For decades, gardeners have reported pink and purple as their favorite flower colors. Simple monocolor gardens and containers have ranked high in popularity, too - but that’s all changing for 2026. Recent surveys show that bicolor blooms and multicolor plantings have pulled ahead as the most popular, as people are craving vibrant, positive energy and strive to make their outdoor living spaces truly feel like home.
What exactly is a bicolor flower? By definition, it is a flower that has two distinct colors on its petals, like pink and white stripes for example. Bicolors are different from bitones which display two shades of one color, like light pink and dark pink on the same flower.
If you’re making plans for your porch pots this season or need a few new hardy perennials and shrubs to liven up your garden, there are plenty of fun bicolor options to try. Let’s take a closer look at six that are right on-trend this season.
What’s the “magic” in this dynamic double-flowered calibrachoa? Notice how there are both yellow and pink flowers in the photo above. This special plant produces color-shifting blossoms that open lemon yellow, then transition through shades of pink grapefruit and hot pink as they age and as the season progresses. Springtime launches with more pastel tones, summertime brings out brighter colors, and crisp fall days intensify everything. All on ONE plant!
The beauty is that you could plant one Superbells Magic® Double Grapefruit in a container and it’ll look like you’ve planted two different flowers. Plus, you are sure to enjoy how it changes through the seasons.
Grow this floriferous plant in containers in full sun for best results, or in part sun if you live in a very warm climate. Like all Superbells® calibrachoa, you won’t need to pick off any of the spent blooms for it to keep right on flowering from planting time until frost. Be sure to feed it each week with Proven Winners Water Soluble Plant Food. Annual. Height: 6-12"; Spread: 12-24".
There's no mistaking this bold bicolor vivid orchid purple petunia rimmed in snow white. It's so distinctive that you'll recognize it easily from across the yard, whether you grow it in the ground, hanging baskets or upright containers. There’s something electric about those blooms!
You’ll love how easy Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid petunias are to grow, too. Like all Supertunia® petunias, you won't need to spend your summer pinching off the spent flowers for it to keep on blooming non-stop from planting time until frost. As a standard Supertunia, the flowers are medium-sized and the plant has a mounded trailing shape. It mixes well with most other sun-loving plants in container recipes and landscapes. The best place to grow petunias is in full sun, but they also bloom in part sun. Annual. Height: 4-12"; Spread: 18-24".
If cooler colors are more your style, try this softer bicolor lavender blue and white striped verbena. It’s gorgeous as a low-growing underlay for panicle hydrangeas and roses but also shines in container recipes and hanging baskets. Expect the plant’s shape to be mounded in spring, then more trailing as the stems grow and elongate.
Verbena is a sun-loving annual that is most floriferous in greater than six hours of afternoon sun. It also blooms in part sun, especially in warmer climates. Well-drained soil is important, so if you garden in clay, stick to growing Superbena in containers. Annual. Height: 6-12"; Spread: 18-30".
With so many unique bicolor varieties of Luscious® lantana to try, it’s tough to choose a favorite. You’ll find their colors tend to shift depending on the freshness of the flower and also the time of year, but at least two colors are typically present at all times on bicolor varieties like Luscious® Basket Tangeglow®. Sometimes, you’ll even see three!
From golden yellow to warm peach and hot orange, warm tones permeate the fragrant blossoms of this mounded to slightly trailing lantana all season long. These colors look fresh in spring, pair easily with other brilliant hues in the summertime, and blend seamlessly with fall foliage all the way through autumn. This is truly a plant that will “grow” the distance – all with no deadheading needed for continuous blooms.
Grow Luscious lantana in a very sunny spot in the landscape and containers – perhaps someplace near your patio where you can observe hummingbirds enjoying the blossoms. Like Superbena verbena, lantana also prefers well-drained soil and won’t skip a beat if you miss a day or two of watering. Pollinators and hummingbirds are big fans but thankfully, deer are not. Annual. Height: 12-26"; Spread: 12-24".
This remarkably eye-catching perennial lives up to its common name, red hot poker, with fiery red and creamy peach bicolor flower spikes. Pyromania® varieties set the garden ablaze in warm color beginning in early summer, then continue to send up new flower torches throughout the remainder of summer. Hummingbirds, pollinating bees and butterflies are all big fans of red hot pokers.
When not in bloom, you might mistake this strappy-leaved perennial for an ornamental grass. The thick, plastic-textured leaves make it unpalatable to deer and rabbits. Try growing it in similar places as a grass, such as a focal point or vertical element in a perennial border or grouped together as a drought tolerant ground cover in any sunny space. Hardy in zones 6-9.Full sun.Height: 2 ½ - 3’; Spread: 1 ½ - 2’.
This bicolor may be on-trend for 2026, but it has been one of the most popular landscape roses in the Oso Easy® line for years. There’s just something about the elegant blossoms of this hardy, disease resistant rose. Each semi-double flower opens from orange buds to reveal soft yellow petals, then blushes peachy pink around the edges of the petals, eventually washing the entire bloom in warm tones. Cooler fall temperatures intensify the colors even more.
This self-cleaning, long blooming rose is mid-sized, making it a good fit for the middle of foundation beds and borders. Give it plenty of sunshine and don’t crowd it, and it will reward you with plentiful, gorgeous bicolor blooms all summer long. Hardy in zones 4-9.Full sun. Height: 18-30"; Spread: 18-30".
Contributor Bio: Susan Martin is an avid zone 6 gardener and content creator who enjoys spreading her passion for plants to others across North America.
All images courtesy of Proven Winners.
Patent Information: Superbells Magic® Double Grapefruit Calibrachoa USPP36771 CanPBRAF US Utility 7786342; Supertunia® Hoopla® Vivid Orchid™ Petunia USPP36627 CanPBRAF; Superbena® Stormburst Verbena USPP29640; Luscious® Basket Tangeglow® Lantana camara USPP34218 CanPBRAF; Pyromania® 'Rocket's Red Glare' Kniphofia USPP30772; Oso Easy Italian Ice® Rosa USPP26532 Can5131
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By: Natalie Carmolli for Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs
A Freely growing rose garden has plenty of natural charm, but thoughtful plant pairings can make your roses stand out even more. To learn more click here for an informative article.
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