10 Plants for Cold-Weather Containers

By Southern Living
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Winter is coming, but there’s no need to fret. Gardeners don’t have to sacrifice beautiful foliage and eye-catching blooms just because the cold months have arrived. Even if the temperatures are dipping below freezing, you can still add curb appeal and enjoy container plantings around your garden. We’ve chosen a few of our favorite flowers and shrubs to add interest to cold-weather containers. These hardy plantings provide evergreen foliage in a variety of hues as well as big blooms that will brighten up even the most barren winter landscape. When it comes to winter gardening, dropping temps don’t have to mean boring plantings, so browse our picks and plant a few containers for your space this season. For more information on winter gardening, check out How To Cover Plants for Winter, Tips for Great Winter Pots, and a few ideas from The Grumpy Gardener for preparing your garden for winter.

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Boxwood

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Buxus

These easy-to-grow evergreen shrubs are versatile plantings. They can be used as hedges, borders, edging plantings, or in containers. They are tough plants with characteristics that can stand up to difficult climates. They take well to shaping and topiary too.

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Camellia

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Camellia

While camellias are most often seen planted in big spaces, they can also thrive in containers. They bloom in a variety of forms and colors and can be counted on for cold-weather color. Once they become too big for their containers, they can be transplanted in yards and gardens.

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Coral Bells

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Heuchera

The fancy, evergreen foliage of coral bells is a lovely addition to winter containers. ‘Peach Flambe’ has peachy-hued leaves that turn purple in winter. They add bright color and visual interest to winter containers, which often lean on familiar deep green foliage like that of holly or boxwood.

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Cyclamen

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Cyclamen

Many species of cyclamen are hardy through seasons of cold weather and even bloom during the winter months. When the temperatures drop, Cyclamen cilicium blooms pink and Cyclamen coum blooms in shades of deep scarlet.

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Holly

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Ilex

This is a quintessential cold-weather plant because of its evergreen foliage and tolerance for chill. It bears bright red winter berries and deep green, shiny, pointy leaves.

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Juniper

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Juniperus

Evergreen juniper is a drought-tolerant planting with needle-shaped foliage. They can grow as shrubs, as ground cover, or as column-shaped accents in containers. They produce blue, waxy berries and green or blue-grey foliage.

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Loropetalum

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Loropetalum

Loropetalum, also known as Chinese fringe flower, has attractive deep purple foliage in winter. It is a blooming shrub that can also grow as a small tree; small magenta or white blooms appear en masse and complement the plant’s dark foliage.

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Mahonia

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Mahonia

These evergreen plants look like holly but are botanically closer to barberry species. They produce bright yellow blooms and holly-like foliage in late winter followed by berries in a variety of colors.

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Nandina

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Nandina

Nandina is a hardy evergreen planting that offers up eye-catching foliage all year long. It also bears fruit. The leaves change color throughout the year and appear in shades of red, purple, bronze, and gold.

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Yucca

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Yucca

Yucca is known for its toughness. It’s a hardy evergreen plant with attractive, distinctive foliage. It produces long, sword-shaped leaves and thrives in full sun with moderate water in well-draining soil.

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