Today's Gardener (todaysgardener.com) participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
Nothing beats cascades of vibrant yellow flowers bursting from hanging baskets or containers. Lush floral arrangements can enliven our spirits with their playful colors, sensuous scents, and dangling fruit that often tempts our taste buds.
Such are yellow blossoms. They scream summer and eternal optimism and all it takes is a little basic know-how and creativity to display them to complement and enhance any setting.
Here is a list of 46 popular flowering plants with small yellow flowers and some basic growth information and care tips. Discover which of these flowers will best fit in your garden!
Types of Small Yellow Flowers
46 of them!
① Narcissus Species – Daffodil
Daffodils are extremely popular indoor garden plants, especially hardy and perfumed Tazetta or Tête-à-tête. They produce tender and scented, small yellow flowers in spring.
Cultivation
- Filtered sun, low humidity, a balanced fertilizer every 2 weeks after flowering and add gravel to the bottom of the pot.
- Required soil: Well drained
② Cymbidium Miniature
This is a free-flowering orchid that creates an explosion of color in your home. They have large, yellow blooms that appear between strap-shaped green leaves. Miniature cymbidiums are compact hybrids that can grow 60 cm tall.
Cultivation
- Provide filtered sun, moderate humidity, and a cool room that will encourage blooming.
- Required soil: Well drained.
③ Oncidium Hybrids – Butterfly Orchid
Butterfly Orchid is a dainty species that bears small, yellow flowers that look like butterflies, creating a spectacular visual effect. They are easy to grow in regular conditions.
Cultivation
- Filtered sun, moderate humidity, rainwater, or distilled water are the main conditions for this beauty.
- Required soil: Well drained.
④ Tulipa
Commonly grown for their rainbow colors and wide availability, Tulipa is a staple plant in every gardener’s plant collection.
Cultivation
- Prone to overwatering. Provide partial shade.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑤ Brugmansia X Candida -Angel’s Trumpet
This amazing species has yellow flowers, though they are not that small. It bears rather large, showy, trumpet-shaped flowers with an intoxicating scent that it is impossible to leave it out.
- All parts are poisonous, so maintain distance from children and pets.
Cultivation
- Filtered sun, moderate humidity, and moist soil.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑥ Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis – Rose of China
This plant has large, trumpet-shaped yellow flowers with a dark red throat and lush green foliage. It is ideal for a vase-like pot.
Cultivation
- Bright yellow flowers bloom in early spring provided with filtered sun, moderate humidity, regular misting, and feeding.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
Related: Hibiscus Care Guide
⑦ Lantana Camara – Yellow Sage
This large shrub blooms from spring to late autumn with small round clusters of yellow, cream, or pink flowers. It can also be grown in pots outside and you can also get a dwarf variety.
Cultivation
- Filtered sun, low humidity, monthly feeding, and moist soil.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑧ Strelitzia Reginae – Bird of Paradise
This is a plant that has large, blue-gray, paddle-shaped leaves and exotic yellow blooms. It is somewhat drought tolerant.
Cultivation
- Moderate humidity, filtered sun, good ventilation, repot every 2 years and mist daily.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑨ Aphelandra Squarrosa – Zebra Plant
This foliage plant has striped green and cream foliage and colorful autumn flowers composed of yellow bracts around small yellow-orange blooms. It favors high humidity, so it is ideal for a bathroom.
Cultivation
- Water using rainwater or distilled water. Provide filtered sun. Mist daily.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑩ Yellow Butterfly Bush-Buddleia Davidii
This is one of the most fragrant flowering shrubs you can find, accompanied by lance-shaped green leaves for a nice contrast. It thrives in zones 5-10.
Cultivation
- Butterfly Bush needs full sun and well-drained soil.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑪ Goeppertia Crocata – Eternal Flame
Differently called Calathea crocata, this plant produces yellow-orange summer flowers that got it its name. The foliage is colorful, broad, oval, somewhat wrinkled, and green with a metallic sheen on the upper sides and burgundy beneath. It is one of the species that appear in different shades of yellow and thrives in zones 4-11.
Cultivation
- Mist daily with tepid water. Provide high humidity and bright including some full sun. Repot every 3 years.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑫ Burbidgea Schizocheila – Golden Brush Ginger
Originating from Borneo, these plants make ideal wild shrubs for containers. They feature odd and unique flowers that are yellow at the top and fade into orange and eventually red on the throat borne on purplish-red stems. It grows up to 3 feet tall. It can’t thrive in zones 5 nor zones 2 because it requires a temperature above 40 degrees F and it is not hardy.
