27 Pretty Flowers That Start with P

There are a lot of popular flowers that start with P available, and you can most likely name a few of your favorites without having to think too hard. If you want to create a themed garden, having many flowers that start with P is one way to go about it. We’re going to give you examples of 27 pretty flowers that start with P below, and you can decide which ones will work best for your area.

1. Pansy

Panies are one flower that starts with P that is excellent in pots. They offer frilly, cheerful faces that will decorate your space in the fall and spring months. Pansies have the ability to bloom virtually anywhere in almost any growing zone, and you can use them in a large application range. They work well for filling out your flower beds, lining borders, and growing in containers of all sizes. The flowers are also edible, and they make a great addition to desserts or salads. They thrive planted in partial to full sun. If you live in a region where the soil temperatures stay between 45 and 65-degrees all year-round, pansies will flower until the spring months.

Pansy by oatsy40 / CC BY 2.0

2. Passion Vine

This unique flower that starts with P comes from a tropical vine, and it usually features five petals and five sepals that frame the corona. There is a fringe of very threadlike growths around the five stamens, and the ovary offers three spreading styles. Depending on the species you pick out, the color can be anything from deep purple to yellow or white. This is a surprisingly easy to grow plant that loves full sun and a soil that drains very well between watering sessions. Once it gets established, this plant can tolerate drought. Some species do well in lighter shade.

Passion Flower by DM / CC BY-ND 2.0

3. Petunia

You can plant mounding petunias in a bed to bring a lot of color to the space, allow trailing ones to spill over the edges of your hanging baskets, and tuck rambling flowers that start with P in open spaces to function like a pretty groundcover. They come in a huge range of growth habits and colors, and they’re both deer-resistant and low-maintenance. This versatile plant can go virtually anywhere in your landscape design, and they’ll bloom all summer long. They’re not extremely picky with their growing conditions, but they prefer to be in a sunny spot with a well-draining but rich soil.

Petunia by Maureen Barlin / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

4. Pimpernel

This flower that starts with P is native to western Europe, and it’s a smaller herb that usually grows very low to the ground with blue, pink, or red flowers that range from almost flat to bell-shaped. Also, some species of this plant are now listed as being invasive in North America, so you have to double-check with the local extension office before you plant them. This is an easygoing plant that will do well in a range of soil types, but it likes to be in full sun.

Scarlet Pimpernel by Rahel Jaskow / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

5. Pasque Flower

This flower that starts with P starts to bloom very early in the spring, even before the feathery foliage has unfurled completely. You’ll get fun pom-pom seed heads that come after the red, blue, or white blossoms. The silvery leaves on this plant will lend visual interest until they die in the later summer heat. You should plant this flower in well-draining soil and full to partial sun for the best results.

Pasque Flower by CAJC: in the PNW / CC BY-SA 2.0

6. Penstemon

Along with being a beautiful pink flower, this flower that starts with P ranges from tiny alpine versions right up to the five-foot prairie ones. The flowers can be a bright yellow or white to vibrant blue or red. It’s a North American native that fits in virtually anywhere. Every species of this plant features tubular flowers on airy spires that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. They’re a very hardy plant, and they do surprisingly well in well-draining but poor soil with full sun. They work well in cottage gardens and they self-sow.

Penstemon by x70tjw / CC BY-SA 2.0

7. Peony

The herbaceous flower that starts with P will emerge just like asparagus fingers in the spring months. It grows very quickly to become what looks like a very small shrub before it opens the showy, large flowers. They offer a very sweet smell, and you can choose from several types. There are tree peonies, rock garden peonies, intersectional peonies, and more that come in a huge range of pretty and vibrant colors. They thrive when you plant them in well-draining soil with full sun, but they also do decently well in partial shade.

Peony by Keith Ewing / CC BY-NC 2.0

8. Periwinkle

Periwinkle is a flower that starts with P that is a very vigorous spreader. This makes it a fantastic groundcover that offers glossy green leaves and flowers that come in shades of purple, blue, or white. It will bloom in the spring and look pretty until fall and the first frost comes. In more mild climates, this plant can easily take over a garden if you don’t watch it. You’ll have to prune it back to keep it in check because it’s very hard to get rid of once it spreads. They thrive in virtually any condition without a problem, but they like evenly moist and rich soil with partial shade.

Periwinkle by Peter Stenzel / CC BY-ND 2.0

9. Phlox

Phlox is a North American genus that can be anything from creeping, low-growing varieties up to towering meadow ones. This flower that starts with P offers very fragrant blossoms, and you can easily find a species to fit your garden. Phlox gives you a huge amount of summer blooms in shades of red, pink, white, and purple. There are annual varieties available too, and you want to plant them all in a sunny location with even moisture. They do wonderfully in rock gardens or on the border.

