Winter Blooms

This month's Stadler Nursery post is all about bringing some color to the dreary days of February.

So here we are in February, probably the most dreaded month in a gardener’s calendar. It’s been so long since we’ve seen green leaves and bright flowers and, for most of us, it will be a long time before we see them again. The days are short, gray and cold. To make matters worse, the mail order plant companies are filling our mailboxes with catalogs showing all the exciting new offerings for the coming season.

It doesn’t have to be this way! With careful planning, we can shorten the length of time between the last colors of fall and the first color of the new year by planting winter bloomers. Many plants thrive in the cold winter weather and put on their best show long before any of the summer bloomers have even begun to put up their first tender shoots.

There are so many choices. Check with your local garden center for those that will do best in your area. Here are a few of my favorites.



Hellebores (Helleborus sp.) 1-2’ tall. A recent surge of new varieties have come on the market, offering an amazing range of flower shapes and colors.



Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) 10-15’ tall native shrub/tree that grows best along woodlines. A number of varieties and colors are available, including Jelena (coppery orange flowers), Diane (brick red flowers) and Arnold’s Promise (bright golden yellow blooms)



Winterhazel (Corylopsis sp.) 5-6’ shrub with chains of pale yellow wonderfully fragrant bell-shaped flowers.



Camellia (Camellia sp.) Is there anyone that doesn’t know the camellia? What you may not know is that new hybrids have been developed that are hardy well north of traditional camellia territory. With evergreen foliage and big beautiful blooms in pink, red or white, camellias will definitely give your garden a summery feel even in the cold of February.



Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) 3-4’ shrub with arching, cascading branches bear trumpet-shaped yellow flowers that resemble forsythia blooms. Its cascading habit makes it ideal for planting along the top of retaining walls and on slopes.



Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) Amazingly fragrant big loose shrub that produces small white blooms even on the coldest days.



Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) 10-15’ shrub that is true to its name, producing masses of sweetly fragrant bell-shaped flowers.



Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) 20’ small tree in the dogwood family produces clusters of small star-shaped yellow flowers.



Sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) 1-2’ slow growing ground cover with small white blooms that provide a sharp citrusy fragrance from January to March.



Mahonia (Mahonia beali) A personal favorite of mine, this 7-8’ shrub with a distinctive tropical appearance puts up long stems of bright yellow bell-shaped flowers in February. The flowers are followed by blue fruit resembling grapes that the birds absolutely love!

As an extra bonus, many of these shrubs will bloom even earlier and brighten your cold winter days if you bring them inside and induce them to bloom. Cut branches when the buds have started to swell, bring inside, immerse the cut ends in a beautiful vase and wait for the show.

Okay now, the rest is up to you! Go to your window and look out at your garden. Do you see a gray, barren landscape or do you see bright winter color that lifts your spirits on a cold February day? If it is the former, start planning now to add some of the plants I’ve mentioned so next February will be as beautiful as a summer day.

Cheryl lives with her husband and their three cats in a 100-year-old house in the beautiful state of Maryland. She has a degree in horticulture from the University of Maryland and has been the manager of Stadler Nurseries in Maryland and Virginia for over 20 years. Become a fan of Stadler Nurseries on Facebook to find out what's going on in the garden world!