Cultivation
- It should be planted in well-drained soil and allowed to bathe in the morning sun. Add orchid bark to the soil mix.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑬ Plumeria
Indigenous to Mexico and the Caribbean, Plumeria as a deciduous shrub produces very lovely flowers, often in two colors, including yellow and white ones, especially fragrant at night. The leaves are large and shiny.
Cultivation
- Sensitive to overwatering, frost, and prone to red spider mites. Keep it in the shade during the winter and don’t water.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑭ Gerbera Jamesonii
Stunning both as a bedding plant or a container plant, Gerbera daisy is related to sunflowers and somewhat resembles them. They come in a variety of lively shades with a dark central disk and long green leaves.
Cultivation
- Good drainage, rich compost, plenty of water and feeding three times during the flowering season.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑮ Bulbine Frutescens
Native to South Africa, this is a succulent plant with grass-like foliage and small, pale yellow blooms.
Cultivation
- Provide full sun and well-drained soil.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑯ Hoya Lacunosa
Hoya lacunosa is a species of the diverse Hoya genus with its miniature, fuzzy, pastel yellow flowers and glossy leaves. Each flower cluster is pendulous, looking downward, and comprises around 15-30 flowers each. Emerging from the center is a gorgeous, almost translucent, yellow-orange central crown.
Cultivation
- Water moderately and position it in a bright location.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑰ Begonia
Begonia genus abounds in different plant types, leaf coloration, textures, and flower colors, and yellow is no exception. They make great bedding plants or container plants.
This is a very common easy-to-grow annual plant with buttery-yellow trumpet flowers that grow to be 12 inches tall and does pretty well in hanging baskets, window boxes and even provides a marvelous floral blanket to the ordinary and dull soil.
Cultivation
- Well-draining soil is the most important requirement and adequate watering. Inspect regularly for pests and diseases.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
⑱ Petunia
Cultivation
- Bright light, moist soil, and prune as necessary.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑲ Hyacinthus Orientalis – Dutch Hyacinth
Also called Spring Bulbs, this plant is a richly perfumed member of the Hyacinth genus with its colorful flower, including yellow blooming in mid-spring. It grows in zones 4-8.
Cultivation
- They thrive in quick-draining soils kept moderately moist.
- Required soil: Well drained.
⑳ Rudbeckia Hirta – Black-Eyed Susan
This is a wildflower from North America that boasts yellow daisy-like flowers. Some of the cultivars you can find are “Becky Mixed” and “Toto”.
Cultivation
- Grow them by seed, water regularly and inspect them very frequently because they are prone to pests.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
㉑ Gelsemium Sempervirens – Carolina Jasmine
False Jasmine is an evergreen flowering plant that features an abundance of butter yellow to vibrant yellow trumpet-shaped flowers in late winter to early spring and attracts pollinators. It received the Award for Garden Merit.
Cultivation
- Light shade, fertile and well-draining soil, propagate from seed, and prune regularly.
- Required soil: Moist.
㉒ Dianthus Caryophyllus – Carnation
Carnation is an erect slow-growing perennial that produces colorful flowers including yellow in mid-summer. It thrives in zones 6-8.
Cultivation
- Provide full sun, moist soil of slightly acidic pH.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
㉓ Craspedia Globosa – Billy Button
This is a perennial wildflower that adds a summer note to your indoor or outdoor garden with its small, yellow flower ball which is long-lasting and will even make an amazing dried display or cut flower. It thrives in zones 3-10.
Cultivation
- Full sun, well-drained soil, and mildly acidic. Keep the soil moderately moist, never wet.
- Required soil: Well drained.
㉔ Lily – Asiatic Lily
Yellow lilies are emblems of cheerfulness and liveliness and will refresh any flower bed or mixed containers indoors. They are easy to grow and make very lively displays also as cut flowers. Some of the options to choose from are King Pete, Citronella, and Salmon Twinkle.
Cultivation
- Bright and some full sun, moist and well-drained soil.
- Required soil: Well drained & moist.
㉕ Iris
This is a genus of more than 300 species in a variety of colors, yellow, violet, pink or red. The flowers consist of six petals, three upright and three hanging, as well as soft hairs in the center, giving this plant genus name bearded iris.
Cultivation
- Deadhead after flowering. Never overwater them. Lower the watering can at the soil level.
- Required soil: Well drained.
㉖ Yarrow – Achillea Millefolium
Yarrow is a herbaceous perennial plant that features yellow, pink, and white flowers. It is mostly used as a bedding plant in flower beds where it attracts a profusion of butterflies.
