French flowers will add both beauty and fragrance to your garden. These flowers are not just beautiful, they hold history and secrets that will thrill you. Relax and read this article to discover some beautiful and rare French flower names.
Contents
List of French Flowers
Here is the list of French flowers with their names and their description:
1. Lilies
Lily is known to be the national flower of France, appearing in the national emblem “fleur-de-lis” which is French for “lily flower.” Lilies have since represented royalty and power to the people of France, so there is no surprise that they use them as flower to represent their nation. The nation has been using the “fleur-de-lis” emblem as a symbol of its sovereignty.
Lilies are bulbous plants, they have roots resembling tubers, and are perennial if they grow in the right conditions, especially in temperature. They can grow to reach a height of two to six feet according to the species and growing conditions.
Lily flowers are usually sweet-smelling, large, and have colors such as red, yellow, white, orange, and pink. The plants usually start their bloom from late spring down to summer and sometimes reach mid-fall.
Lily plants naturally grow in habitats like woodlands, especially in the montane regions in Europe and Asia. If you’d love to grow lilies, you should ensure that deer, caterpillars, and other harmful pests do not reach them as they are frequently attacked by pests. Also, grow them in moist, nutrient-rich, and loam soil so that they can grow without problems.
2. French Lavender
French lavenders are plants in the family “Lamiaceae” that are native to several Mediterranean countries such as France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy.
They have a very strong pine flavor, so they are less ideal for making food when compared to other lavenders. However, they have many uses such as making pest-repellent products and serving as barrier crops.
These beautiful plants can grow to reach 18 to 36 inches in height. They have a crowned inflorescence which is covered by a mass of ovoid bracts that are usually purple and elongated, reaching about two inches in length. The crown growing on a spike is indistinct two-lipped and can be blackish-violet, pink, or purple.
The leaves of French lavender plants are 0.3 to 1.5 inches long and can be greyish and tomentose. To grow these beautiful plants, ensure that the temperature is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, you must note that this species is less frost-resistant when compared to others. Just like other lavenders from other places, however, it can grow pretty well in dry, hot, and sunny conditions and in alkaline soils.
3. Irises
Irises are among the most popular flowers on Earth as their beauty is simply remarkable and they will surely catch your attention. These plants make up a genus of about 260-300 species.
The name ‘Iris’ comes from a Greek that means “rainbow.” The name is fitting for the plant as iris flowers come in a variety of flowers including red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, brown, white, pink, and multi-colors.
Irises originate from European countries including France, but they have spread to other countries, especially the United States and other North American countries. Keep in mind the fact that these plants can be toxic to pets, so you want to prevent your pets such as dogs and cats from eating the plant’s leaves. Iris in French is “Iris.”
Irises can grow to reach 12 to 40 inches in height and one or two feet in width according to the variety or species.
Keep in mind that if you want to grow them, ensure that you plant them in a spot with access to full sun or partial shade. The soil should be lightweight. They can bloom in a wide range of humidity levels, so you do not need to worry much about humidity.
4. Poinsettias
Euphorbia pulcherrima plants or poinsettias are commercially important and are very common, especially in Christian countries. While they are indigenous to Central America and Mexico, they have naturalized in other countries including France and America.
The beautiful poinsettia plants were first documented by the Europeans in 1834. These plants are often used in displaying Christmas flowers.
The foliage of poinsettias can be red and green. While the green foliage is the leaves, the red ones are bracts that can also be pale green, orange, cream, white, marbled, or pink.
Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees that can grow to reach heights of two up to 13 feet. Their dentate, dark-green leaves can measure 2.8 to 6.3 inches in length. Both the green leaves and colored bracts are used for the Christmas decoration.
Note that touching the milky, white sap or poinsettias can lead to an allergic reaction. If you are allergic, do not touch the sap.
If you want to grow poinsettias, ensure that you do not overwater them. Wait until the surface of the substrate feels dry before you water. Also, fertilize the plants using a balanced fertilizer.
5. Roses
Roses are surely the most beautiful and popular type of flowers on the planet. These plants are perennial woody plants in the “Rosa” genus from the “Rosaceae” family.
There are more than three hundred species of roses and tens of thousands of cultivars from roses. Depending on the cultivar or species, rose plants can be climbers, grow erect, or grow as trailing shrubs. Every rose plant has thorny stems.
Rose leaves are pinnately compounded (they resemble feathers in the wings of birds) and alternate. They usually have sharply toothed leaflets with oval shapes. The flowers of roses come in colors such as red, yellow, and white while the flowers of rose cultivars usually come in an even wider variety of colors. Rose in French is “rosé.”
Roses make beautiful ornamental and landscape plants and they are very easy to grow. You make sure that the soil is properly amended with compost, coffee grounds, or any source of organic nitrogen for plants.
You can also water the plants with nutrient-rich water if you want. Ensure that your roses grow in loose soil and are protected from harmful pests such as fungi, arachnids, and insects.
6. Climbing Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of ornamental twining plants in the legume family “Fabaceae.” They are native to Japan, China, Vietnam, Korea, the Eastern United States, Southern Canada, and the northern parts of Iran.
