19 Best Purple Flowering Plants to Grow Indoors or Outdoors

By: Matt Slaymaker
May 23, 2024
Purple Plants & Flowers
Share this post:

Are you a plant lover with a fascination for purple? Then, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve selected some gorgeous flowering plants that bloom in the palette of purple, from soft lavender, mauve, and pale purple to lilac, purple-blue, and rich violet hues. 

You can choose from various indoor and outdoor plants flowering in purple shades that match your personality or home decor. 

So, keep reading to learn more about the best plants with purple flowers!

What Does a Purple Flower Symbolize?

Purple is a gorgeous color, associated with high spirituality, and royalty. It’s a favorite for many people, including plant lovers and indoor gardeners. Purple flower plants have a great aesthetic appeal and instantly attract attention because of their vibrancy. They add a visual interest to outdoor recreational spaces and can bring color to any interior space.

Purple flowers have a deep meaning and symbolism, thus they can make the perfect plant gift for various occasions, such as birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. They may be given to express love, respect, and admiration. Purple-flower plants can also represent condolence, sympathy, and support in dire times. 

You may have seen purple floral arrangements at happy and joyous events. That’s because they add a touch of royalty, luxury, and creativity. But then again, these flowers also represent peace and sincerity. Hence, it’s not uncommon to find them at memorial services.  

Magic, mystery, love, ambition: purple signifies several amazing sentiments across different cultures worldwide. So, add purple flower plants to your space to express a deeper symbolic meaning or evoke special feelings in family and guests. 

19 Plants With Purple Flowers 

There are plenty of beautiful plants with purple flowers that you can grow indoors or outdoors. Here are our top picks:

1. African Violet - An Exotic Beauty

African Violet

African Violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) is one of the best violet flower plants, known for its stunning blooms and sea-green leaves. This pet-friendly plant symbolizes love and faithfulness, making it an excellent gift for someone special. It also stands for wealth and abundance in Feng Shui. They prefer a warm environment with ample humidity and have low watering needs. 

2. Mexican Sage - Velvet Splendors

Mexican Sage

The Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) is a perennial plant with purple flowers. Its blooms are long, wispy spikes that are elegant and vibrant. It’s an excellent addition to gardens, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. It also grows well in containers without demanding much care. This gorgeous and aromatic herb thrives in full sun and is a strong and resilient plant, which is why it symbolizes endurance. 

3. Purple Calla Lily - Royalty Redefined

Purple Calla Lily

Purple Calla Lily (Zantedeschia rehmannii) has a majestic grace. It’s one of the most beautiful houseplants with purple flowers, perfect for entrances. It signifies loyalty, wisdom, and devotion - all royal characteristics. These vase-shaped flowers are simply gorgeous, don’t you think? Calla Lilies enjoy full sun and average humidity and thrive at room temperature. The plant is easy to care for if you water it regularly. 

4. Ornamental Onion - A Natural Jewel

Ornamental Onion

Ornamental Onion (Allium 'Millenium') plants are the prettiest members of the onion family. Their rosy-purple blooms look like pom poms dancing in the summer breeze. Their long-lasting fragrance attracts butterflies and bees. The Perennial Plant Association named this plant the “2018 Perennial Plant of the Year.” It needs a little warmth, humidity, and regular hydration.  

5. Heliotrope - A Garden's Delight

Heliotrope

Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) is a classic favorite. Its veined leaves create a beautiful backdrop for the clusters of purple or lavender flowers. It thrives in container gardens and enhances flower beds. Heliotrope plants burst into blooms in fall and summer if they get full sun and warm temperatures. Make sure to give it frequent drinks.

6. Purple Moth Orchid - An Elegant Gem

Purple Moth Orchid

Purple Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) is all about vibrancy or color, making it a complete rockstar. It’s a popular choice for indoor spaces where it can be added as an accent. The purple orchid flower symbolizes regality, dignity, and respect. Your orchid will thrive in indirect light and you should water it every week to see it bloom for several months. 

7. Wisteria - Evoking Mystery and Magic

Wisteria

Wisteria (Wisteria spp.) can create a fairy tale scene with its long, flowy flowers. These air-purifying purple vines are best grown outdoors. They look stunning, hanging from pergolas or archways, symbolizing romance and longevity. They thrive in full sun and bloom abundantly in spring and early summer. Manage their vigorous growth with a little pruning and support structures.

8. Purple Flamingo Flower - A Delightful Dancer 

Purple Flamingo Flower

Purple Flamingo Flower (Anthurium andraeanum) is a tropical plant that can grow in the wild on rocks, and the bark of trees. The flower is a slender yellow spadix with a heart-shaped purple spathe. The plant enjoys high humidity and moisture and flourishes in bright, indirect sunlight.  

9. Sweet Pea Shrub - A Perennial Beauty

Sweet Pea Shrub

Sweet Pea Shrub (Polygala dalmaisiana) is a fast-growing plant, charming in any indoor or outdoor setting. Its rose-magenta blossoms have white-purple crests, which bloom in full sun. This plant is a popular choice for cottage and container gardens. A symbol of happiness and bliss, the Sweet Pea Shrub is easy to care for and is a safe choice for a home with pets.

10. Catmint - A Meadow's Favorite

Catmint

Catmint (Nepeta) is a perennial plant with upright lavender-blue spikes. Its tubular flowers bloom between late spring and early fall. They bring butterflies and bees to your garden, keeping the buzz alive. It's a great plant for new gardeners because it can grow in various conditions and forgives neglect. However, ensure to water it regularly during extreme heat and dry spells.  

