20 Plants With Flowers That Bloom in Winter

Alaska Azalea (Azalea indica 'Alaska')

This azalea variety for warm climates has showy white blooms with chartreuse-colored blotches in late winter to early spring. It has dense foliage and due to its compact size, it can also be grown as a container plant.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11
• Flower color: White
• Light: Partial shade
• Mature Size: 3-5 ft. tall, 4-6 ft. wide

Aralia (Fatsia japonica)

For low light settings, this evergreen shrub with large green leaves is a good option for warm climates. Its white flowers in the late winter are followed by black ornamental berries. Since this is a tropical plant, it should get a sheltered spot even in a warm climate. 

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 8-11
• Flower color: White
• Light: Partial sun, shade
• Mature Size: 5-8 ft. tall and wide

Perfume Princess Daphne (Daphne x 'DapJur01')

Of all the daphne varieties, this hybrid blooms the earliest and longest. It also has good sun and heat tolerance. The abundant highly fragrant flowers clusters in mid-winter to spring start out as deep pink and fade to a blush pink or white over time. This evergreen shrub for warm climate has an upright growth habit.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-9
• Flower color: Pink
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 4 ft. tall, 3 ft. wide

Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense)

Fringe flowers are evergreen shrubs for mild climates. They are often chosen both for their foliage that changes color throughout the year, as well as their filigree fragrant flowers. ‘Ever Red’ (Loropetalum chinense 'Chang Nian Hong') is a compact cultivar with dark burgundy foliage and deep red flowers. It blooms intermittently year-round, but the bloom is the heaviest in late winter to spring.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-9
• Flower color: Red
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 5-9 ft. tall, 6 ft. wide

Indian Hawthorn ‘Pink Lady’ (Rhaphiolepis indica)

For a late winter bloomer, this evergreen shrub with large, leathery leaves and fragrant, pink flowers is a good choice for mild climates. The flowers are small similar to crabapple blossoms; they are followed by ornamental dark blue berries.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 8-9
• Flower color: Pink
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 4-5 ft. tall, 2-3 ft. wide

Japanese Pieris (Pieris japonica)

Japanese pieris is a cold-hardy broadleaf evergreen shrub with glossy, leathery green leaves. Its white or pale pink blooms, which appear on the shrub in late winter or early spring, resemble the flowers of lily-of-the-valley but they aren’t as heavily scented.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
• Flower color: White, pink
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 9-12 ft. tall, 6-8 ft. wide

Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis)

• This broadleaf evergreen for warm climates can be grown as a shrub or as a vine. It has clusters of brightly colored trumpet-shaped flowers from fall to spring whose sweet nectar attracts hummingbirds. The plant, which is native to South Africa, is botanically not a honeysuckle but a relative of trumpet creeper.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11
• Flower color: Yellow, orange, peach
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 3-10 ft. tall, 25-30 ft. long as a vine

Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)

Winter jasmine does not need a tropical climate, and unlike most jasmines, it does not have fragrant flowers. The tradeoff is that shrub, or vine (depending on how you grow it) is covered with tiny yellow blossoms in the late winter before the plant leaves out again.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-10
• Flower color: Yellow
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 4 ft. tall, up to 15 ft. tall on a trellis

Witch Hazel (Hammamelis spp.)

Even in climates with very cold winters, the bloom of the witch hazel is something to look forward to. Most plants need warmth to bloom, witch hazel is just the opposite. The bright, fragrant, spidery flowers will only appear in cold temperatures. If you prefer a native witch hazel, pick H. virginiana or H. vernalis. Of the non-native witch hazels, the hybrid Hamamelis x intermedia, a cross between Chinese and Japanese witch hazel, is the most popular.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9
• Flower color: Yellow
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 10-20 ft. tall, 10-20 ft. wide

Cape Aloe (Aloe ferox)

From winter through spring, mature cape aloe plants send up tall stalks with spiky bright red-orange flowers that look like mature candelabras. This large aloe is native to South Africa’s Cape region and as such a plant for warm climates. Its drought-tolerance makes it suitable for xeriscape landscapes.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-10
• Flower color: Orange
• Light: Full sun
• Mature Size: 6-9 ft. tall, 3-5 ft. wide

Camellia (Camellia spp.)

