Classy, Colorful Container Plantings To Get You Through the Winter

Are your containers looking pretty sad about now? Recent frosts killed off the annuals, meaning that  pots clustered on porches, decks and patios might be looking a little bleak and bare right now. Ravenna Gardens at University Village offers some great ideas for winter potting beyond the cliche of cabbages and pansies.

Steal a little inspiration from these colorful, textural combinations that'll last through the darkest days of winter..well, not the cyclamen, but they're worth replacing or bringing in when freezes threaten.

Shiny, dark ajuga planted with cyclamen and a bristly little conifer, with one of the bronze carexes at the foot of the pot

A tightly knit grouping of conifers, flax, ajuga, sedum and dwarf hinoki garnished with red cyclamens. I love how it looks almost as if the plants are cascading down and out of the pots and onto the ground around them.

Isn't it amazing how the clean marbled leaves and vivid red flowers of the cyclamen so effectively perk up the rest of the plants and meld them into coherent and effective planting scheme?

Comments

[Jan]

The containers are indeed lovely and a visual pick-me-up!
How long will the cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum?) survive when the temps are persistently in the low 30's at night? Also what about the hardiness of what I believe to be croposma (multi-colored, in the 2nd in 3rd photos) ? I am fairly new to the region and still not familiar with how far I might push the envelope.

[valerie Easton]

Hi Jan,
The cyclamen is not hardy - I think they are just tucked into the larger containers in their pots to be lifted out if there is going to be a hard frost. I've left cyclamen outdoors in protected areas in all weather above freezing, so they're pretty tough but won't survive a hard frost. You could check with Ravenna Gardens re the shrub; I don't believe it's croposma, but I do believe it's hardy here...
Val

[wendy john]

I lost a coprosma last winter during the two cold spells we had....

[Riz Reyes]

That shrub looks to be a Croprosma ('Evening Glow' or 'Rainbow Surprise') These won't be fully hardy, but they can withstand a bit of cold when used in containers in a sheltered location. But a really hard freeze and constant wet will brown these guys, unfortunately.

[valerie Easton]

Thanks Riz - can't believe we'll get through the winter without a couple of really hard freezes and plenty of drowning wet...yet I've seen colorful croprosma on display at nurseries this fall, recommended for containers. Maybe we should think of it as a surer bet for early spring so we can enjoy those beautiful leaves for many months....

[Lucas Nevada]

Lovely are your flowers Madaam :)