14 Garden Plants With Vivid Orange Foliage

The color orange has a beautiful energy that radiates warmth, joy, and creativity. In nature, it pops up all over the place, always joyful and often fleeting. We see it in the bold hue of fall leaves, the first and last rays of the day, and the bonfire flames that crackle into the night sky. 

In the garden, there are many wonderful touches of this happy color. An orange pumpkin is always a welcome sight. Marigolds are one of the most universally popular annuals. A tree heavy with ripe citrus is a mouth-watering sight. 

Adding orange to the garden brings balance and contrast. It works in harmony with reds and golds, and enriches the cool purples and blues. The color feels generous, welcoming, and lively.

Here are some stunning plants with orange foliage to bring this joyful color into your garden. They are a perfect match for the orange flowers and fruits we all know and love.

Orange California Poppy

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Orange California Poppy Seeds

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Orange Sun Sweet Pepper

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Orange Sun Sweet Pepper Seeds

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Orange Wonder Snapdragon

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Orange Wonder Snapdragon Seeds

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New Zealand Orange Sedge ‘Prairie Fire’

	botanical name Carex testacea ‘Prairie Fire’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 18”-24”
	hardiness zones 7-9

Ornamental grasses have a special way of creating a halo effect in the garden. Slender, graceful blades offer the suggestion of color without being overwhelming. New Zealand orange sedge is a great ornamental grass that has intense orange tones. The hairlike blades create fun texture, especially on a breezy day. 

‘Prairie Fire’ has fiery, copper colored foliage that glows at sunrise and sunset. This is a terrific plant with orange foliage for the middle of the border. It retains its color year-round, making it an anchor for seasonal neighbors. It’s also incredibly low-maintenance!

Ninebark ‘Ginger Wine®’

	botanical name Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Ginger Wine®’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5’-6’
	hardiness zones 3-7

Ninebark is a flowering, deciduous shrub that is both incredibly durable and ornamental. It’s truly a four-season beauty, and that is extra true for the ‘Ginger Wine®’ cultivar. This is a delightful addition to a wide range of landscapes and even makes a great focal point. 

These shrubs are generally quite pretty, but this particular cultivar is truly captivating. The foliage is vividly orange in the spring with flowers in early summer. The leaves mellow to a deep bronze in summer before flaming up with copper and red tones in the fall. In winter, it has attractive, cinnamon-colored, peeling bark.

Coral Bells ‘Peach Crisp’

	botanical name Heuchera ‘Peach Crisp’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6”-24”
	hardiness zones 4-9

Coral bells are wonderful little shade plants with colorful and shapely foliage that is semi-evergreen. They thrive in shaded and full sun areas of the garden, creating texture with their ruffles and colors. The leaves range from green and purple to red, and nearly black, and ‘Peach Crisp’ is a perfect, peachy orange!

‘Peach Crisp’ is perfect for edging in semi-shady spaces where other plants may languish. It mixes wonderfully with other shade-tolerant plants like ferns and sedges. These plants with orange foliage also produce delicate, white blooms on tall, graceful stems in early summer.

Abelia ‘Canyon Creek’

	botanical name Abelia x grandiflora ‘Canyon Creek’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-6’
	hardiness zones 6-9

Abelias are fantastic shrubby plants for adding flowers, color, and just a touch of refinement to the garden. ‘Canyon Creek’ is among the most striking cultivars because of its color-changing foliage. The new growth is bright orange, followed by pretty, pale pink flowers in the summer. 

The leaves warm back to a copper color in the fall, and are semi-evergreen depending on your climate. The color shifting that this shrub does over the seasons makes it a wonderful focal point in the landscape. It complements its neighbors year-round, and pollinators love the sweet flowers. 

Orange Spider Plant ‘Fire Flash’

	botanical name Chlorophytum orchidastrum ‘Fire Flash’
	sun requirements Bright indirect light
	height 12”-24”
	hardiness zones 11-12

In most parts of the U.S., the orange spider plant is a houseplant, as it’s tropical and not frost-tolerant. However, it thrives in a container, similar to other types of spider plants. It can be an outdoor potted plant, bringing a splash of warmth to your patio or front porch. 

‘Fire Flash’ is an especially vibrant cultivar with bold tangerine midribs. The edges of the grassy leaves are green. This plant is happy in partially shaded areas, so it’s nice for covered outdoor living spots. These plants with orange foliage are also easy to care for and thrive indoors in the winter.

Coleus ‘Sedona Sunset®’

	botanical name Coleus ‘Sedona Sunset®’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 24”-40”
	hardiness zones 10-11

Coleus is always perfect for adding touches of warmth and splashes of brightness to your garden. This plant thrives in partially shaded areas, with some being more sun-tolerant than others. ‘Sedona Sunset®’ is one of the more sun-tolerant varieties, so it’s a popular one. 

