14 Cold Tolerant Annual Flowers

By Jennifer Poindexter

Do you live in a colder climate and struggle to grow flowers because of the brutal temperatures? You’ll be pleased to know there are a variety of flowers that are cold-tolerant.

It’s a good idea to grow annuals to begin with because if you like them, you can always plant them again.

If you don’t like the way your garden area turns out in a specific year, you can pull them up, and try something different the next grow season.

Here are a few ideas of cold tolerant annuals to grow in your garden space:

1. Wallflower

You may have heard the term “wallflower” when referencing someone who has a subtle beauty but hangs in the background. One can assume this term comes from this plant because it describes it perfectly.

The wallflower plant blooms spring through fall, has a basic design, and a subtle beauty as it blooms in many color variations. It can also thrive in full to partial sun.

2. Dianthus

Dianthus is a hardy flower. It will continue to bloom even after the first minor frost of the year. This flower will grow to a half foot tall and produce pink, red, or white blooms.

This plant won’t bloom during the summer because of the heat. When the temperatures rise, prune the plant heavily. This will encourage it to bloom again when the temperatures cool off in the fall.

3. Marigold

Marigolds are wonderful plants to keep around between their beauty and ability to ward off pests in your garden. As the name suggests, marigolds produce gold flowers.

They’re low maintenance, prefer full sun, and can survive in dry or wet soil. These flowers are quite durable but won’t live long once frost sets in.

4. Snapdragon

There are multiple varieties of snapdragons. Some are small, others are of normal range, and some are a trailing variety. The standard size of the snapdragon will grow to be two feet tall.

If you need flowers for cold weather flower arrangements, the snapdragon will make an excellent choice. These flowers will bloom during the colder months of the year but will not bloom during the summer months.

5. Calendula

The calendula plant produces gold flowers during the early spring months, when many plants still find the temperatures too cold to bloom.

Calendula doesn’t like hot temperatures and will produce before they show up. This plant will grow to be anywhere from a half foot to two feet tall. If you need a basic flower that will add a little brightness to cold days, this could be your plant.

6. Forget Me Not

Forget me not flowers are adorable. They produce dainty blue flowers in the quiet, shaded areas of your yard or garden.

These flowers can handle sun as well. They’re self-sowers which is great because it means they may return year after year. The only real need they have is moist soil.

7. Osteospermum

Osteospermum is most commonly known as the African daisy. It produces traditional daisy blooms but comes in a variety of colors. The colors range from blue, purple, white, yellow, red, and orange. These flowers will bloom in full to partial shade and grow to be one to three feet tall.

When temperatures are around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, they’ll produce blooms. However, they won’t bloom in the summer when temperatures are too hot. Don’t fret, though, because they’ll begin blooming again in the fall when temperatures drop.

8. Cyclamen

Cyclamen is a unique flower which produces textured leaves and cup-shaped blooms. The flowers come in red, white, light purple, and pink varieties.

These plants grow well in containers and garden beds. They’ll reach approximately a half a foot in height and prefer to be planted in the shade where it’s 65 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

9. Sweet Alyssum

Are you in the market for a fragrant flower that will bloom under cooler temperatures? Sweet alyssum could be it. These flowers should be planted in the spring while temperatures are still cooler.

They’ll produce gorgeous white, blue, or pink blooms. These plants prefer full sun and should be pruned heavily when they stop producing. This will allow them to bloom again during the fall.

10. Dusty Miller

It’s rare to find a cold-tolerant flower that does well during the summer months, too. This is an exception to that rule. The dusty miller needs full sun and is hardy against many of the elements.

This plant will produce silver leaves and makes an excellent filler plant in containers, baskets, window boxes, or garden beds. It’s a deer, drought, and disease resistant plant making it an excellent choice for a variety of growing conditions.

11. Petunia

Petunias are one of my favorite flowers. Though they can be difficult to start from seed, they’re simple once they reach the seedling stage. They can be grown in a variety of conditions and are great for adding color to any setting.

Though they hold up well under colder conditions, they do require full sun. By providing proper lighting and moisture, you should have a colorful landscape by planting petunias.

12. Pansy

Pansies are anything but. If you judged them by their name alone, you might assume these plants are weak.  I plant these in my window boxes over the winter months. They’ve been snowed on and still continue to bloom after the snow melts, in my experience.

These smaller flowers will only grow to be a half a foot tall. However, they’re colorful and hardy. Pansies are an excellent choice for containers, window boxes, and a variety of other grow spaces. If you desire a colorful landscape during the colder parts of the year, give pansies a try.

13. Geranium

My grandmother lived in a colder climate and always had the prettiest red geraniums on her front porch. If you need a bright pop of color around your home, geraniums might be a good choice.

These flowers will bloom when the temperatures are 40 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. They come in a variety of colors to suit any number of preferences. Cold days can be cheered up when gorgeous geraniums are smiling back at you.

14. Viola

Viola are versatile flowers. They can be perennials under certain conditions and annuals in others because they come in over 400 varieties.

Whether you’d like bright flowers or dark, violas have something to offer. They’re also heavy self-sowers, so they might return on their own each year. If you need a fuss-free, cold-hardy flower, viola might be a great choice for you.

Living in cold climates can be hard. It’s hard to grow a variety of plants in cooler temperatures or for longer periods. By finding the right cold-tolerant flowers, it could add a little life to times of the year where you once thought it impossible.

Find a few varieties of flowers you think would be a good fit for your home. Locate the proper garden space for them and start adding colorful blooms around your home even when the temperatures are low.

More About Cold Tolerant Annual Flowers

https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn-and-garden/plants-for-cold-weather/

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/Portals/0/Gardening/Gardening%20Help/Factsheets/Annuals3.pdf

https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/annuals/annual-bedding-plants/