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 have plants in my containers year-round and start in mid-March after putting out the Christmas vegetables using the long list of early spring flowers that can tolerate and thrive in cold climates. Violas and pansies are stalwarts of cool weather flowers, but there are many others you can try.
There are so many flowers you can use before the cold temperatures drop (below 35 degrees Fahrenheit at night) that I prepare at least a bunch of containers to cheer me up after a long, cold winter. After hanging up my winter coat and removing the fleeces, I’m ready to plant.
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.
spring or autumn
Hardy annuals are cold-tolerant annuals, which distinguishes them from heat-loving ones like zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers. They tolerate a light frost and are 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.
And 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 in a greenhouse and place them outside without hardening them off. This simply means gradually acclimating them to colder temperatures. Place your plants in an unheated garage or other shelter before bringing them outdoors.
Here is my list of most planted cold-tolerant annuals:
- Thoughts and violas
- Calendula
- Foxglove
- sweet alyssum
- Larkspur
- Snapdragon
- Nemesia
- chard
- Parsley
- Dill
- culinary savant
- anemones
- Ranunculus
- poppies
- Cerinthe or Honeywort
- Chinese forget me not
- Cornflower
- nasturtiums
- Bells of Ireland
- petunias
- Cornflower
- sweet peas
- Lobelia
- Love in a fog
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.
When to plant outdoors
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 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 broadcast the seeds as evenly as possible, with dry hands, then tamp the soil firmly with the rake, without adding additional 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.
It is necessary to quickly appear among the leaf litter, weed and spray with water if we encounter 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.