Cultivation
- Full sun and sandy soil. Virtually pest-free. Deadhead if you don’t want the plant to produce seeds.
- Required soil: Well drained.
㉗ Crossandra Infundibuliformis – Firecracker Flower
Native to southern India and Sri Lanka, this plant shows off magnificent yellow flower clusters shaped like funnels and spread out flat. They are dynamic and charming enough to make real conversation pieces. A small, but powerful plant in window boxes and baskets.
Cultivation
- Provide bright light away from drafts. Amend garden soil by adding organic matter. Overwatering can impede flowering. Deadhead if you don’t want seeds.
- Required soil: Moist.
㉘ Gazania Rigens – Gazania
Ganzania dances across the outdoor garden with its cool silvery-green leaves and eye-popping, yellow flowers. It is drought and heats tolerant plus it attracts pollinators. They feel equally at home in garden beds as edging or ground cover, even in containers alone or with mixed company.
Cultivation
- Dry out between waterings, fertilize regularly, deadhead to stimulate new buds, and watch for spider mites in dry conditions
- Required soil: Well-drained.
㉙ Justicia Spp. – Jacobinia
This plant is native to South America and has straight-up stems, crisp, erect yellow flowers and long, coarsely veined leaves. Their dizzying nectar always attracts insects.
Cultivation
- Bright indoor space away direct sun, organic material such as ground bark and regular watering and fertilizing with a balanced soluble fertilizer at half strength once monthly all year.
- Required soil: Moist.
㉚ Anigozanthos Flavidus – Kangaroo Paw
It forms a strappy rosette of thin leaves, furry yellow flowers that look like tubes with puffy ends, aligned to make a kangaroo’s paw. They have the appearance of short, soft fuzz, but the flowers are long-lasting and are widely sought-after as cut flowers.
Cultivation
- Fertile, organic, and well-drained soil that contains ground bark. South- or east-facing sun exposure. Deadhead dying flowers. Propagate by cuttings.
- Required soil: Moderately moist.
㉛ Pachystachys Lutea – Lollipop Flower
This plant blooms almost all year with its yellow waffle cones of bracts that look like bright candles when flowers emerge from their depths. When they emerge, the flowers stand up straight on stiff stems above dark green foliage, deeply veined and flossy.
Cultivation
- Yellow shrimp plant should be provided with constant sun in garden beds and mulched with organic materials. Watch for mealybugs. Yellow bells and hyacinth bean or Chinese violet make good companions.
- Required soil: Moist.
㉜ Epidendrum Spp. – Reed Stem Orchid
This plant produces yellow, orange, and red sultry flowers with pouty, painted lips, sometimes even all these colors can be seen on one flower cluster. It attaches itself to tree bark for support as an epiphyte, thus the name Epidendrum, which means “on tree”. The leaves are green and thick. It grows in zones 3-11.
Cultivation
- Choose organic, well-drained soil that retains moisture well and prevents root rot. Combine them with fragrant flowers like heliotrope, Philippine orchids, passion flowers or jasmines.
- Required soil: Well-drained & slightly moist.
㉝ Senna Alata – Candle Bush Tree
Christmas candle or Candlestick tree produces golden flower clusters that look like cottony balls sitting on upright stems. It is a large tree in its native habitat, yet a small shrub in most other zones.
Cultivation
- Plenty of sun and water is needed, but they can’t sit in water for long. Keep your eyes open for spittlebugs.
- Required soil: Well-drained.
㉞ Tecoma Stans – Yellow Bells
Indigenous to Brazil, Argentina, and South Florida, this is a woody yellow flowering shrub that bears a bit larger yellow bells that are very friendly all year as an addition to an indoor garden.
Cultivation
- Yellow butterfly bush requires a sunny spot, regular feeding, and fertile soil. Few pests ever bother them.
- Required soil: Well-drained & slightly moist.
㉟ Gardenia Carinata – Yellow Gardenia
Commonly known as Golden gardenia, it is a perfect plant with leathery leaves, golden flowers that consist of seven petals each, and a seductive aroma that qualifies them as the most fragrant plant on the list. The spicy scented flowers open a few at a time and can be a long-lived container plant outside the tropics.
Cultivation
- Allow them to dry out before watering. Use a granular all-purpose fertilizer. Prune annually and repot at the same time.
- Required soil: Well-drained & moist.