Long-lived camellias are one of the most popular winter bloomers in warm climates for good reasons. These evergreen shrubs have dark, glossy leaves and large, lush flowers in such a wide range of colors that it’s difficult to make a choice. They bloom for several weeks between fall and early spring. Most camellia are cultivars of Camellia japonica.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-9
• Flower color: White, pink, red, yellow, lavender
• Light: Partial shade
• Mature Size: 2-12 ft. tall, 2-10 ft, wide

Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger)

In warm climates, hellebores can bloom outdoors at Christmastime (in cold climates, you’ll have to wait until it breaks through the frozen ground in the spring to see the flowers). With its thick, evergreen foliage, and rose-like flowers, it is a stunning winter bloomer. Even if your climate is mild, make sure to plant in a location where it gets sun during the winter, and it is protected from harsh winter winds.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9
• Flower color: White, pink, purple, yellow
• Light: Shade in the summer, sun in the winter
• Mature Size: 1-2 ft. tall and wide

Algerian Iris (Iris unguicularis)

This winter-blooming iris is different from any other iris species, in mild climates.  Algerian iris will add a stunning splash of color to your landscape with its deep violet, highly fragrant flowers long before any other iris blooms in the spring. Algerian iris is native to northern Africa and the western Mediterranean. It is planted from bulbs in the spring and blooms from late fall to early spring.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-9
• Flower color: Purple
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 12-18 in. tall, 18-24 in. wide

Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana)

In zones with warm or mild winters, pansies can be grown as biennials. All pansies are hybrids and breeding has produced varieties that are more cold-resistant so you can extend their bloom into the winter. With their heart-shaped petals in bright colors or bi-colors, often with face-like center markings, pansies are ideal to brighten up grey winter days.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-11
• Flower color: White, yellow, purple, blue
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 4-8 in. tall, 4-6 in. wide

Lantana (Lantana camara)

In frost-free climates, lantana is a perennial that blooms year-round, which makes this sprawling plant an attractive fragrant ground cover to add color to your winter landscape. The profuse flower clusters come in a wide array of colors, often almost fluorescent, creating a bicolored effect. As lantana is viewed as invasive in some locations, check with your municipality or a local extension office to see if there are any restrictions for planting it.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-11
• Flower color: Red, orange, yellow, blue, white, pink
• Light: Full sun
• Mature Size: 6 ft. tall and wide

Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

This low-growing winter-hardy flowering perennial even beats crocuses when it blooms in the late winter, often when there is still snow on the ground. The sunnier the location, the earlier you will see the golden buttercup-like flowers. Winter aconite tends to spread, and its bulbous roots establish colonies, but you can keep them under control by pulling the plants where you don’t want them.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-7
• Flower color: Yellow
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 6 in. tall

Cyclamen (Cyclamen coum)

Most people think of cyclamen as a house plant, but in warm climates, it is a lovely ground cover for partially shaded locations, such as below a tree. It dies back during the plant’s summer dormancy and regrows in the fall, then blooms in the winter, sending up fragrant small blooms on long stems.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11
• Flower color: Pink, white, red, purple
• Light: Partial shade
• Mature Size: 6-9 in. tall and wide

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)

These delicate bulbs live up to their name—they emerge even when there is still snow on the ground. Depending on your local climate, they bloom in February or March. They are almost maintenance-free and will naturalize. If you grow them in your lawn, make sure to mow only after the foliage has completely died back in the spring.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-7
• Flower color: White
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 3-6 in. tall

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

Snapdragon is mostly known as a spring or summer bloomer but in warm climates, the long blooming season can be extended into the winter, as the plant blooms in cool weather and stops blooming in the summer heat. Not many winter bloomers offer such a wide array of colors to choose from.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 7-11
• Flower color: White, yellow, pink, red, orange, peach, purple, violet
• Light: Full sun, partial shade
• Mature Size: 6-48 in. tall, 6-12 in. wide

Ornamental kale and cabbage (Brassica oleracea)

While not flowering plants by definition, ornamental cabbage and kale are just as pretty as any winter bloomers—and they can be grown even in climates with very cold winters. Nurseries sell them in the fall as annuals but if you manage to get them through the winter, you will have the added benefit of seeing the plant send up stalks with small yellow flowers the following spring.

• USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-11
• Flower color: Yellow
• Light: Full sun
• Mature Size: 12-18 in. tall and wide