There are so many flowers you can use before the cold temperatures subside in the spring (below 35 degrees Fahrenheit at night) that I prepare at least a half dozen containers to cheer me up after a long, cold winter. After hanging up my winter coat and wearing a light fleece, I’m ready to plant.
Hardy annual flowers are known as “fresh bloomers” in the flower growing industry, where these types of plants are cold hardy and in fact prefer colder temperatures. In fact, when warmer weather sets in in early summer, these annuals will die out from the heat.
I enjoy plants in my containers year-round, and from early to mid-March I plant some colorful annuals after putting out the Christmas greens, using some of the many early spring flowers that can tolerate and thrive in climates cold Violas and pansies are stalwarts of cool weather flowers, but there are many others you can try.
One year I had a cold snap in April where nighttime temperatures dropped to about 29 degrees Fahrenheit. I put an ice blanket over my containers and they sailed smoothly. These covers can increase the interior temperature between 2 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the weight of the row cover. The higher the weight, the more expensive the cover will be.
Hardy annuals are cold-tolerant annuals, which differentiates them from heat-loving ones like zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers. Withstanding a light frost, they are also good options for early fall. However, a sustained frost will kill them. Hardy annuals will thrive much better in the ground than in containers, as the soil will insulate the roots better than the small amount of soil in a container.
Plants that have had time to adapt to a colder climate will be more resilient than those that suddenly encounter it. Therefore, do not buy plants that were grown in a greenhouse and place them outside without Haordering them out. This simply means gradually acclimating them to colder temperatures. Place your plants in an unheated garage or other shelter for at least a week before introducing them outdoors.
Here is my list of most planted cold-tolerant annuals:
- carnation
- Petunia
- Lobelia
- Thoughts and violas
- Calendula
- Foxglove
- Diascia
- sweet alyssum
- Larkspur
- anemones
- Snapdragon
- Nemesia
- chard
- Parsley
- Dill
- Anemones: They are not really annuals, but I grow new ones every year.
- Ranunculus
- poppies
- Cerinthe or Honeywort
- Chinese forget-me-not
- Cornflower
- nasturtiums
- Bells of Ireland
- Cornflower
- sweet peas
- Love in a fog
- african daisy
- dusty miller
This list is by no means inclusive of all annuals that thrive in cold temperatures, but it offers a good selection of colorful, easy-to-grow flowers. Go to Walter Reeves for a Practical chart both in vegetables and flowers to achieve the best moment.
The end of winter is the time to plant your Cold season annuals as soon as the soil can be “worked.” This term is gardening slang for soil with a texture that is neither mud nor frozen! After determining that my soil was ready by running a rake through it, I gathered my cool-season annual seeds along with plant stakes, a marking marker, and my favorite multi-bladed planting rake. On the planting menu were poppies, bells of Ireland, love in the mist, cerinthe and marigold. That was February for me in zone 7 Maryland.
Cold season annuals They differ from annuals that are planted after the danger of frost has passed because the seeds need cold temperatures to germinate and cool temperatures to grow well in the garden. When warm weather arrives, they fade and I pull them out to make way for annuals that enjoy the warm weather. Poppies are one of my all-time favorite cool weather flowers and I make sure to plant them in abundance.
Cool-season annuals, which grow quickly in the cool temperatures of late winter and early spring, are often old-fashioned flowers found scattered in an English cottage garden. Best planted outdoors, these flowers are frost tolerant and grow quickly to give you a much-needed dose of color after the long winter. If you want to plant cold-hardy edibles like brassicas, go to pegplant who writes an excellent blog about gardening.
The only preparation needed is to rake the soil with my seeding rake. I like to add very fine seeds, like poppies, to the sand to spread the seeds more evenly. Then tamp the soil firmly with the rake, without adding more soil. Sprinkling the surface with pieces of straw or leaves helps keep the soil moist and hopefully hides the seed from wandering birds. I spray a light mist of water on top to moisten the surface and wait in anticipation.
Appearing quickly through the leaf litter, it is necessary to spray with a little water if we reach a period of drought. Then it’s time for the color show! Cutting flowers from these first blooms makes great arrangements around the house.
For a great video on how to plant fresh flowers, go to fresh flowersa website by Lisa Ziegler.
