20 Flowers that Start with K - Happy DIY Home (2024)

Flowers are beautiful and add texture, height, and color to a space. There are hundreds of thousands of options to choose from that start with each letter of the alphabet, and we’ve covered a few already. Now, we’re going to outline 20 flowers that start with K in this article.

You might learn about several new flowers today. Each of them has unique requirements and properties you need to meet for them to thrive. Also, you have to consider these things while deciding if these flowers that start with K will grow in your planting zone. Finally, you have to note that these flowers are available in different species, so they may have a little variation from flower to flower.

1. Kaffir Lily (Clivia miniata)

The first flower that starts with K on the list is the Kaffir Lily, and it’s a member of the Amaryllidaceae family. They bloom in the mid-spring and summer months each year. Even though it originated in South Africa, it’s now very popular in several countries across the world, including the United States, New Zealand, Japan, and China. They’re generally easy to grow and care for, and this makes them a solid choice for beginners. The flowers get over 17 inches tall and come in several colors, including orange, whtie, and red.

Kaffir lilies do take time to grow when you start them from seeds, and they don’t usually bloom for two or three years. Once you reach this mark, they’ll produce flowers in the spring. They need partial shade to grow. If you live in a space with cold winters and you think that the cold will damage the bulb, you can remove the bulb just before the first freeze. You can grow them inside the whole year as houseplants too. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, and the flowers feature dark, large leaves.

2. Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.)

Kalanchoe is a tropical succulent that will happily thrive outside when you live in warmer climates, but it won’t tolerate colder winters. If you live in zones eight and higher, you can enjoy this flower that starts with K. It produces warm-hued flowers with thicker succulent-like leaves that do well when you plant them in pots and put them on your patio or porch. When the weather turns cool, you can bring it indoors and put it in a sunny south or west-facing window. It requires a minimum of eight hours of sunlight a day to be happy, either outside or in a sunny, bright window. You should water only when the soil feels dry to the touch and be careful not to break the plant when you move it as it hsa very delicate branches.

3. Kalmia (Kalmia latifolia)

Kalmia is another popular flower that starts with K, and it’s actually a flowering shrub plant that grows in the northeastern portion of the United States. It is called several different names, including Ivy Busy, American Laurel, Calico Bush, and Mountain Ivy. You can expect this shrub to reach over 25 feet tall at full maturity, and it’s a member of the Ericaceae family. It produces blooms during the summer months or later in the spring. This plant also tends to spread and has a very rounded look. They are usually very easy to grow shrubs that have pink, white, purple, or lavender flowers. The flowers resemble an inward umbrella with speckles of different colors. It has some medicinal properties attached with a long history of use too.

4. Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos sp.)

As you may have guessed from the name, this flower that starts with K is an Australian native. It features tubular, velvety flowers that form fanlike rows that are almost fern-like. It has six petals that open fully only at the bud’s tip to show off a lighter interior that is whitish-green. The coloring on the outside of the blossom will vary, depending on the plant’s species or subspecies. In zones 10 and 11, this plant grows as a perennial. You do have to overwinter it inside in cooler climates if you want it to survive. Putting it in well-draining soil will prevent root rot, and sandy soil is ideal. You want to keep the soil evenly moist, and put it in a spot that gets full sun to keep it healthy.

5. Keli Flower (Canna spp.)

Keli flower is a flower that starts with K with very large petals, and it gets up to six feet tall to make it a nice privacy plant. This flowering plant is a part of the Cannaceae family, and they’re native to North and South America. You can expect it to start blooming late in the summer until well into the fall months. They have a bright orange coloring when they bloom, and the leaves are big enough to create a nice backdrop for the blooms. Hummingbirds will flock to this flower that starts with K too.

6. Kerria (Kerria japonica)

This shrub has arching stems that bloom in early spring to show off smaller, yellow flowers that look like roses. This flower that starts with K is also called Japanese Rose or Japanese Kerria, and it grows between three and eight feet tall and just as wide at full maturity. It makes a fantastic border plant, and it is very low-maintenance. It grows just as well in the shade as it does in the sun, and it can survive a range of soil conditions and drought. However, it prefers moist, rich soil conditions. It also has a clumping habit and it’ll slowly spread as it grows.

7. King Protea (Protea cynaroides)

This pretty heather-like shrub is prized for use as a stunning ornamental plant in landscapes. The King Protea is a flower that starts with K that is native to South Africa, and it’s been the national flower here since 1976. It has an upright, stout growth habit, and it’s an evergreen shrub that has a nice appearance with very unique flowers. It produces white or pink flowers that start to show up in the spring and early summer months. It usually gets up to three feet tall and wide at full maturity.

8. Kiss Me Not Plant (Euphorbia milii)

Here is one of our favorite flowers that start with K. It’s a pretty succulent shrub that originates from Madagascar and is also called the Crown of Thorns. It produces larger clusters of red, petal-like flowers during the blooming season that typically starts in early spring and goes until summer. However, in some spots, it can flower all year round. One noticeable point about this plant is that the body is fully covered with ½ inch long blackthorn, and this is where the name comes from.

9. Kiss-Me-Over-the-Garden-Gate (Polygonum orientale)

This favorite cottage garden flower that starts with K produces a huge display of showy pink flower clusters that dangle from slender, tall stems from midsummer until well into the fall. Depending on the conditions and cultivar you pick out, it can get anywhere from three feet to eight feet tall. This plant thrives when you put it in well-draining, fertile soil with full sun conditions. However, it will tolerate poor soil too. It doesn’t require deadheading to get continuous blooms, the flowers will reseed vigorously. So, you want to remove the blooms if you don’t want it to spread.

Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate by 阿橋 HQ / CC BY-SA 2.0

10. King’s Mantle (Thunbergia erecta)

King’s Mantle is a flower that starts with K that falls into the Thunbergia family. It’s a shrub that produces bluish-purple flowers with a yellow center. It’ll bloom throughout the summer, but you can also see the flowers all of the time from spring to well into the fall months. It gets between three and five feet high, and this plant is a very vigorous grower. You can use it as a corner shrub, hedge, in a single specimen plant situation, or grown sideways with palm trees. They require full sun, but they do grow in partial shade with a slower growth habit. Most people start to prune the shrub once it hits five feet tall, but this depends on your space.

11. King’s Spear (Asphodeline lutea)

This flower that starts with K is also called yellow asphodel or Jacob’s rod, and it produces bright yellow, fragrant flowers later in the spring months and into the summer. It has short runners that form dense strands of blue-green, grassy foliage that will get between 12 and 18 inches high. The stalks of the star-shaped flowers get three feet high. This plant is a native to the Mediterranean region, and it grows best when you plant it in well-draining soil or on rocky slopes with partial to full sun. This makes it perfect to plant in rock gardens, and it’s hardy to zone six.

12. Kiwi Flowers (Actinidia)

Kiwi is a fruit plant that produces flowers on both the male and female plant. This flower that starts with K also produces the nutritious kiwi fruit, and the flowers come before the fruit. So, you can expect to see the flowers popping up in the early spring months into the summer, depending on the quality of your fertilizer and plant food. If you ever wanted to grow the kiwi plant, you need eight to nine female plants to one male plant. It’s not an easy plant to grow, but if you provide it with moist but not soggy soil, good sunlight, and a lot of nutrients, they can produce fruit.

13. Knautia (Knautia macedonica)

This is an annual or short-lived perennial flower that starts with K that will get roughly two feet high and two feet wide as it grows. Caring for this plant is easy too, so this makes it great for beginning gardeners. The flowers start to bloom in mid-summer and go into the fall months from July to September. Once they bloom, you remove them so that new flowers will bloom. The flowers are purplish-red and very short-lived. This plant prefers full sun, but it can grow in partial shade too. The type of soil it likes is rich and moist, and it has green leaves right to the ground as well as spaced higher up the stem. It falls into the Caprifoliaceae family, and it’s native to Europe.

14. Knautia Arvensis

This is one of the prettiest flowers that start with K that produces pink-hued blooms. Since these plants are perennials, they can grow year after year in gardens and lawns. They can attract pollinators like butterflies and bees due to the higher nectar content of the flowers. You may hear it referred to as Field Scabiosa, and it will start to flower later in the summer months in July and continue into the fall. It’s a member of the honeysuckle family, and it originates in the northern part of Europe. It’ll top out at 38 inches high and form tight clusters of leaves.

15. Kniphofia Bees Lemon

The common name for this flower that starts with K is the Red Hot Poker Plant, and it features a green color on the top with a yellow to lime color at the bottom. It attracts bees, as you may have guessed by the name. It also attracts butterflies due to the shape of the flower and the nectar content. It can bloom from July to September, and it can get over two feet high. It also spreads between 2 and 2.5 feet, and it grows best in zone six.

16. Kniphofia ‘Little Maid’

This perennial flower that starts with K grows over two feet high and has green, narrow leaves with yellow flowers that form cylindrical clusters. These flowers look green and turn white before slowly changing to yellow. It’s easy to grow these flowers, and they originate in South Africa. The leaves are very grass-like, and they get grown in lawns throughout the United States. They bloom from spring to summer, and the watering needs are very low, so it’s easy to maintain.

Kniphofia ‘Little Maid’ by Antonia Ablog / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

17. Kobus Magnolia (Magnolia kobus)

This flower that starts with K is native to Japan, and it falls into the Magnoliaceae family. It gets as high as 50 feet and gets up to 30 feet wide. So, you get a magnolia tree when it matures. This plant blooms early in the spring to produce white flowers with pink hints. One unique thing about this plant is that it produces flowers before the leaves emerge. It takes time for the white colors to show up, and the tree usually won’t bloom until it’s 12 to 15 years old.

18. Kolkwitzia Amabilis (Linnaea amabilis)

From looking it the name, you can most likely guess the origin of this flower that starts with K. It comes from eastern China, and it’s part of the Caprifoliaceae family. It’s a flowering shrub that goes by the name of Beauty Bush. They can get up to 10 feet tall at full maturity and produce bell-shaped flowers that can be white or pink. This shrub will start to bloom early in the spring months in April or May. It does better when you plant it in medium moisture, average, well-drained soil with full sun.

19. Kunzea (Kunzea sp.)

This flower that starts with K has forms that range from 32-foot trees to low-growing ground covers to fit virtually any garden theme. They produce yellow, white, or pink flowers with longer stamens that give them a firework-like appearance and attract pollinating insects and hummingbirds. It’s native to New Zealand and Australia, and it’s hardy in zones 7 to 10. This is a very easygoing plant that does well in different soil conditions, but it thrives in well-draining moist soil in partial to full sun. Some varieties of this plant become invasive, so you want to double-check with the local extension office before you plant them.

20. Kyushu Meadow Rue

The final flower that starts with K on the list is a perennial plant that grows best in partial or full shade. This flower has very showy lavender flowers that attract bees and butterflies. You can expect it to start to bloom in late spring or early summers. It gets between 9 and 12 inches high and 17 inches wide when you grow it in zones 3 to 8b. This is a Japanese native that comes from the thalictrum family. It’s commonly called Dwarf Meadow Rue, and the flowers look like stars and are very small. You can grow it in gardens or out in your lawns.

Bottom Line

These 20 flowers that start with K can fill in your garden and add bright pops of color and texture to the space. You can mix and match them to get a stunning garden or landscape design all season.