The 7 Best Blooming Flowers For Winter

Plants die in the winter because ice crystals form within the plant cells. Plants try to protect themselves from freezing by concentrating solutes like sucralose to depress the freezing point inside their cells, this is only effective to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.6°C) . After that point, the water in cells can actually freeze into crystals that puncture the cell wall membranes, leading to the death of the bloom.

However, there are flowers specifically for the winter that flourish in the cold. Here are the best of them to add color in your garden amid the snow.

1. Calendulas (Calendula officinalis)

Calendula provides easy color from late fall through spring in mild-winter climates. You can choose from classic orange and bright yellow, or subtler shades of apricot, cream, and soft yellow. Branching plants are 1 to 2 feet high and 1 to 1½  feet wide and look great in the ground or in a container.

Calendula plants take full sun and moderate water. They will tolerate many soils as long as they have good drainage. Remove the spent flowers to prolong bloom.

2. Pansy

The pansy looks quite delicate, but actually it is a tough flower.  These low-growing plants (6 to 10 inches tall) with five-petaled flowers deliver lots of blooms over a long period. They come in a huge range of colors ― both solids and bicolors ― and bloom through winter.

The large-flowered, faced varieties may catch your eye first in nurseries. But when planted en masse, nonfaced, single-colored varieties are often more striking.

3. English Primrose

Most primroses bloom in spring or summer, but English primrose (as well as fairy primroses and Chinese primroses) are also excellent choices for winter color. Circular flowers arise either alone or in clusters from a foliage rosette. English primrose comes in nearly every color and grows 8 to 12 inches high and 9 inches wide.

Primroses can take full sun in cooler climates, part to full shade otherwise. All need regular water.

4. Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) 

The slender, willowy stems of this jasmine stand out beautifully in a winter landscape. Bright yellow flowers appear in winter or early spring, before glossy, three-leafleted leaves spread.

The vine will reach 4 feet high and 7 feet wide if unsupported. Train it on a wall and it will grow to 15 feet tall. Winter jasmine will grow in less-than-perfect conditions but will be a most prolific bloomer in full sun and good soil.

Cut back heavily before spring growth occurs to keep tidy, and pinch as needed throughout the year to control growth.

5. Viola

Like their relative the pansy, violas light up gray days with happy colors and sweet fragrance. They’re a wonderful overwintering plant and self-sow readily. Rain really beats down pansy flowers, but violas bounce back quickly.

Violas are smaller than pansies (between the size of a nickle and a quarter) but have more flowers per plant. They come in blue, yellow, white, and cream and bi-colored varieties. Use violas for mass color in borders and edging, as covers for spring bulbs, or for quick color in winter containers.

Violas like sun or part shade. Pick flowers to prolong bloom. Remove plants in summer if they begin to look ragged.

See also: Sow Aromatic And Spice Plants For The Winter That Follows

6. Sweet William

Deliciously fragrant and borne on stiff, upright stems making them superb for cutting. Plant Sweet Williams during the fall for late spring display from May through to July and beyond. Sweet William plants love full sun and make excellent ground cover.

Ideal in beds, borders and containers, varieties like Dianthus barbatus ‘Messenger’ add a vibrant mix of red, pink, purple and white to your bedding schemes, and will even survive the first frost.

7. Bellis

These hardy perennial daisies produce round, quilled blooms in pink, red or white, and are just the thing to brighten up your late winter garden. Grow on plug plants until big enough to harden off for outdoor planting during the fall.

For a really eye-catching variety try Bellis ‘Bam Bam Mixed’. These neat little Bellis Daisies feature large red and rose blooms on neat, bushy plants. They light up fall borders and often produce a second flush of flowers in spring.