ftModerate
Bright Eyes
Thunbergia alata 'Bright Eyes'
Full sunZones 10–118.2 ftModerate
Burkwood
Viburnum × burkwoodii
Full sunZones 4–88.2 ftModerate
FoliageButterfly
Acer palmatum 'Butterfly'
Part shadeZones 5–813 ftModerate
California Poppy (Cream/White)
Eschscholzia californica 'Alba'
Full sunZones 6–111.1 ftLow
Calla Lily
Zantedeschia
Part sunZones 8–102.3 ftHigh
Camelot White
Digitalis purpurea 'Camelot White'
Part shadeZones 4–83.9 ftModerate
Campfire Marshmallow Bidens
Bidens hybrid 'Campfire Marshmallow'
Full sunZones 8–111.1 ftLow
Candytuft
Iberis sempervirens
Full sunZones 3–910 inLow
Carnegie
Hyacinthus 'Carnegie'
Full sunZones 4–810 inModerate
Chater's Double White
Alcea rosea 'Chater's Double White'
Full sunZones 3–86.2 ftModerate
Checkered Lily Alba
Fritillaria meleagris 'Alba'
Part sunZones 3–812 inModerate
Cheerfulness
Narcissus 'Cheerfulness'
Full sunZones 3–81.3 ftModerate
Cherokee Princess
Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess'
Part shadeZones 5–920 ftModerate
Chincherinchee
Ornithogalum thyrsoides
Full sunZones 7–101.6 ftModerate
Chinese Stewartia
Stewartia sinensis
Part sunZones 5–715 ftModerate
Christmas Gift
Hippeastrum 'Christmas Gift'
Part sunZones 8–111.6 ftModerate
Christmas Rose
Helleborus niger
Part shadeZones 4–912 inModerate
Cinnamon Snow
Helleborus 'Cinnamon Snow'
Part shadeZones 4–91.1 ftModerate
Claire Austin
Rosa 'Ausprior'
Full sunZones 5–104.9 ftModerate
Climbing Hydrangea
Hydrangea petiolaris
Part shadeZones 4–826 ftModerate
Cloud Nine
Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine'
Part shadeZones 5–920 ftModerate
Coconut Lime
Echinacea 'Coconut Lime'
Full sunZones 4–92 ftLow
Coconut Surprise
Dianthus 'Coconut Surprise'
Full sunZones 3–910 inLow
Cole's Select
Amelanchier × grandiflora 'Cole's Select'
Part sunZones 4–820 ftModerate
Constance Elliott
Passiflora caerulea 'Constance Elliott'
Full sunZones 6–913 ftModerate
Crazy Daisy
Leucanthemum × superbum 'Crazy Daisy'
Full sunZones 5–92.3 ftModerate
Cream Marigold
Tagetes erecta 'Vanilla'
Full sun1.3 ftModerate12 in wide
Cream Ranunculus
Ranunculus asiaticus
Full sunZones 8–101.3 ftModerate
Crown Jewel
Gardenia jasminoides 'Crown Jewel'
Part sunZones 6–102.6 ftHigh
Cunningham's White
Rhododendron 'Cunningham's White'
Part shadeZones 4–84.9 ftModerate
David
Phlox paniculata 'David'
Full sunZones 4–83.3 ftModerate
White flowers by season
A plant is counted in every season it flowers in, so a long-flowering one appears in more than one. The named picks are the plants whose whole flowering sits in that season, not the ones that only pass through it.
Spring
March, April and May
208 plants
Summer
June, July and August
234 plants
Fall
September, October and November
118 plants
Winter
December, January and February
16 plants
White flowers for shade
114 of these 344 plants will flower in less than a full day of sun.
The longest-blooming white flowers
53 of these plants hold their flowers for 5 months or more. These are the longest of them.
White flowers by height
Mature height, in the three bands a border is planted in. Anything over 9.8 ft is structure rather than a border plant, and a climber is sized by whatever it is growing up, so both sit this out.
Front of the border
under 12 in
50 plants
Middle of the border
12 in to 3 ft
151 plants
Back of the border
3 ft and up
95 plants
Keep exploring
Design your garden
Drop plants onto a 3D plan, see how they fill in, and watch the whole garden bloom across the year.