20 Flowers You Can Plant During The Winter

Despite what some purple-thumbed folks might think, there are no breaks for gardeners, not even in winter. If you live in the South, particularly in the warmer corners, there are still flowers to plant in fall and winter, even in December and January.

Whether you live in a colder climate or just like to get a jumpstart on things, winter is also for next year’s garden planning. This includes starting summer annuals indoors for planting outside after your area’s last frost, as well as planting seeds for a bountiful spring and summer.

Before you begin planting in winter, check out the USDA plant hardiness zone map to ensure you’re choosing the right plants for your location. Most of the South stretches from the 7b to 9a zone, making it easy to plant and plan all winter long.

Read on to discover flowers and plants you can put in the ground in fall or winter.

Violas And Pansies

• Botanical Name: Viola tricolor
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0

These hardy little flowers not only have gorgeous blooms but also can survive almost anything winter has to dish out. Violas and pansies grow best in partial shade but need a minimum of four hours of sunlight a day. Give them water soluble, liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks, water them regularly, and make sure their soil has good drainage (i.e. planting in a pot with drainage holes or making sure the ground’s soil has adequate drainage). Cut back leggy pansies for new growth.

Forsythia

• Botanical Name: Forsythia spp.
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Loose, moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 5.0 – 8.0

Classic border forsythia, also called “yellow bells” due to the shape and color of its blooms, can be planted in February in much of the South and will bloom in early spring. When first planting forsythia, water regularly until established. Once established, only water if it has been a long time without rain. You shouldn’t fertilize your forsythia until a year after planting.

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Bachelor’s Buttons

• Botanical Name: Centaurea cyanus
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Adaptable to most, including poor soils
• Soil pH: 6.6 – 7.8

These cute and bright blue flowers, also known as cornflowers or blue bottles, get their unique nickname from how they were used. The flowers were placed in a buttonhole of a suit or shirt before a fellow would go courting in the Victorian era. Plant your bachelor’s buttons seeds towards the tail end of winter for gorgeous blue blooms from early summer onwards. The vibrant wildflower is pretty drought-tolerant, but it does prefer to be watered fairly regularly.

Ornamental Kale

• Botanical Name: Brassica oleracea
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 8.0

Ornamental kale is related to edible kale but isn’t for your kale salad. Instead, it has brilliant hues and a love of cold temperatures that makes it an ideal addition to a winter garden. If you are looking to plant yours in a container, make sure it has a drainage hole. Try planting them with pansies, violas, and snapdragon plants for a gorgeous container you’ll be admiring all season.

Delphinium

• Botanical Name: Delphinium spp.
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.5 – 7.5

Put this long, tall plant in the ground in late winter and enjoy its elegant, lanky stalks all summer long. Delphinium flowers, also known as larkspur, thrive with regular watering and fertilization. This tall plant does not do well in soggy soil. All in all, these vibrant florals can grow up to 6 feet tall and will surely be the centerpiece of your flower garden, while adding a bit of whimsy to the landscape.

Primrose

• Botanical Name: Primula spp.
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, moist
• Soil pH: 5.5 – 6.5

Few plants beat primrose for winter color, and they are extremely cold-hardy. Pick up a few in February and plant them in the ground or in containers where they do well outdoors. They need regular watering. Use half-strength fertilizer when regularly feeding these pretty florals.

Poppies

• Botanical Name: Papaver spp.
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.5 – 7.0

Poppies are those rare plants that do best when exposed to cold, so sow their seeds outdoors in the fall or winter and wait for their sunny blooms to brighten the garden. Feed them lightly until they are established. Want to cut them for an arrangement? We recommend searing the stem ends in a flame before putting them in water.

Calendula

• Botanical Name: Calendula officinalis
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0

Fill your garden with these cheerful yellow and orange blossoms, and you’ll have a plant that is beautiful, edible, and attracts those all-important pollinators. Calendulas don’t like excessive heat and may need some partial shade in the hottest months of summer. While they are hardy in the colder months, they will not withstand a hard freeze and should be covered with a frost blanket overnight if you suspect a freeze.

Bluebells

• Botanical Name: Mertensia virginica
• Sun Exposure: Partial to full shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0

Bluebell flowers are the perfect, durable winter bloom that provides a meditative splash of color to a winter garden. Be sure to water them regularly, as they grow quite well in moist soil. Be weary though of overwatering, as this can cause root rot.