11. Purple Calandiva Plant - An Easy-Care Blooming Wonder

Purple Calandiva Plant

Calandiva (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) plants are available in multiple vibrant hues, with purple and red being the most popular. It’s easy to grow, and the blooms last long, making it a favorite among plant lovers. The purple flowers add a splash of brightness to any indoor space or porch area. They also make wonderful gifts. All they need is a bright spot avoiding direct light. 

12. Clematis 'Jackmanii' - A Four-Petaled Stunner

Clematis 'Jackmanii'

The Clematis 'Jackmanii' holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in recognition of its magnificence. It is a deciduous tree, covered by dark purple flowers with four distinct petals. You can grow this plant in full sun or partial shade to see it thrive. Although it’s a great choice for trellises, walls, fences, etc., you can grow it in containers too. 

13. Giant Deep Purple Fuchsia - Mother Nature’s Art

Giant Deep Purple Fuchsia

Giant Deep Purple Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica) inspires creativity and passion with its delicate pink and purple blooms. Its dual-toned petals and contrasting sepals reflect Nature's masterful artistry. The plant prefers cool days and cooler nights, without which it may struggle to flower. This pet-friendly plant prefers partial or full shade and has moderate watering needs.

14. Ionantha Fuego Air Plant - A Wispy Enchantress

Ionantha Fuego Air Plant

Ionantha Fuego (Tillandsia) is a fuzzy air plant that blooms with purple flowers. Interestingly, the leaves change from green to red while flowering. These soil-free beauties are perfect for terrariums, or wooden-board and shelf displays. You need to place your purple-flowering Tillandsia in a spot that receives bright, indirect light with high humidity. Remember to water your air plant regularly.

15. Purple Wreath - Purple Perfection

Purple Wreath

Purple Wreath (Petrea volubilis) offers unmatched beauty to your garden with each cluster of purple flowers. It is popular among plant lovers because of its perennial charm, blooming all year round. This symbol of unity and completion enjoys direct or partial sun as long as there’s no risk of leafburn. This plant prefers moderate temperature and humidity, though it can withstand a little frost.  

16. Violet Purple Hyacinth - Of Peace and Remembrance 

Violet Purple Hyacinth

Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) plants with violet-purple flowers are among the top choices for both outdoor and indoor spaces. Thanks to the densely-flowered spikes, they add festive joy to your home and garden in spring. They also make great Easter plant gifts, representing sorrow and forgiveness. These beauties enjoy indirect sunlight or partial shade with medium humidity. 

17. Purple Bougainvillea - Nature’s Paper Craft

Purple Bougainvilia

Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis) flowers have tiny white blooms surrounded by paper-thin purple bracts. These unusual-looking plants create the most vibrant display of color in landscaping. Native to South America, Purple Bougainvilia thrives in warm, tropical climates. Make sure it receives full sun so that it grows prolifically. 

18. Mexican Snowballs Echeveria - A Gorgeous Succulent

Mexican Snowballs Echeveria Elegans

Echeveria elegans is an excellent choice for people who love succulents. It’s a pet-friendly plant that is low-maintenance and easy to care for. The leaves have rims with a purple tinge and are arranged in a pattern resembling a rose. The stunning pale-purple flowers on the stalk showcase exquisite allure. All they need is a bright light, a dry environment, and a drink when the soil is dry. 

19. Aquilegia Earlybird - A Colorful Falling Star

Aquilegia Earlybird

Aquilegia Earlybird Purple Blue plants bear enchanting bicolored flowers. The flower petals are blue or white against the backdrop of purple sepals. Together with the spurs, they create the shape of a falling star. They love full or partial sun, with average humidity. Aquilegia Earlybird plants have moderate watering needs, making them ideal for newbies.

Purple Flower Plants: Faqs 

Q: What is the purple flower for money?

A: Lunaria, or the Purple Money Plant, bears beautiful purple flowers. These four-petaled flowers are considered a lucky charm, attracting financial prosperity. The plant is believed to bring wealth and fortune.

Q: What purple flower means love?

A: Flowers like the Rose, Chrysanthemum, and Lilac in purple symbolize love. They come in different shades like light purple, lilac, magenta, and more. They represent various sentiments like mystical love, passion, first love, and more.   

Q: What purple flower is best to show sympathy?

A: Purple Hyacinth is the most popular symbol of sympathy. The color purple is considered a symbol of sorrow and grief, among other feelings. Purple hyacinth flowers are added to sympathy bouquets to acknowledge loss.   

Q: Which purple flowers mean friendship?

A: Flowers like Irises and Chrysanthemums in purple mean friendship. Purple Daisies suggest you’re thinking of someone, while Purple Roses symbolize loyalty. So, these flowers can also make the perfect gifts for friends.     

Q: What succulents have purple flowers?

Many succulents have gorgeous purple flowers. These include Kalanchoe, Christmas Cactus, Hardy Ice Plant, Red Maid, and more. Succulents like Echeveria and Burro's Tail also have leaves or blooms with a purple tint. 

Conclusion

Plants with purple flowers are vibrant, colorful additions to any indoor or outdoor garden. They can represent many sentiments and symbolic meanings. Purple-flowering plants, like some orchids or bromeliads, are popular gifts for various occasions. 

So, if you love this color, why don’t you bring it into your home by growing live plants blooming in lavender and purple?