Phlox by Anna Hesser / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

10. Pincushion Flower

This flower that starts with P gets the name for the flowers because they look like ruffled pincushions. It’ll start to bloom in the spring months and go until the frost hits to give you a reliable cut flower source and splashes of color in the garden. You can find them in purple, pink, white, and blue, and they can get anywhere from six inches to three feet tall at full maturity. It’s a decently drought-tolerant plant that does well when you plant it in soil that drains well. It does prefer full sun, but it can tolerate lightly shaded areas if you live in southern areas that get hotter.

Pincushion flower by Derek Keats / CC BY 2.0

11. Plantain Lily

This plant is more commonly known by the hosta genus, but it’s a popular flower that starts with P that adores the shade. It has very attractive foliage that can outshine the taller purple or white flower stalks that are very delicate. It works very well in a forest garden, around the base of the trees, or in a shady border. It does best when you plant it in an area with full to dappled shade, depending on the variety you pick out. Besides the shade, this plant also requires rich, moist, and well-draining soil to thrive.

An array of lilys by Dwight Beers / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

12. Poppy

Poppies are an excellent pick to put in your cottage garden or in a wildflower meadow. This flower that starts with P is known for the bright orange or red coloring with papery petals that surround a dark center. Some varieties are available in other colors. Most poppy species will bloom in the early summer or spring for a few weeks, and they die back during the heat of summer after they reseed. You want to plant them in sandy, light soil in a bright, sunny area to encourage healthy growth.

Poppy by Joe Flintham / CC BY-SA 2.0

13. Primrose

This is another pretty flower that starts with P, and it originally comes from the northern hemisphere. The biggest areas where this plant typically grows include New Guinea, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. It’s a very popular type of ornamental flower that you can find used all over the world. When it comes to understanding the meaning of the primrose flower, it has loose links to the world prime. Prime means first. This is also one of the first flowers to come up in the spring, and you can use it for a huge range of occasions and things. It works well in  your garden, or you can easily put it as a decoration for a path to the house. It comes in different shapes and sizes, and it’s currently one of the most popular ornamental plants in the world.

Primrose by Timo Newton-Syms / CC BY-SA 2.0

14. Protea

The spiky, large flowers on this plant are difficult to grow and unusual, but this flower that starts with P is usually well worth the effort you put in. It’s native to South Africa and Australia, and they require heat, full sun, and a very well-draining soil to grow. It usually thrives in a rocky, dry corner of your garden where nothing else will grow well. This is especially true if the soil is acidic. When you pick the flowers on this plant in full bloom, they dry extremely well and work for wreaths and arrangements.

Proteas by Thomas Gerhard / CC BY-ND 2.0

15. Pale Purple Coneflower

This flower that starts with P is actually a wildflower that you’ll find growing happily in the southeastern portion of the United States. The purple coneflower isn’t the easiest one to take on, and you have to plant it and care for it perfectly so it doesn’t look leggy and scraggly. It requires a very rich soil, full sunlight, and a lot of water. It’s a perennial that can range from 20-inches to 36-inches tall, and it offers pink or pale purple flowers. It’ll start to bloom in the early summer months.

Coneflower by Peter Miller / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

16. Painted Daisy

Better known as the pyrethrum daisy, this flower that starts with P is a perennial. It’s a member of the Asteraceae family, and it’s native to Africa. However, you can now find this plant introduced to other parts of the world and growing well. It has an upright growth habit that can reach three-feet tall, depending on the conditions and environmental factors. It’s common for it to be shorter if you can’t get the conditions perfect.

Painted Daisies by Celeste Lindell / CC BY 2.0

17. Paper Daisy

Paper daisies are plants that have pink, papery petals in vibrant colors. The flower’s center is very dark yellow to provide a nice contrast. The petals on this flower that starts with P can be pink or white to a deep red. Despite being a very pretty plant that looks delicate, they’re relatively easy to grow and hardy. You can grow these plants in pots or directly in the ground if you live in zones 8 to 12. You can also grow them indoors in a pot or out in an outdoor garden, but they should get a minimum of six hours of sunlight each day to encourage healthy growth.

Paper Daisy by Jean and Fred / CC BY 2.0

18. Passion Flower

The passion flower plant is very large, and it’s a spiny vine that will grow in the warmer areas of the United States. It offers pinnately compound leaves with gorgeous flowers in interesting and unique shapes. You can grow them outside or inside if you take care of them correctly, but it does best in full sunlight in dry soil conditions.

This plant is tolerant to drought, but they won’t survive being in standing water for long. However, it’s still considered a relatively easy flower that starts with P to grow since it’s free of diseases and pests. This makes it a good choice for people who don’t have a lot of time on their hands to care for it. They attract hummingbirds too.

