What Kind of Flowers Are Orange & Black?
Orange adds a blaze of color, while black grounds this brightness. Flowers that are orange and black typically need full sun to grow, though some flower even when planted in partial shade. Look for orange flowers with black centers, black flowers with orange in the middle or an intriguing combination when selecting the right flowers for your garden.
Appropriate for the edges of a planting bed or to complement taller flowers near a path, low-growing orange and black flowers provide a strong accent. Cheerful mats of bright orange flowers with black centers are hallmarks of creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens), which thrives in U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 11. Creeping zinnia grows only 6 inches high and spreads about a foot wide. It prefers full sun and well-drained, humus-rich soil. Blanket flower (Gaillardia) thrives in full sun in USDA zones 3 through 9. It prefers well-drained soil and many cultivars tolerate poor soil conditions. "Baby Cole" and "Arizona Sun" are orange with darker-colored centers and both grow 1 to 3 feet tall.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) grow abundant flowers that are very long-lived when planted in USDA plant hardiness zones 3 through 10, depending on the cultivar. For example, "Blackeyed Stella," growing in that full zone range, blooms with a rich orange color that darkens in the center, nearing black in some blooms. "Black Stockings" reverses the order, edging to black with a bright orange center, growing in USDA zones 3 through 9. Both daylilies grow to about 2 feet high and prefer full sun to partial shade conditions.
If your garden offers relatively poor soil conditions, selecting plants that are tolerant ensures that you can enjoy their orange and black blooms without too much time and budget spent amending the soil. Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida), which grows best in USDA zones 3 through 9, tolerates a wide variety of soil conditions and blooms continually if you deadhead the spent flowers. Blooming with bright orange and yellow flowers with brown to black centers, blackeyed Susans grow about 3 feet tall and spread about 2 1/2 feet. Large coneflowers (Rudbeckia maxima) grow well in USDA zones 4 through 9, tolerating light shade and medium soil. Coneflowers grow up to 5 to 7 feet tall and spread about 4 feet wide.
California tiger lily (Lilium pardalinum), also known as leopard lily, offers interesting combinations of orange and black. Growing well in USDA zones 5 to 9, tiger lily produces a spotted orange blossom, reminiscent of the animal for which it is named. It prefers rich soil and blooms in early summer. Montbretia (Crocosmia pottsii), which grows well in USDA zones 6 to 9, blooms in an unusual architectural form; the orange flowers are tubular, appearing at the end of its long, elegant stem, or scape. The flowers darken to deep red and show well set against swordlike leaves. Montbretia prefers full sun conditions and blooms in late summer.
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Sanvitalia Procumbens
- Fine Gardening: Gaillardia "Arizona Sun" (Blanket Flower)
- Fine Gardening: Hemerocallis "Blackeyed Stella" (Daylily)
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Hemerocallis "Black Stockings"
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Rudbeckia Fulgida
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Rudbeckia Maxima
- Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy: Lilium Pardalinum
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Crocosmia Pottsii
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