Most blooms drop after early fall. But these Cool Season Flowers don’t just survive Chilly Weather—they thrive in the coldest months!
While most plants struggle to survive when it’s time for frost, these ones thrive! So, as you layer up in wool and fur and ready your fireplace, these plants shed their shyness and burst into the prettiest blooms in fall; some of these even continue their show in winter! We present to you the best cool-season flowers that love chilly weather. Dig in!
10 Cool Season Flowers that Love Chilly Weather
1. Calendula
Botanical Name: Calendula officinalis
Starting off the list is calendula! This perennial herb rides against the tide, preferring to open up and show off its blooms only when the weather gets cool. It can even tolerate slight frost but will likely perish in harsh winters. You’ll find its bright orange and yellow-petalled blooms emerge in late fall and spring.
Along with cool temperatures (below 85 F or 29 C), calendula also needs full to partial sun and well-drained soil. Find out what it smells like here.
2. Pansies
Botanical Name: Viola tricolor
Grown as annuals, winter pansy varieties are especially cold-hardy, surviving single-digit temperatures. They will freeze but not die! However, they don’t like constant exposure to frost. Blooming from fall through winter till spring, they appear in a range of hues, including purple, yellow, and blue.
Pansies prefer rich, moist soil and do best in areas with partial to full sun.
3. Primroses
Botanical Name: Primula vulgaris
Primroses flourish in cold seasons and can even handle light frost, brightening up gardens in early spring. These flowers are small and dainty usually around 1-2 inches wide and come in bright pinks, yellows, and purples.
In cold winters, you can shelter the plants from frost, use a cover to keep them insulated, or plant them in raised beds with mulch and other heaty materials on the soil. They grow well in moist, well-drained, loamy to sandy soil and enjoy shady to partially sunny spots.
4. Snapdragons
Botanical Name: Antirrhinum majus
Although snapdragons are short-lived perennials hardy to USDA zones 7-11, they actually prefer chilly weather of fall and spring the most and may even survive a bit of frost if you don’t live in a really cold climate!
Sow them in the late summer or early fall directly or in pots, and they’ll start flowering in water, survive winter, and be ready for beautiful spring blooms again!
Sporting tall spikes of bright red, yellow, pink, or white blooms, they grow best in full sun and prefer well-drained soil with regular watering.
5. Dusty Millers
Botanical Name: Jacobaea maritima
Dusty Millers are known more for their unique silver foliage than their flowers. However, they do produce magical yellow daisy-like blooms that appear from spring till first frost in USDA zones 7-11, often coming after winter in zones 7 and 8.
This plant can survive in deep shade, partial shade, and full sun. It thrives in well-drained soil and is often used in garden beds as a striking contrast to colorful blooms.
6. Winter Jasmine
Botanical Name: Jasminum nudiflorum
As the name suggests, the winter jasmine loves winter! This cool-season plant produces delicate yellow tubular blooms that can withstand light frost. Its flowers appear before the foliage, making them an instant eye-catcher.
Just like the plant above, winter jasmine can survive in varying amounts of sunlight, and prefers well-draining soil. If you like this one, check out other winter blooming plants as well!
7. Crocus
Botanical Name: Crocus
Crocuses are native to cold regions and are accustomed to growing in chilly conditions. They can grow in temperatures lower than 30 F (-1 C) easily. These small, cup-shaped flowers are also frost tolerant but usually bloom early in the year, from late winter to early spring.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
8. Sweet Pea
Botanical Name: Lathyrus odoratus
With silky petals, it is a common misconception that a delicate flower such as sweet peas can’t survive the cold. However, these are cool-season flowers that thrive in winter. In warm climes with milder winters, sow them in fall for beautiful blooms in winter and spring.
Growing best in full sun and rich, well-drained soil, while they can survive a bit of frost, remember to protect them from extremities.
9. Poppy
Botanical Name: Papaver
Poppies love nippy weather and are frost-tolerant, making them perfect for winter gardens. Certain varieties, such as Iceland and Oriental poppies, are grown for this very characteristic. They have delicate, papery petals in fiery reds, oranges, and pinks and prefer full to partial sun.
However, California poppies like slightly warmer weather, such as USDA zones 6-11. Here’s how to grow them in pots.
10. Alyssum
Botanical Name: Lobularia maritima
If you want a plant that creates a crowded floral carpet in chilly months, then sweet alyssum is what you’ve been waiting for! This plant produces clusters of tiny, sweet-smelling flowers in white, purple, and pink, often forming a carpet-like ground cover.
Typically producing blooms from spring to fall, in warmer regions (zones 9-11), it can even bloom in winter. Find a spot that receives full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. Do your best to protect it from frost as they may succumb to extreme weather.
