The winner: Russian Sage, 91/100. Tied for second at 85: Aster, Blue Salvia, Goldenrod, Great Blue Lobelia.
The garden's last act, scored honestly: how much of September through November each species actually covers, whether hungry fall deer spare it, and who still feeds the late pollinators.
The picks
The flowers that won
The top score, plus the qualifier that asks least of you.
Share of fall it covers: 2 of 3 window months · Care while it grows: low · Fall deer are the hungriest: B
Flaws, not dealbreakers:no vase data in the postharvest literature
Deer: seldom damaged (Rutgers B)
85/ 100tap for the breakdown
Share of fall it covers26 / 352 of 3 window months
Care while it grows25 / 25low
Fall deer are the hungriest14 / 20B
Feeds the late pollinators20 / 204 documented
The protocol
How the score is built
4 rules, 100 points, no opinions. Every line reads one field of the table.
Share of fall it covers35 pointsblooms across all three fall months 35; two 26; one 15 Read from: the months it is in bloom.
Care while it grows25 pointslow upkeep 25; middling 14; demanding 4; sources disagree, we average the range; no rating 12 Read from: how much upkeep extension guides report.
Fall deer are the hungriest20 pointsRutgers A, rarely damaged 20; B 14; C 6; D, deer candy 0; not rated 9 Read from: the Rutgers deer rating.
Feeds the late pollinators20 pointsfeeds three or more pollinator groups 20; two 14; one 8; none documented 4 Read from: pollinator groups.
Not ranked here: no documented bloom in September, October or November.
The full method ↗
The leaderboard
The top ten
The 10 highest of 45 that qualified. Tap any score to open the lines behind it.
Share of fall it covers26 / 352 of 3 window months
Care while it grows14 / 25medium
Fall deer are the hungriest20 / 20A
Feeds the late pollinators20 / 204 documented
Considered, not chosen
Not qualifying is a verdict too: the table simply says this job is not theirs.
no documented bloom in September, October or NovemberTulips, Peonies, Hydrangea macrophylla and 37 more
The winner's badge
Generated by the ranking above, and re-scored whenever the table changes.
Russian Sage
The badge is generated by this ranking, not awarded by hand. When the
table changes, it re-scores itself.
How we rank
We keep one table of 85 flowers,
with 25 documented facts each, drawn from university and extension sources. Every ranking is
a published formula worth 100 points; tap any score and it unfolds into the lines that made
it. A flower that does not fit a job is not scored lower: it is excluded, and the reason is
shown. When the table changes, every score and stamp updates itself.
The full method ↗