Passion Flowers….. By Chupacabra Viranesque / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

19. Pearly Everlasting

This is a very nice perennial flower that starts with P. It has very graceful foliage in a silvery coloring, and it’ll self-seed all summer long. However, it doesn’t spread very aggressively, so you won’t have to work hard to contain it. The flowers or bright white with yellow that bloom in the later summer months right into the early fall. It’s a herbaceous, tall perennial wildflower, and the stems can get up to an impressive three feet high.

Pearly everlasting by Ruth Hartnup / CC BY 2.0

20. Pencil Cholla

This is a cactus that grows in eastern and central Arizona in the scrub. It’s a very common flower that starts with P in western Texas, southwestern New Mexico, northern Sonora, Coahuila, and south to San Luis Potosi and Oaxaca Mexico. It does very well when you plant it in gravely or sandy soils, and it’s very popular in desert grassland communities.

Pencil Cholla by SkinheadSportBiker1 / CC BY 2.0

21. Perennial Pea

Perennial pea is a herb that falls into the legume family known as Fabaceae. The perennials are a group of plants that you can find growing in cold and temperate regions around the globe. They grow from a very extensive system called the root crown, and the roots will branch out underground to form new shoots that break through the top of the soil.

Fabaceae by Sam Fraser-Smith / CC BY 2.0

22. Persian Buttercup

This flower that starts with P will make a fantastic addition to any garden if you want to get pops of bright colors. They are easy to grow, and they can thrive in very unfavorable conditions without a problem. However, they do best when you plant them in full sunlight, and gardeners and florists allike love them.

Pink Persian Buttercups by Emily Orpin / CC BY-NC 2.0

23. Prickly Pear Cactus

This is a cactus or succulent, and it is considered to be relatively easy to grow as it’s very low maintenance once you get the growing conditions correct. It likes a dry, sandy soil with a pH of 6.1 to 7.8, and it’ll flower in yellow, pink, or red. It tolerates drought very well if you forget to water it, and you can plant it outside if you live in zones 10 and 11. It’ll get between 12 and 40-feet high at full maturity, and you should plant it in an area that gets full or partial sun.

Prickly Pear by Michael Levine-Clark / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

24. Perovskia

This is a flower that starts with P that is popular all over the world. It’s a flowering perennial plant that has blue or violet blossoms. You can find this flower in the steppes of Asia, and it has a long history of use in traditional medicine. However, it might not be easy to recognize this flower as it looks very similar to lavender. There are nine species in this genus, and they are all very similar. It’s a very aromatic choice with a beautiful fragrance.

25. Platycodon

Platycodon is the name for the flowering plant and the genus. It’s a pretty flower that originated in East Asia, and it’s more commonly referred to as the balloon flower. It has a very similar appearance to a start, and you’ll see five petals. It’s a perennial that gets a few feet tall at full maturity. The leaves feature a very dark green coloring and this flower that starts with P offers blue flower colors.

When it comes to using this flower, it has both uses in the culinary world as well as an ornamental plant. Some parts of this plant are very popular throughout China and other countries in East Asia for culinary uses, and most people use the root over any other part of the plant. You can use it fresh or dried without a problem.

Platycodon by Simon Allard / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

26. Plumeria

Plumeria is the name of a genus that has over 300 species of flowers in it. Originally, this flower that starts with P hails from South and Central America, and also the Caribbean and Mexico. This is a very popular ornamental plant with a pretty scent to it, and the name originally comes from a French botanist named Charles Plumier.

Another important fact about this plant is that it has a lot of symbolism. The symbolism is very popular throughout the world, especially if you give or receive this plant as a gift. It’s the symbol of beauty and grace, and it also represents charm. The flower can also symbolize new beginnings and changes that are about to happen in your life. If you have these flowers growing in your garden, you can ensure that the following period is very important to you because it brings charm and creative energy.

Also, this flower that starts with P is very popular in Hawaii, including both using and growing it. It’s a key component in leis, and it can easily represent the relationship status of the person wearing it. This plant is also the national plant of Nicaragua and Laos, and it has a huge historical and cultural importance in these countries.

Plumerias by pontla / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

27. Pot Marigold

The final flower that starts with P on the list is the pot marigold, and it goes by the botanical name of Calendula officinalis. Originally, this plant grew in Europe in the southeastern region, and it’s a very aromatic perennial that will get a few inches tall at full maturity. If you want to have this plant in your garden, you have to plant it in an area that gets full sun each day. It’s an edible plant that is popular for use in salads and other dishes, and it provides a bright splash of color in yellows, oranges, and reds.

Marigold by Jim, the Photographer / CC BY 2.0

Bottom Line

We’ve outlined 27 popular pretty flowers that start with P, and you can decide which ones will work best for your home. Some of them do better in containers instead of in the ground, so you want to carefully plan your layout and pick the flowers that are going to compliment your look while thriving in their environment.