In addition to its versatility, ‘Sedona Sunset®’ has stunning foliage. The soft, velvety leaves are tangerine with a peachy, pink haze. They’re so bright they almost appear neon. The leaves are slightly shimmery, and the color intensifies in cool, fall temperatures. 

Sugar Maple ‘Fall Fiesta®’

	botanical name Acer saccharum ‘Bailsta’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 50’-70’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Maples are gorgeous trees, especially in the fall when they show off their most vivid colors. Sugar maples have a reputation as one of the most colorful plants across the board in terms of autumn foliage. Their leaves start out light green and deepen over the summer, but burst into flames in the fall. 

‘Fall Fiesta®’ is an exceptional plant bred for strong structure, hardiness, and incredible fall color. The foliage lights up in shades of orange, gold, and scarlet in autumn. It holds these colorful leaves for an extended time, making this a great addition to the landscape. 

Eastern Redbud ‘The Rising Sun™’

	botanical name Cercis canadensis ‘The Rising Sun™’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 8’-12’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Eastern redbud trees are always a great addition to the garden. Their colorful flowers, foliage, and attractive form make them a nice focal point. ‘The Rising Sun™’ has all of these delightful attributes, and one extra special trait. 

In spring, ‘The Rising Sun™’ produces new foliage in brilliant apricot orange. As the first foliage matures, it shifts to gold and chartreuse, with new leaves continuing to appear in the deeper orange shade. It creates an ombre or rainbow effect.

As if that wasn’t enough, the leaves are heart-shaped! These plants with orange foliage are on my Christmas wish list this year.

Paddle Plant

	botanical name Kalanchoe luciae
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 9-12

For those tropical gardeners who love pops of this happy hue, there is no shortage of orange tropical flowers. Foliage can be trickier, but paddle plants are a great choice. This is a species of Kalanchoe, which means it’s succulent and incredibly easy to care for. 

This attractive plant has large, paddle-shaped, fleshy leaves arranged in a loose rosette. The edges are reddish-orange, and in bright light or exposure to cold, they intensify and spread. Plant this in full sun, and it might set the garden ablaze!

American Barberry Sunjoy® ‘Tangelo™’

	botanical name Berberis thunbergii Sunjoy® ‘Tangelo™’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-4’
	hardiness zones 4-8

American barberry is a compact, deciduous shrubby plant that has color-shifting foliage. It’s a great plant if you’re looking for something that provides a different look for each season. It’s a moderate grower and makes a beautiful hedge in a mass planting. 

‘Tangelo™’ gets its name from its color-transforming leaves. In spring, leaves emerge a glowing orange, and then mellow to golden-lime for the summer. In fall, it once again leans heavily into those warm orange tones with touches of crimson and scarlet. 

Autumn Fern ‘Brilliance’

	botanical name Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 1’-2’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Autumn ferns are sensational for their color, texture, and form. Their long, gracefully arching plumes shift from orange to green as they age. They lend a feathery touch to partially and even fully shaded spots in the garden. They’re incredibly low-maintenance, bordering on a preference for neglect. 

‘Brilliance’ is a striking cultivar that received the distinguished Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. The triangular fronds unfurl in bright orange and gradually mellow to deep green. All shades are present at the same time for a stunning ombre effect. 

American Arborvitae ‘Fire Chief™’

	botanical name Thuja occidentalis ‘Congabe’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-4’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Arborvitae is a compact, attractive evergreen that is perfect for building a low-hedge or windbreak. ‘Fire Chief™’ is a popular cultivar because of its extra colorful nature. The foliage is fine and feathery, so it adds lovely texture in addition to the orange tones. 

In spring, the foliage is brilliant gold, and deepens to orange tones over the summer. In fall and winter, the color deepens further, taking on red hues. It’s a great size for just about any space, and it makes a lovely container plant as well. 

Weigela ‘Strobe®’

	botanical name Weigela x ‘WOF/R’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3’
	hardiness zones 4-7

Weigela plants are easy to grow and give more than they take. They’re long-lived, often with little care or maintenance. Their attractive foliage and sweet flowers make them a nice addition to the landscape. Pollinators appreciate them, too. 

‘Strobe®’ is a color-changing variety with bright pink flowers in the summertime. The leaves start out bronze and transition to orange before turning crimson in the fall. Pink flowers on the orange summer foliage make this a standout option. 

Japanese Maple ‘Orange Flame’

	botanical name Acer palmatum ‘Orange Flame’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10’-15’
	hardiness zones 5-9

I love Japanese maples for their colorful foliage, but most cultivars are more red than orange. ‘Orange Flame,’ however, breaks the mold. Like others, this plant is a small to medium-sized tree with a graceful form and beautiful, shapely leaves.