Looking for the best potted flowers for full sun? When you’re searching for flowers that do well in pots AND love super sunny locations, consider these five great options.

Petunia

Petunias are prolific bloomers, and you can find them in just about every color.  With wide, trumpet-shaped flowers and branching foliage there are tons of varieties to choose from. Most are sold as hybrids and can have single or double blooms. They also boast ruffled or smooth petals; striped, veined, or solid colors and mounded or cascading habits. Petunias are fast growers, who need at least 6 hours of full sun per day.

You can keep petunias blooming all summer by giving them enough sun, water, and fertilizer; deadheading the spent blooms; and pruning back scraggly growth. In cold climates, petunias are annuals and only last one growing season. In warmer zones, petunias will come back every year, for about three years. My friends, Shelley and Heather always plant them. Heather prefers the “Wave” petunias that need no dead-heading, while Shelley swear by snipping off the spent blooms. Both gals always have lovely containers of them. Prettiest I’ve seen. 

Lantana

One of the best potted flowers for full sun is Lantana. A charming plant with bright blooms and sweet fragrance, it’s a favourite of pollinators. Lantana plants are suitable for growing outdoors in the warm climates  (USDA zones 9-11).

Dwarf and weeping varieties make a fine choice for pots. Be certain to choose a pot large enough to accommodate Lantana’s sometimes larger-than-most root ball.  “Bandana Cherry” and “Pink Cparice” are my choices for dwarf varieties, while “Trailing Purple” and “White Lightenin‘” are my favourites in the latter category.

Portaluca

Portalucas, a type of succulent, is another of the best potted flowers for full sun. It is particularly perfect for areas with both hot summer temperatures and full sun.

The flowers can be red, pink, yellow, orange, cream or white and their foliage is able to store moisture so they’re a bot more forgiving. This is a fantastic option if you aren’t the best at remembering to water. Also known as moss roses, my top picks right now include this lovely yellowish orange variety, “Mango Twist” and “Pazazz Dark Pink“.  So pretty.

Begonias

Another popular option are Begonias. This is a plant that is loved by bees, with flowers that can be red, pink, yellow or white. They flower from summer through fall and are easy-to-grow. Begonias take root in many conditions and require little to thrive. I love the waxy varieties with dark, shiny leaves. This one, “Big Rose with Broze Leaf” is a stunner. Enormous, rosy pink blossoms with lightly bronzed, deep green foliage, it boasts dramatic contrast.  Remember to water them when the top 1/2 inch of soil dries out.

Zonal Geraniums

Commonly know as “Geraniums”, this quintessential summer plant are bushy, mainly used for containers and bedding. A dizzying array of geraniums exist, varying in size and flower color.  Geraniums have oval leaves that grow on succulent stems. They are typically bright green with zones of maroon or bronzy-green. The flowers themselves  can be single (5 petals) or double and come in clear white, pink, salmon, orange, red, magenta, lavender. I love the bicolored options, like “Bicolored Red White”.   As far as a traditional style, I highly recommend ‘Black Velvet Rose’. With deep chocolate-brown leaves with only a narrow band of green and bright rose-pink flowers, it’s a show-stopper. I love it. 

Pro Tip: Just like any container plant, the best potted flowers for full sun should be in a well-drained pot with top quality potting soil.