When most people think of plants and planting, visions of springtime come to mind. When the world is warming up from winter and new life begins to bloom, the world turns from snowy white to grassy green. For gardeners who want their spring gardens to come into bloom at the same time as the natural world, fall is a crucial time to prep and plant in anticipation of the warmer months to come after winter.
One of the best ways to prep gardens for a beautiful springtime bloom is to begin planting bulbs in the fall. In fact, fall is actually the best time to get a head start on spring because many of the most popular and colorful flowering bulbs can be planted during this time. For that reason, gardeners in-the-know take advantage of the fall season by prepping their new plants at the same time they are clearing out any plants from the previous season that are on their last legs.
Of course, some plants are more desirable than others, especially because plants thrive in different conditions. From climate considerations, soil quality, and simple personal preference, green thumbs from every state have their own fall favorites. When it comes time to plant for the spring, we at K. van Bourgondien wanted to find out exactly which fall plants are most popular in every state. We turned to Google Trends data to find out, mapping out the top searched fall bulbs from September to December of 2019. The search volume data we collected comes from over 25 different fall plants and bulbs, so that way, we’ve covered everyone’s preferences.
Here’s what we found out about the most popular fall plants.
Our analysis found that opinions on the best fall plants are very diverse across the country, with 18 different plants taking the top spot in at least one state. Diversity, when it comes to flowers, always makes for a beautiful garden! But despite that diversity, there are a few plants turning up time and again. Of particular note, tulips show up in Florida, Washington, and many states in between.
One reason behind the diversity of the most popular plants comes from the fact that plants have different needs. Like individuals, plants need different conditions to thrive which is why you’re not likely to see plants that need a lot of sunlight in areas where rain is consistent and the precipitation is above-average. Likewise, it makes sense that hostas are the top searched plants in the midwestern states of Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Hostas love moist soil and are extremely adaptable, so they’re great choices for states that may have harsher winter weather.
The literal coast-to-coast popularity of tulips is best displayed in the chart above, where we ranked the top-five overall fall plants based on the number of states each was most popular in.
Looking at the data this way shows us tulips were far and wide the top fall plant preference across the nation because tulips finished first in 12 different states.
That total more than doubles the second-place plant, amaryllis, which was popular in five states, a number that is respectable but still trails far behind the tulip total. It is worth noting that amaryllis are one of the few plants in this analysis that owe their fall popularity to the fact that they grow well indoors and produce beautiful blooms that are popular around the winter holidays.
Another very popular plant, hyacinth, ranks just behind amaryllis with four states. Hyacinths are super popular because they’re known as one of the easiest spring bulbs to grow and they perfume the air with sweet fragrance.
Finally, we broke down America into the four major regions to find which fall plant is most popular in each part of the country. While it isn’t very surprising to see tulips are very popular (winning three regions) when looking at the data this way, the flower wasn’t quite able to achieve a clean sweep. That is because gardeners and plant enthusiasts in the northeastern part of the country love amaryllis enough for that plant to take top honors there.
No matter which flowers and plants are your personal favorites, we hope this look at the most popular fall plants has been fun, illuminating, and inspirational. And if this analysis has given you some ideas for your own fall planting, remember that K. van Bourgondien can help with all your planting needs no matter the season!