However, they were introduced to and later naturalized in France and other countries, especially in Europe. These beautiful plants produce the most magnificent bloom from early May.
Wisterias are fast-growers that can grow more than 10 feet a year. As climbers, they grow by twining or twisting their stems around the nearest support.
These plants can climb as high as 66 feet above the ground and even spread out more than 33 feet laterally. They have alternate leaves that reach six to 14 inches long when mature. The pinnate leaves have nine to nineteen leaflets.
Wisteria flowers have racemes with varying lengths that droop. The racemes can have purple, white, lilac, or pink flowers according to the species.
Note that the plants usually do not start flowering until they grow for up to three to five years after you plant them. When they are young, enrich their soil with potassium and phosphorus-rich fertilizer so that they can grow quickly.
7. Daffodils
“Daffodil” refers to plants in the genus “Narcissus.” They are perennial, spring-flowering plants in the “amaryllis” family and act as symbols of hope, joy, or death according to the context.
In medieval times, the French believed that if you see flowers falling off a tree, it could mean that you or someone close to you will die. However, the flowers represent positive feelings in recent times.
The flowers can be white or yellow and rarely orange or pink. The plants can grow as tall as 31 inches. Their narrow, linear, ligulate leaves are green or blue-green and have the shape of a strap. The leaves grow directly from the bulb. Their flowers are either pendant (i.e. they hang down) or erect according to the species.
If you want to grow Daffodils, ensure that the pH of the soil is slightly acidic. The optimal pH range is 6.5-7.
You must water the plants only when the soil is becoming dry and never overwater them. Also, feed them with nitrogen-rich fertilizer before they flower and then switch to a balanced one when they start producing flowers. Daffodil in French is “Jonquille.”
8. Peonies
Peonies are beautiful flowering plants in the little genus “Paeonia.” This is the only genus that exists in the “Paeoniaceae” family. Peony plants are native to Asia, Europe, and the western parts of North America with just 33 documented species.
These flowers have a wide variety of colors and they signify happiness and love in many places including France. Peonies also make a good ingredient for tea.
Peonies can grow up to one to three feet tall. Their leaves are deeply lobed and compounded while their flowers are often fragrant and large. Peony flowers come in colors such as pink, purple, yellow, red, and white according to the species.
Peonies bloom from early summer or late spring to late summer. However, you can cut off the spent flowers, and deadhead them to extend the bloom duration.
To grow peony plants, make sure that they get six or more hours of sunlight, especially when they are flowering. Also, feed them with potassium and phosphorus-rich fertilizer when they are producing flowers to encourage them to grow even more. Peony in French is “pivoine.”
9. Hyacinths
Hyacinths are very beautiful plants in a small genus of bulbous plants called “Hyacinthus.” These pretty plants are perennial spring-bloomers in the family “Asparagaceae” and subfamily “Scilloideae.”
They have a floral green scent with spicy and sweet notes and vegetal aquatic accents. Hyacinths are native to the regions around the eastern Mediterranean but have naturalized in several other places.
Hyacinths grow from bulbs. Each bulb produces four to six linear leaves. Beautiful flowers come in colors such as white, pink, blue, and purple. The plant’s flowers grow in racemes and there are about two to eight flowers per raceme according to the species of the plants. These are truly beautiful plants that you can grow in your garden, even in pots.
Note that the fragrance of hyacinth flowers can be irritating, especially to people who have allergies. If you’d love to grow hyacinths, ensure that they grow in full sun, getting up to six hours of daily sun. Do not overwater the plants as they can droop and die when they grow in waterlogged soil. The substrate should be loam, sandy, or a mixture of both.
10. French Marigolds
French marigold or Tagetes patula plants are plants in the family Asteraceae that are native to Guatemala and Mexico.
However, they were introduced to and later naturalized in European countries such as France. These plants have some of the most beautiful flowers and their flowers are sought worldwide. The plants make beautiful landscapes and ornamental plants.
French marigolds grow 1.6 feet tall and one foot wide so long as the conditions are optimal. Their bloom starts in September and ends in the first killing of frost. Their flowers are hermaphroditic and are pollinated by insects, especially beetles. French marigolds have leaves with pungent oil glands in them and you can smell the oil when you break the leaves.
The beautiful flowers of marigold plants can be red, yellow, orange, or a combination of red and yellow. They have multiple overlapping layers of petals and the petals get smaller and even more compacted towards the center of the flowers.
Just in case you are living in a place without killer frost, you can extend the bloom duration of your French marigolds by deadheading the spent flowers.
11. Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum is a genus of plants that are sometimes referred to as “mums” or “chrysanths” in the “Asteraceae” family. The beautiful plants are native to the northern parts of Europe as well as Eastern Asia.
People usually grow mums for ornamental purposes. However, the plants can be used to make sweet tea, and repellent products, and even help to reduce greenhouse gases from the air.
You can propagate your mum plants in spring by splitting their roots or cutting their stems. If they have yellowing leaves, reduce your rate of watering. To collect some cut flowers, do not take more than 6 inches of the stalk length. Chrysanthemum in French is “Chrysanthème.”
