I love the little Zinnia angustifolia 'Orange' for three season color.

Of course, the Profusion zinnias are still blooming up a storm, too.

I'm in Northern Alabama, with hot steamy summers, AND obnoxious red clay. These two zinnia species thrive every single year. Yes, including this year with our record breaking heat!

Not much will bloom all summer and shine in the fall too. The plants that bloom in the summer are winding down by fall.

Try planting some marigolds in July or August and they'll be blooming in a month

How about Gazanias?

I hear you on the orange (and burnt red and yellow and gold, too) for this time of year. It's like I just crave it! I second the motion for Profusion zinnias, especially the one called Fire. There are nice orange and yellow zinnias in the taller selections too. I also start marigolds in July just so I can replace tired summer annuals with fall color this time of year. It's so worth the bit of effort.

Cuphea ignea (cigar plant) is hard to beat this time of year. There's one that gets about 3 feet tall that has brilliant red/orange blooms that blooms all summer to frost. I have another one that I believe is called gigantea that gets about 5-6 feet tall, 3 feet wide that is pumpkin orange and yellow. Both are perennial in my zone, but would be worth growing as annuals. I would also mention that purply muhly grass (muhlenbergia) makes a fabulous backdrop for these colors this time of year.

A very pretty plant with orange bloom at this time of year is "Leonotis leonurus. It gets up to about four feet with many bloom stems, beloved by hummingbirds. Al

Some good suggestions that I will think about next spring when I'm sowing seeds. Zinnias are right up my alley. Another "annual" that will survive our summers in orange shades is Tropical Hibiscus. I'm going to look for an orange one next year. And looking at my DH's veggie garden I thought about ornamental peppers. The changing colors of orange/red/yellow say Halloween to me. And although not an annual I have been pleasantly taken with a new mini rose I bought this year called Oxbow. It's a recent introduction and the blooms start out warm orange changing to pinky then to mauve. It is blending in with the rest of my Pink/orange theme and looks good from spring to fall. Still thinking about more orange....Pansies maybe? Are there orange ones?

Oh my, some of the orange pansies are beautiful! I wish I could remember the name of the cultivar I planted one year...they were orange and burgundy. Anyway, in your location I wouldn't be surprised if you could find some pansies at the garden centers right now. They're everywhere here.

I've thought of Million Bells (Calibrachoa). There are some orange hybrids that are gorgeous, and on my list for next year. Calibrachoa is yet another plant on this long list (and getting longer) of plants that are 3 season plants.

You may want to consider Solidago as a perennial in your gardens. They are a pretty back ground plant all spring and summer and come into their glory in the fall.

Donna, when I lived along the coast of SC, I fell in love with the drifts of purple muhly everywhere. So beautiful. We're going to plant a large number of them in one of our perennial gardens, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I made a brief stop at one of my nuseries yesterday and they had just gotten in a load of pansies. The orange pansies they had weren't really the shade of orange I had in mind. I've had this color before (and liked it) but it is really more a shade of apricot to my eye then orange. I saw the Johnny Jump ups in orange and purple and may go back for them later. There was one lone snapdragon in a 6 pack mix that was a glorious shade of burnt orange/yellow, but I didn't want the rest of the colors in the 6 pack so I passed. But it did provide me with a thought about Snapdragons. The Calibrachoa idea is a good one if I can keep them going until fall. Most of the time they poop out for me about mid July or the catapillars devour them. But I'll be looking next spring at them. I certainly don't want to grow it because I've heard it's so invasive, but some dried Bittersweet sounds good to me about now. More nurseries to visit and more ideas coming on this forum I hope....Maryl

Had a new marigold bloom this week that is gorgeous. It's Durango, "Flame". A beautiful dark orange with yellow picotee edges. The plants have very deep green bushy foliage and the blooms are as large as many chrysanthemums. Definitely one for next year.

I think the pansy you're looking for is called Jolly Joker. The upper petals are purple and the lower ones are orange. This is a full sized pansy, not a small viola type. If I ever get over my love affair with Ultima Morphos, I am going to plant those some year. I think they would be gorgeous with purple and/or orange tulips.

Here is a link that might be useful: Durango, Flame

Not annual but Crocosmia, Asclepias tuberosa, some chrysanthemums and some dahlias will give you orange. Nasturtiums, certain sunflowers and calendula for annuals.

Bright lights Cosmos are carefree, re-seeding orange annuals that tolerate drought and bloom heavily until the first frost. They're shorter than other Cosmos--15-18"--but have tons of blossoms.

Martha