Snapdragons

• Botanical Name: Antirrhinum majus
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.2 – 7.0

Whether from starts or seeds, colorful snapdragons can tolerate a bit of winter chill, growing up (and up) to add some vertical heft and gorgeous color to a spring garden. The gorgeous vertical blooms need regular watering (i.e. one inch of water per week in times of no rainfall). Deadheading your snapdragons regularly with promote the best growth.

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Winter Jasmine

• Botanical Name: Jasminum nudiflorum
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 8.0

Winter jasmine is a perennial shrub that blooms in late winter, adding bright yellow to the dreary landscape. The small, tubular flowers are each about 1 inch wide. These shrubs resist deer, drought, and disease, and you can even plant them on slopes. You can also grow this fast-growing plant as a trailing vine, training it up rock walls and more.

Hellebores

• Botanical Name: Helleborus spp.
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, well-draining
• Soil pH: 7.0 – 8.0

Hellebores, also known as Christmas roses or winter roses, have evergreen foliage and flowers that bloom in late winter, offering color all year round. You can find hellebores that bloom in a variety of colors, including cream, red, white, pink, and purple. They’re perfect for shadier spots.

Irises

• Botanical Name: Iris x germanica
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Dry and well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.5 – 7.0

Bearded irises bloom as early as March, popping out of the chilly earth with their cheery color. Various cultivars are available, and some can be reach up to 4 feet in height. These low-maintenance bulbs need very littler water, and most deer ignore their vegetation and flowers.

Hardy Cyclamen

• Botanical Name: Cyclamen hederifolium
• Sun Exposure: Partial to full shade
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0

Hardy cyclamens are small, herbaceous perennials that only reach about 6 inches in height. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, you can plant them in winter. Hardy cyclamen flowers are typically shades of pink or white, with unique green foliage that grows throughout the colder months.

Crocuses

• Botanical Name: Crocus spp.
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0

Crocuses sprout from corms, not bulbs, though they’re often thought of as classic flowering bulbs. These small, purple flowers emerge in late winter as an early sign that spring is around the corner. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that the flowers close up at night or on cloudy days, opening again when it’s sunny. The popular spice saffron is actually sourced from a species of Crocus.

Witch Hazel

• Botanical Name: Hamamelis hybrids
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 4.5 – 6.5

Witch hazel is a fairly large shrub that can reach 20 feet in height. Its bright, spidery blooms light up the landscape in winter, available in shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown. Plus, depending on which species or cultivar you plant, witch hazel blooms are quite fragrant. These shrubs can also form thick privacy hedges.

Snowdrops

• Botanical Name: Galanthus nivalis
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Well-draining
• Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.0

The common name “snowdrops” gives away pretty much all you need to know about this tuberous species. Small, snow-colored, drop-sized flowers bloom in early winter. Flowers are white or slightly greenish, with some yellow. Snowdrops spread quickly from bulb offshoots, so you can expect to find more and more snowdrops in your yard each year.

Winter Heath

• Botanical Name: Erica carnea
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Well-draining
• Soil pH: 4.5 – 5.5

Winter heath is a ground cover perennial that adds to the garden all year with evergreen foliage, though its winter-blooming flowers may be its best feature. In winter, you’ll find these shrubs covered in dainty, pink flowers. They bloom as early as January, and you can even grow them in containers.

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Camellias

• Botanical Name: Camellia japonica
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 5.5 – 6.0

Camellias are evergreen shrubs or trees that have beautiful winter blooms. The flowers can be up to 6 inches wide, and you can find them in pink, red, white, and yellow. The blooms continue into spring, where they’re appreciated by songbirds and pollinators. Like winter heath, you can grow camellias in containers, especially ‘Kramer’s Supreme’ and other smaller cultivars.

Winter Aconite

• Botanical Name: Eranthis hyemalis
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 8.0

Winter aconite is tuberous perennial that will give you yellow, buttercup-like flowers each winter. Its green, lobed foliage catches the eye, too. If you’re a fan of hellebores, then winter aconite might also be for you, as the two are often mistaken for each other. Expect this plant to go dormant in spring and summer.

Grape Hyacinth

• Botanical Name: Muscari armeniacum
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Fertile, moist but well-draining
• Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.0

 

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