The Best Florida Winter Flowers

Here in Florida, with our constant warm weather, many plants are able to bloom year-round. There's also a great selection of cool-season annuals: plants that would normally flower in spring in a cooler climate, but are a great choice in Florida for brightening up your winter landscape. Check out our selection of favorite flowers that bloom during the winter months.

Best Winter Flowers for Florida: Annuals

These plants can be added to your landscape during fall, to provide a bloom display during the cool season. Annual plants like these last only one growing season, so you will need to replace them if you want those blooms again the following year.

Viola and Pansy

Viola is a small plant with flowers in a range of colors including yellow, pink, red, purple and white. In Florida, violas in your favorite colors can be planted at the beginning of the winter season to add a burst of color to your winter landscape. These compact annuals will continue to bloom through spring.

Pansy is a variety of viola with larger flowers. Pansies come in the same wide variety of shades, but each flower can be up to three inches wide. Some pansies have beautiful flowers with more than one color.

These versatile annual plants work well as potted plants or in window boxes; they also look great in borders. Well-draining soil is a must. Plant in full sun, and take care not to over-water.

Sweet Alyssum

Sweet alyssum, Lobularia maritima, is a cool weather annual. It produces dense clusters of small white flowers and grows in mounds up to 12 inches in height. Varieties with pink, lavender or purple flowers are also available. A prolific self-seeder, this annual flower sometimes returns the following year.

Plant sweet alyssum any time from October through to late spring. It prefers full sun and well-drained soil, although it can also tolerate light shade.

Petunia

Petunia is a popular winter annual in Florida's warm climate. A wide range of colors and varieties is available to provide your outdoor space with winter color. This versatile plant can be used as seasonal ground cover or bedding plant. Its vibrant blooms form a beautiful container arrangement and look charming in a hanging basket.

Plant petunias in moist, well-drained soil. They grow best in full sun. October or November is the best time to plant petunias in Florida. If cold weather is expected in North Florida, your petunias will need protection from frost.

Delphinium

Usually a perennial, in Florida's sunny climate delphinium, aka larkspur, is a favorite winter annual. Its tall spikes of blooms are unusual in the natural world in having true-blue flowers. Other colors, such as white, pink, and yellow, are also available. Delphiniums can grow from two to six feet tall depending on the type of plant.

Plant this gorgeous flower in full sun and water plentifully. Delphiniums can cope with cool weather; they only need protecting if temperatures drop below around 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Once temperatures get warmer in spring, these winter blooms will fade and the plants will need to be removed. Be aware that delphiniums are poisonous to humans and to some animals.

Snapdragon

Snapdragons are another popular winter annual for Florida. They are available in a wide variety of colors, and range from six inches to three feet in height, so you're sure to find a variety that will suit your winter garden.

In North Florida, snapdragons can be planted from October. If you live in South Florida, wait until November. Snapdragons prefer plenty of direct sunlight, and do best in soil that has been amended with organic matter.

Perennials that Flower in Winter in Florida

These perennials live for several growing seasons, providing adorable flowers throughout the winter months. Depending on plant type, they can continue to bloom for several years.

Carolina Jessamine

Carolina jessamine is a versatile Florida native vine that climbs, trails, cascades and can even be used as ground cover. Its yellow flowers start to come out early in January in Florida. These fragrant flowers form a pleasing contrast with this perennial plant's dark green leaves. They are attractive to pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Carolina jessamine grows in full sun to partial shade. Soil should be dry or slightly moist. Be aware that all parts of this evergreen plant are poisonous, so plant away from spaces used by children or pets.

Azalea

Azaleas, with their spectacular displays of large, colorful flowers, are a popular border or specimen plant in North and Central Florida. Flowering usually begins in February and continues through to April. Azalea requires cooler temperatures to break dormancy; in the warm climate of South Florida this does not occur every winter, so flowering can be sporadic.

Azaleas flower best if planted in filtered sunlight, for example beneath pine trees. Well-drained, acidic soil is best. Adding organic matter to the soil can increase the likelihood of healthy plants that will charm you with a beautiful display of attractive flowers.

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemums form small mounds of cheery flowers in a variety of colors and shapes. They look beautiful in mass plantings and work well if you want cut flowers from your garden.

Depending on the variety, their showy flowers can appear as early as August or as late as October. Once blooms appear, their bright colors will continue to brighten your landscape beds for four to eight weeks. Selecting a range of late bloomers should give you a colorful display of blooms in winter.

Chrysanthemums prefer full sun, although they can also grow with some morning or afternoon shade. They work well as container plants as well as in garden beds. Well-drained soil is best. Amend with organic matter to give your chrysanthemums their best growing conditions.

Dianthus

Dianthus is a genus of plants with fragrant, five-petaled blooms. These flowers can occur in a range of colors from white through pink to purple. In most parts of Florida dianthus is best planted in October. It will then flower throughout the cooler months, until spring temperatures get too hot.

Types of dianthus include:

• Sweet Williams
• Carnations
• Pinks

Plant these pretty border plants in full sun to partial shade. Well-drained soil is a must, as dianthus will not thrive in wet conditions.

Plants that bloom year-round in Florida

Like the selections mentioned above, these plants are perennials, meaning they will last for several growing seasons. These plant picks can provide continuous blooms year-round, adding to the array of colors in your winter garden.

Crinum Lily

Crinum lily is a large, clumping specimen plant that works well as a centerpiece in your landscape. Cultivars with pink or white flowers are available; some varieties have striking pink and white striped blooms.

Crinum lily should be grown in partial shade or partial sun. It can grow in a range of soil types and can tolerate extended flooding, making it a great choice for rain gardens or damp areas.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea's colorful blooms, available in a variety of colors from pink to red to orange to yellow, are technically not flowers, but modified leaves called bracts. The true flowers are much smaller and are eclipsed by the showy display of the bracts.

Bougainvillea blooms will occur all year round but are especially plentiful during the winter months. This beautiful plant does best with plenty of sunlight. The more sun, the more flowers you get! Be careful not to over-water, and, if frost is forecast, protect your bougainvillea with a layer of blankets overnight.

African Iris

African iris, aka butterfly iris, can be planted year-round in Zones 8-11. This striking tropical plant produces large white blooms with blue and yellow markings. Although short-lived, these showy flowers can appear at any time of year, providing a burst of color even during the winter months.

A large perennial, African iris can grow in a range of soil types. It is tolerant of inundation and so works well in a water garden or in other damp areas.

Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomeratus)

Blue daze, evolvus glomeratus, is hardy in Zones 9-11, meaning it can grow in most of the Sunshine State, though it may not thrive in the Panhandle area. A low-growing plant with purple-blue flowers, blue daze works well as groundcover.

Although not native, blue daze is considered Florida-friendly. As well as brightening up your landscape with its vibrant colors, blue daze is a food source for beneficial pollinators, especially bees. Plant in well-drained soil in partial shade.

Plumbago

Plumbago is a Florida-friendly shrub with clusters of flowers in a pale lilac blue; a variety with white blooms is also available. Plumbago's bright green foliage is evergreen and provides visual interest even when the plant is not in bloom.

Flowers are present year-round in South and Central Florida; cooler winter temperatures in North Florida may end the bloom season with frost. Plant plumbago any time of year in full sun. This pretty shrub needs well-drained soil to thrive.

If you'd like any help selecting winter flowers for your Florida landscape, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at LawnMore Gainesville. Our expert landscapers have plenty of experience with native and Florida-friendly plants and can help you make selections that will keep your outdoor space looking beautiful all year round.