How to Plant Winter Pots That Last Until Spring

A well-planted winter pot can bring colour to your doorstep from November right through to spring, just when the rest of the garden is at its quietest.

The secret is choosing the right plants and giving them the right conditions. Most winter pots don't fail because of the cold. They fail because the compost stays wet, or because tender plants are left out in a hard frost.

Here's how to plant winter pots that last until spring, with the best plants to use and how to look after them.

1. Choose the Right Pot

Choose a pot with drainage holes in the base, and make sure it's frost-proof if it's going to stay outside all winter. A bigger pot holds more compost, which protects the roots from freezing and drying out, so go as large as your space allows.

2. Get the Drainage Right

Good drainage is the single most important thing for a winter pot. Use a good-quality multipurpose compost, and mix in a few handfuls of grit if you have it, to help water drain away. Stand the finished pot on pot feet or a couple of bricks so it never sits in water.

3. Pick Your Plants

The easiest way to plan a pot is to choose one plant for height and structure, a few for colour, and one or two to trail over the edge.

For structure: a small evergreen

An evergreen shrub gives the pot shape all winter and can be planted out in the garden in spring.

• Euonymus: bright variegated leaves in gold, cream and green. Fully hardy, and happy in sun or shade.
• Pittosporum: neat, rounded shapes with lime, gold, silver or purple leaves. Hardy in most of Britain, though best in a sheltered spot in colder areas.
• Hebe: compact, tidy evergreens. The small-leaved kinds are the toughest in winter.
• Choisya: glossy leaves all year, with golden forms such as 'Sundance' adding a burst of colour.

For colour: winter flowers

• Winter pansies: fully hardy, they sit out frost and snow and keep flowering whenever the weather lifts, with a big show in spring.
• Bellis: fully hardy double daisies with neat pompom flowers in white, pink and rose.
• Cyclamen: rich reds, pinks, purples and whites, often over silver-marked leaves. Perfect for a sheltered pot or window box, but they aren't hardy, so they need protecting in a hard frost.
• Hellebores: fully hardy and one of the few plants that flower outdoors in midwinter. Lovely in a shady pot by the door.

For trailing: ivy

Ivy softens the edge of a pot and keeps it looking full all winter. It's fully hardy and copes with sun or shade. The gold and silver variegated kinds are brightest, though they need a little more light than plain green ivy.

4. Plant Closer Than You Would in Summer

Winter plants grow very little until spring, so you can plant them more closely than summer bedding to get a full look straight away. Put the evergreen in the centre or at the back, the flowering plants around it, and the ivy at the edges so it trails over the rim.

Water well after planting, then let the compost drain.

5. Put It in the Right Spot

A sheltered spot near the house is ideal. The walls give off a little warmth and keep off the worst of the wind and rain. This matters most for cyclamen, which cope with a light frost in a sheltered pot but not a hard or long one.

Three Easy Winter Pot Ideas

• Bright and cheerful: a gold Euonymus in the middle, yellow and violet winter pansies around it, and variegated ivy trailing over the edge.
• Cool and elegant: a silver-leaved Pittosporum, white Bellis and white cyclamen, with silver ivy.
• Shady doorstep: a hellebore as the star, with Euonymus for colour and plain green ivy, which all cope with shade.

Looking After Winter Pots

• Water sparingly. Only water when the compost feels dry a little way down. Pots under a wall or porch can dry out more than you'd expect, so check them now and then.
• Pick off faded flowers. Deadheading pansies and pulling off old cyclamen flowers with their stalks keeps new ones coming.
• Protect from hard frost. If a hard frost is forecast, move pots with cyclamen into a porch or against the house wall. See how to protect plants from frost.
• Keep them off the ground. Pot feet stop the compost sitting wet, which is the main cause of winter losses.

What Happens in Spring?

Pansies, bellis and hellebores will carry on flowering well into spring. Once the cyclamen have finished, replace them with spring colour, and plant the evergreen shrub out into the garden or move it into a bigger pot, where it can keep growing for years.

Heucheras and carex are also lovely in winter pots, but they're best planted in early autumn or spring, so add them to your spring refresh.

Winter Pots: Your Questions Answered

What plants are best for winter pots in the UK?

Winter pansies, bellis, hellebores and ivy are all fully hardy, while cyclamen add rich colour in a sheltered spot. Add a small evergreen such as Euonymus, Pittosporum or Hebe for structure.

Do winter pots need watering?

Yes, but much less than in summer. Water only when the compost feels dry a little way below the surface, and never leave pots standing in water.

Can winter pansies survive frost?

Yes. Winter-flowering pansies are fully hardy. They may stop flowering in a cold snap, but they'll start again as soon as the weather lifts.

How do I stop my winter pots getting waterlogged?

Use a pot with drainage holes, mix grit into the compost, and raise the pot on pot feet or bricks so water can drain away freely.

Colour by the Door All Winter

With the right plants and good drainage, a winter pot can look good for months and carry on into spring. For more ideas, see what to plant in November, or browse our full range of winter plants.

Every plant we sell is grown in Britain by growers we know, including the Yorkshire nursery that grows most of our garden plants. We choose them for the quality of what they grow, check every plant by hand before it's packed, and send it out ready for your garden.