You want to upgrade your house this winter, but you haven’t found the way?
We offer you a list of the 12 best winter plants for pots. They not only tolerate wintry weather, but some of them can produce lovely flowers and berries, perfect for adding color to your home and boosting psychological health in these cold, bleak months!
The 12 best winter plants
1. Violas
There is no surprise that violas are the most popular winter plant for pots. Viola can bloom through the winter and, with proper care, in summer too. Its flowers, in a wide range of colors: white, pink, yellow, red, can definitely brighten your house even on the gloomiest day. Plus, Violas are edible – you can garnish your food or candy them for cake decoration.
Violas do not need a lot of care. Just remember to water your violas regularly and place them in partial shade or full sun.
Top tip: Deadheading also helps make them grow faster.
2. Pansies
Remarkable as a winter plant, Pansies can survive freezing coldness and can thrive vigorously when summer returns. Its “smiling face” flowers are vibrant in color and fragrance that can fill up your space with so much joy.
Pansies are fine with normal potting soil, with a bit of general, all-purpose fertilizers. Deadheading faded flowers and sun exposure are needed to produce more blooms.
Top tip: One of the most common problems when growing pansies is underwatering. So, make sure to water your pansies regularly.
3. Erica carnea
Erica carnea is a sun-loving evergreen. Low maintenance, winter hardy, disease and pest-free, and a plant that exhibits an abundance of pink and purple flowers in winter, this plant definitely deserves a “pot” in your house.
Erica carnea does not mind some neglect. However, some sunshine (6 hours per day) is crucial for the vibrant color of their flowers.
Top tip: Your Erica plants will require moist, well-drained soil. So, let the top of the soil dry slightly before the next watering.
4. Gaultheria procumbens
Gaultheria procumbens is a type of evergreen shrub, with dark green, red-tinted leaves. Nothing can bring as much Christmas vibe as this winterberry. Its bright red berries are truly the most beautiful baubles you can add to your house. It can make an appealing decoration at your house entrance.
They do not need a lot of water and can tolerate drought. They can grow well in both full shade and partial shade.
Top tip: Gaultheria procumbens love acidic, moist but well-drained soil.
5. Clivia
Clivia is popular as an indoor flowering plant. From a giant bulb grows thick, dark-green long leaves. Clivia plants bloom a cluster of 15-20 smaller flowers in late winter. Although it is quite expensive – the price can be above $20 per plant, it is easy to care for.
Clivia only needs some basic care. In the winter months, your clivia requires a minimum amount of water to keep its foliage moist. It thrives in any type of well-drained soil with organic matter.
Top tip: It is shade-loving. Therefore, the early morning sun is preferable.
6. Hellebores
Not a lot of plants can compete with hellebores when it comes to winter tolerance. Hellebores are known for their nodding, fragrant and long-lasting flowers which bloom in a wide range of colors, even when the ground is covered with snow. Hellebores’ foliage is aesthetically pleasing with serrated, leathery leaves.
Place hellebores in well-drained, organic soil. Hellebores do not love so much sunlight. They prefer filtered sun, dappled light, and shady locations but make sure to water them regularly.
Top tip: Removing old and damaged leaves at the end of the season is necessary to prevent leaf spot disease.
7. Sedum
There is a variety of sedum ranging from low-spreading to high-spreading. Creeping and medium Sedum are the most suitable varieties to grow in pots. Even though they are mainly grown for their colorful foliage, Sedums can produce short sprays of lovely flowers. Like any type of succulent, Sedum is really hardy, and drought tolerant.
It is easy to take care of Sedum plants. You can use any form of succulent mix and well-draining soil. Make sure to have a drainage hole in your planters to keep your plant healthy. Most Sedums enjoy full sun or partial sun. In winter, do not water your Sedums too regularly, this will prevent winter rot.
Top tip: For succulents in general, underwatering is much better than overwatering.
8. Boxwood
Boxwood is a perfect winter plant for pots. Thriving all the year, through harsh winters and hot summers, hardly in need of any maintenance, a pot of nicely pruned boxwood shrub is a living sculpture that can bring year-round color to your house.
You need to pay extra attention when choosing a pot for your boxwood. The pot should be large and tall and have a good drainage hole. Boxwoods do not like to sit in wet roots. Other than that, taking care of a boxwood is easy. Water your boxwood moderately through the year and reduce the water in winter.
Top tip: You can add some wood chips and leaves to the soil in winter to keep your plant warm.
9. ZZ plant
Easy to take care of, stylish, extremely cold tolerant, a ZZ plant is the safest plant to grow in pots in winter. Its oval-shaped, glossy, deep green can work as décor for your house.
ZZ plant is suitable for any busy owner because you don’t need to take care of it much at all. Watering it once a month in winter is enough to make it happy. ZZ plant loves low, or medium-light so you can place it everywhere in your house.
Top tip: Fertilize it once a year with worm compost and you can enjoy its shiny foliage for the whole year.
10. Jade plant
The Jade plant is a succulent with thick stems and oval-shaped leaves. In late winter, it produces white, mildly fragrant flowers. Tiny, about 3-6 inches tall, the Jade plant can be placed anywhere in your house – on a table or bookshelf. Many people prefer placing them in their working corner as the Jade plant is regarded as a lucky plant.
The Jade plant is succulent; therefore, it enjoys well-draining soil. Do not water them too often. Overwatering can cause root rot and fungal disease.
Top tip: Jade plant is happy with indirect light. Too much sunlight means its foliage will get burned.
11. Lily of the Valley
Lily of the Valley exhibits delicate, bell-shaped, white flowers. The fragrance can easily fill up any room in the house. It is recommended to grow the plant in pots so that you can bring the pleasing smell everywhere you want and control the spread of the rhizomes. Despite its tiny, fragile appearance, this plant makes it to the list for being cold-hardy, and versatile.
Like with Boxwoods, the most important step is to choose a suitable pot for your Lily plant. A pot whose depth is greater than its width is the best for your Lily. Place your pots under indirect sunlight. Water in the morning.
With Lily of the Valley plants, you should also place your garden hose directly to the ground to avoid wetting the leaves.
Top tip: Remember to remove the flower stalks when the flowers become dry and the petals fall off.
12. Japanese Skimmia
Japanese Skimmia is a coldy-hardy evergreen that offers year-round glossy foliage, clusters of star-shaped, pink-tinted flowers in summer, and decorative red buds or berries in winter. Both blooms and leaves produce a pleasant fragrance.
Japanese Skimmia is a shade-loving plant. It easily thrives in partial shade and full shade, preferably morning and dappled afternoon sunlight. Well-drained, slightly acidic soil works best for skimmia.
Top tip: The soil should be moist all the time so it is a must to water your Japanese Skimmia regularly and frequently.
If you have plants that aren’t on this list, you may need to keep them warm and safe from frost, snow, and wind. Not all plants are as hardy as the ones on this list! Learn how to keep your beloved plants safe and how to cover your plants for winter.
We hope our list can help you decide what to get for the winter season. The next step is to choose high-quality, fashionable pots for your lovelies. Be sure to take a look at our fiberglass containers that are light and durable, and suitable to move your plants around in as you please. If you want to see out planters in action, be sure to check out this project:
Penthouse Pool Club Washington
As the highest point in a building, the pool area of a penthouse is more susceptible to high winds and extreme weather conditions. It was also typically surrounded by hard surfaces like concrete, which made it feel more uninviting and unwelcoming.
View ProjectIf you’re not sure which pots are best for your plants, take a look at our best landscaping planters, for outdoor and indoor landscaping perfection!