12. Gerbera Daisies
Gerbera or Transvaal daisies are plants in the genus “Gerbera” and family “Asteraceae.” The genus was named after a great German medical doctor and botanist, Traugott Gerber (1710-1743).
They are perennial, tufted, caulescent herbs often having a woolly crown. These plants can grow from six up to 18 inches tall and produce beautiful flowers from late spring to autumn.
Gerbera leaves are rosette and lobed, petiolate, elliptical, and have a petaloid base. They are also pinnately veined, felted, and leathery. Their disc florets are five-lobed, fertile, and have irregular two lips with curling petals. Gerberas serve as ornamental plants or cut flowers.
13. Jasmines
Jasmines are plants in a genus from the family of olives. These plants can be vines or shrubs according to the species. While Jasmines are tropical and subtropical plants, many have been introduced and naturalized in France and other European countries. The plants have a fruity, sweet, rich, and sensual bloom. People plant jasmines for ornamental and cosmetic purposes.
Jasmine plants can be evergreen or deciduous according to the species. Their leaves grow in alternating or opposing patterns and have a simple, trifoliate, or pinnate formation. The flowers can be white or yellow and grow to reach 0.98 inches in width. There are four to nine petals, up to four ovules, and two locules in the flowers.
14. Lilacs
Lilacs are plants in “Syringa” which is a genus of about 12 recognized species. They are woody plants in the family of olives and are native to scrubs and woodlands from southeastern Europe down to eastern Asia.
The woody shrub may need up to three or four years before it can be well-established in a new place. However, they can live longer than a century once they have finally been established. These plants can provide fragrance and color in your garden from April. They grow 12 to 15 feet tall and spread 10 to 12 feet wide
15. Red Poppies
Papaver rhoeas or red poppies are plants in the subfamily “Papaveroideae” and family “Papaveraceae.” They are used as cut flowers to symbolize war or the blood shed by people during battle.
The flowers also represent sleep, peace, and death according to the region. These plants grow in almost every place including arable lands, waste places, roadsides, and other disturbed habitats.
These plants are monocarpic, so they die shortly after they produce their first set of flowers. The flowers can have either four or six petals and come in a variety of colors according to the variety. The leaves of this plant are dissected or lobed and the plant produces milky saps.
16. Pansies
Pansies are some of the most beautiful flowers that you can see when you are in France. These large-flowered plants are cultivated as garden flowers and truly serve their purpose as ornamental flowers.
They were produced through hybridization from different species in a section “Melanium” of the genus “Viola,” especially the “Viola tricolor” species which is a wildflower from Europe.
Pansies originate from England (Iver, Buckinghamshire). They are biennials, so they do not leave for more than two years. They produce beautiful flowers from fall to winter, especially in hot areas.
These plants can grow up to nine inches tall and their flowers can measure a diameter of two to three inches. The flowers can be of different colors such as white, purple, yellow, or blue.
17. Tulip ‘Ile de France’
Tulip ‘Ile de France’ or triumph tulips refers to the largest tulip variety group with so many colors and cultivars that you can choose from if you want to plant tulips in the fall. The beautiful blooms are single and they have the popular cup shape of tulips.
These plants can grow 16 to 22 inches tall and their flowers are usually showy, large, and brightly colored. Generally, they can come in red, yellow, pink, or white colors. The cut flowers symbolize a deep and perfect love. Would you not like to gift some beautiful tulip flowers to your lover? These flower are the French love language.
18. Rosemary
Rosemary or Salvia rosmarinus is a fragrant, evergreen shrub with needle-like leaves and white, purple, pink, or blue flowers.
The plant is native to places around the Mediterranean region. Over the years, people have discovered so many uses for rosemary plants. For example, they help to relieve muscle pains, improve memory, and even boost the circulatory and immune systems.
Rosemary plants are also important in the cosmetic industry as they help to promote hair growth. Their leaves resemble those of hemlock trees.
The leaves are white below and green above with short, dense, woolly hairs. Rosemary plants can grow five feet tall, producing flowers in summer and spring in temperate places.
19. Epiphyllum Cacti
These are very beautiful and rare French flowers. Epiphyllum is a genus of epiphytic cactus plants that are native to South America and Central America. However, they are cultivated in many parts of the world, including France for their beauty.
A popular type of the Epiphyllum cactus is the Epiphyllum “George French.” These cacti symbolize how good things do not last for long because they usually have a very short bloom.
The flowers of this special cactus only bloom only at night and then wilt just before dawn. Aside from their truly ornamental uses, they can also be used to treat urinary tract infections and various heart conditions. Truthfully, these flowers are magnificent. They are large and can grow three to six inches in diameter.
Conclusion
Indeed, French flowers are more than remarkable. They offer both beauty and stories from the past, you should definitely grow some.
If you would like to grow French flowers, you can start with Tulip ‘Ile de France,’ French lavenders, and Epiphyllum “George French” as they are not just flowers from France, they are also easy to grow as their requirements aren’t very challenging.
As now you know, the french flowers are of different kinds, shapes, heights, and even requirements, but what they do have in common, other than being of French origin, these flowers are all graceful. Which flower would you love to have in your garden?
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