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Quick. Name 10 winter flowers....!
Yes, I know, it depends where you live. For instance, if you look out your window and see snow drifts big enough to hide a dog, you will have to settle for indoor winter flowers. But if you live in a zone that allows outdoor plants to bloom year round, then here are some gorgeous winter flowers.
Witch hazel (Hamamelis spp.) is a winter-flowering shrub. These shrubs can grow to a height of 20 feet and they bloom from late fall through the winter. The Hamamelis virginiana variety is native to North America and has yellow-gold flowers and leaves. Yes, the astringent witch hazel comes from this plant but it offers great winter color.
Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica) is another shrub that blooms in winter. The blooms are strands of buds in bright red, white or pink. The leaves are bright green.
Christmas roses (or Lenton roses) (Helleborus spp.) bloom in mid to late winter. They have dark green leaves and cup-shaped blooms in maroon, pink, white or red. As the bloom get older, they fade to a creamy ivory color.
Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa lucillae) provides star-shaped flowers. This plant grows from bulbs and there is a trick to keeping it blooming year after year. After the blooms stop, don’t mow the lawn for six week. This lets the bulbs pull the necessary energy from the lawn so that it can bloom again next winter.
Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a shrub with yellow jasmine blossoms that bloom from late fall and the winter. It can grow to a height of 15 feet and makes a great trellis-trained plant.
Firethorn (Pyracantha) is a good companion winter flower for the winter jasmine. It grows berries in bright red or pale yellow. Don’t prune it because this will trim off the potential berries.
There are early bulbs that qualify as winter flowers because given the right circumstances, they will blossom early enough to be in your garden when the snow is still there. Some of the favorite early blooming bulbs are crocus, amaryllis, hyacinth, tulip, and narcissus. A couple of other contenders are snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) and the reticulated iris (Iris reticulata).
What you need to remember about winter flowers is that they are not going to be great big beds of various colorful flowers. Technically most of them are shrubs. You can check to see which ones will flourish in your area and try one or two. Even bright shiny green leaves in February can be quite attractive.
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