㊱ Telosma Cordata – Chinese Violet
Chinese Violet or Tonkin Creeper is a small vine that produces golden yellow starbursts with cloying sweet fragrance. They are produced from spring through fall in clusters on thick stems. The leaves are heart-shaped with distinct veins. It is a true fragrance machine.
Cultivation
- Water very regularly, letting the soil dry out a bit. Prune in late winter. Provide bright light away from winds.
- Required soil: Well-drained & moist.
㊲ Crossandra Pungens
Native to tropical Africa, this species has narrow dull leaves with pale wains and yellow-orange flowers borne in spikes with spiny bracts.
Cultivation
- Grow them as potted plants for indoors. Water them freely when in full growth. Cut back spent shoots.
- Required soil: Well-drained & slightly moist.
㊳ Impatiens Repens – Golden Dragon
Golden Dragon is an evergreen, creeping perennial with golden, hooded flowers and small, bean-like leaves with red stems. It is especially suited to hanging baskets. It thrives in zones 10-12.
Cultivation
- Part-shade, moist and freely drained soil with some protection from strong winds. Prune to promote more abundant flowers.
- Required soil: Well-drained & moist.
㊴ Dendrobium Lindleyi
This is a small-growing species with crowded, small, leathery leaves and long and pendulous inflorescences with up to 15 flowers, yellow, fragrant, and long-lasting all summer long.
Cultivation
- Provide strong light and grow it on a slab of wood. Keep the leaves dust-free with a damp soft cloth.
- Required soil: Well-drained & moist.
㊵ Antirrhinum Majus
Snapdragon is another majestic species with pale yellow flowers arranged like bells around an upright green stem. Grow it as a bedding plant.
Cultivation
- It is somewhat tolerant of cold weather. Provide bright light and some full sun.
- Required soil: Well drained
㊶ Calceolaria Crenatiflora – Lady’s Slipper
This is a compact plant that grows to be 25 cm tall. It has roughly oval leaves, sage green and crinkled, as well as pouch-shaped flowers that are usually yellow or orange and spotted with a contrasting color. Their soft stems and leaves attract greenfly.
Cultivation
- Protect from direct sunlight, maintain temperature between 10 and 13 degrees C, water 3 times per week and use loam-based or soilless media.
- Required soil: moist & well-aerated.
㊷ Eranthis Hyemalis – Winter Aconite
This plant can grow indoors in pots or containers provided in the right conditions. It is grown from tubers and each one produces a single bright yellow flower in late winter or early spring. Its stem can be up to 4 inches tall.
Cultivation
- Moderate light, 10 degrees C, barely moist soil, good ventilation without misting and fairly acidic soil is preferable.
- Required soil: moist but not wet.
㊸ Euryops pectinatus – Gray-Leaved Euryops
Native to South Africa, this plant has bright yellow daisy-like flowers. It can grow 90 cm tall and it should be overwintered indoors and repotted in spring. It looks exceptionally beautiful in the company of blue or purple flowers.
Cultivation
- Full light half a day, good air circulation and add peat moss, sharp sand, and compost to the mix.
- Required soil: Well-drained.
㊹ Marigolds
This is an annual flowering plant that produces vividly colored yellow blooms both in early and late summer. They look exceptionally beautiful in shared containers.
Cultivation
- Plenty of full sunlight and well-drained soils. Water the soil, never the flower.
- Required soil: Well-drained.
㊺ Rosa
It has long been considered that yellow roses symbolize jealousy. Be that true or not, they often find their way into flower beds or vases and add a summer note to any display. Tea roses have the most intense fragrance of all Rosa flowers. It thrives in zones 3-11.
Cultivation
- Provide full sun and water occasionally. Avoid tap water and always make sure it is at room temperature. If not, let it sit in a jar overnight so bad chemicals will evaporate.
- Required soil: Well-drained & moist.
㊻ Viola Wittrockiana
Yellow pansies are extremely popular hardy annual plants whose flowers bloom all year round and perform best as ground covers. It thrives in zones 4-8 in late summer.
Cultivation
- Plant it in full sun and well-drained soil. Always make sure your containers have drainage holes. If not, drill a few.
- Required soil: Well-drained & moist.
Conclusion
Plants with yellow flowers are not only a pleasant sight to the eye but also to the senses and well-being. They emit positive, summery vibes, evoke pleasant memories and transform an ordinary day into a more cheerful one.
Combine them with some contrasting flowers in shades of purple, red or orange. Moreover, give some thought to the container. If you choose carefully, it will work in harmony with flowers to create the most beautiful background image as it can.
Hopefully, this list has helped you choose small yellow flowers that best appeal to you and your personality.