The Best Plants for Big Blooms and Giant Flowers for Your SoCal Garden

Written by Kelsey W.

The number of species of plants out there seems endless, and some of the most impressive are those with gigantic flowers and huge blooms. If you have a large yard, you might benefit from having some plants with noticeably large flowers. 

Plants with large blooms may also help you take the focus off an ugly wall or some part of your yard that doesn’t look its best. Rather than having a big concrete wall along the side of your home, you can line it with a row of cheerful sunflowers.

Some plants have blooms that are very singular and noticeable, like the sunflower. Other plants have loads of flowers covering the entire plant, like a hydrangea bush. Let’s explore some of your options for plants that will deliver huge flowers for maximum visual impact in your yard, patio, lawn, or balcony.

Pacific Giant Delphiniums are Great for Walls and Borders

Not only do giant delphinium grow up to seven feet tall, but the flowers are pretty big, too, with each bloom growing to about three inches across. Although three inches might not sound like a lot, the flowers look pretty incredible when they appear in a group on a giant stalk.

In fact, the flowers are so large that these plants usually need some help with staking, or they risk falling over when they are at the height of their blooming season in the early and middle of the summer. You can camouflage the stakes relatively easily, so they’re not too noticeable, especially when the flowers take over. 

Also called larkspur, it’s important to note that these flowers do like cooler temperatures, so you have to get creative when growing them in Southern California. In point of fact, it’s common to grow delphinium as annuals in SoCal since the temperatures are often too much for them to stand in the late summer.

If your home sits along the coast and your weather remains somewhat mild throughout the summer (perhaps you’re in a coastal area of Ventura County or along the coast north of San Diego), your giant delphiniums might make it through the summer. Just be aware that they’ll need a little shade and extra water to survive a true Southern California summer, but the blooms are totally worth the effort.

Hibiscus Plants Will Make Your Garden Pop

If you’ve ever seen a photograph of Hawaii with flowers in it, there’s a good chance you saw some hibiscus flowers in the photograph. They’re also a popular addition to gardens in Southern California, especially because of their absolutely gorgeous, big blooms.

There are a few varieties out there, and if you want the hardier type, you’ll want to look for a hibiscus with the scientific name “Hibiscus moscheutos.” This variety is hardier than other types, and it can withstand some of the colder temperatures present throughout the Southland.

The classic hibiscus color is pink, but you can also find this gorgeous plant in white, red, blue, and even yellow. They do need a bit of extra care when they’re young plants, but they will usually toughen up as they age and require less care each season. They’re not completely self-sufficient, but they’re hardy enough in many of Southern California’s microclimates.

Confound Your Visitors With Dinner Plate Dahlias

Did you know that there are some varieties of dahlias – usually hybrids – that have blooms that measure an astounding eight inches across? Dahlias often have large blooms anyway, but these so-called “dinnerplate” dahlias have become some of the most incredible-looking plants.

When you plant a dahlia that’s supposed to grow a very large flower, you can ensure the blooms grow to their maximum size by plucking off the small side buds so the plant throws all of its energy into its biggest bloom. These plants can get so top-heavy that they may require staking and support.

And while dahlias can certainly survive in Southern California, they do tend to wilt a little during the hottest weeks of the year. To ensure the biggest and healthiest blooms, it’s also important to amp up the amount of water and food you give your giant dahlias. As long as you give them frequent attention, your dahlias will gift you with giant blooms in the late summer and early fall.

Angel’s Trumpets are Tropical, but Love Southern California

The Angel’s trumpet, or “Brugmansia,” has truly gigantic flowers that look exactly like you’d expect: trumpets that come in pink, orange, white, or yellow. If you’ve ever taken a stroll around a Southern California neighborhood, you’ve probably seen the yellow trumpets growing as they’re the most popular color in the region.

Although these beautiful shrubs are technically tropical plants, they’re surprisingly hardy even when the temperatures rise, and the rains recede for the late summer months. They’re often grown as large shrubs that reach about six or seven feet tall, and they’re fast growers, too. If you plant an Angel’s trumpet one season, you can see up to three feet of growth in just a single year.

To keep them happy in the hotter months of the year, it’s important to give them some extra water. If your yard is otherwise filled with plants that don’t need a lot of extra water to survive the dry seasons, just carry an extra watering can to the trumpets a few times a week. 

They’ll appreciate a good extra soaking and will reward you with extra-large, vibrant trumpets for much of the year. Traditionally, Angel’s trumpets bloom from early summer through fall, but you’ll often see them blooming quite early in Southern California, with blooms seen in the middle of winter and well into the fall.

Giant Zinnias Will Love Your Southern California Home

Zinnias of the “elegans” variety will offer your yard big, giant blooms that grow up to six inches in diameter with plants that can grow up to three feet tall. These flowers look luscious in a garden, as well as in a vase inside your home as cut flowers.

Normally, you’ll get flowers from your zinnias for most of the year, with flowers appearing in the spring and lasting until the fall arrives and the weather starts to change. In a mild year, the zinnias might just give you flowers all year, but they may also take a short break, too.

Technically, zinnias are grown as annuals in places where it freezes and snows, but you can keep them growing year after year in many locations throughout Southern California. Zinnias are also a pretty reasonable flower if you’re trying to save water while also having a garden full of big blooms. 

They don’t require an overwhelming amount of water but do like a hearty drink when it gets extra hot. It’s more important to make sure their soil never gets soggy or remains wet for too long than it is to water them frequently. They’re pretty resistant to pests but can become vulnerable to mildew if they sit in a soggy environment for too long.

Bring the English Rose to Southern California for Big Blooms

Gardeners have created roses of all sorts of sizes from tiny to significant, and the English rose or “Rosa Molineux” is one of the biggest roses out there. These beefy roses will often have more than a hundred petals in a single bloom, and they have a rather impressive fragrance to match their great size.

The average size of an English rose is usually around six inches across, and you’ll find all sorts of gorgeous colors to coordinate with the color of your home or the other flowers in your yard or garden. Roses are a natural companion for your Southern California house, and they love the weather throughout the Southland.

The only caveat regarding roses is that they do require a bit of extra care versus other types of big blooms. They need regular pruning, feeding, and a strict watering schedule to look their best. However, once they’re established and happy, there really is no more beautiful and classic addition to your garden.

Let Green Thumb Nursery Help You Find Beautiful Flowers for Your Garden

There’s nothing lovelier than a garden full of big, beautiful flowers, and the experts at Green Thumb Nursery are here to help you find the perfect plants for your garden, yard, patio, or balcony. Let’s get some big flowers growing this spring and summer at your Southern California home.

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