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Anyone who loves lush blooming flowers in the balcony box in summer may not want to do without a little attractive greenery and a few blooming balcony flowers in winter either. In this case, hardy plants are just the ticket. It is mostly evergreen winter flowers that find a place on the balcony during the cold season. But there are also winter-blooming balcony flowers that set very special highlights.
winter plants
Robust winter plants for the balcony
The cold season is no reason to do without attractive winter flowers on the balcony, because there are numerous frost-hardy and even winter-blooming balcony flowers on the market. Whether evergreen, with colorful foliage, flowering buds or bright red berries - you can combine most winter plants to your heart's content.
Winter blooming balcony flowers
They really do exist: flowers that also bloom in our latitudes in winter. We have put together a few particularly robust types of the most popular winter flowers for the balcony box for you.
Christmas rose (Heleborus niger)
Christmas roses are hardy, evergreen perennials that provide rare highlights in winter. If you don't want to do without blooming winter flowers in the balcony box, the Christmas rose is the perfect solution. Depending on the weather, the winter flowers, also known as snow roses, bloom as early as September. Normally, however, the winter plants do not produce their white flowers until the new year.
- Flowering time: weather dependent (September to February)
- Flower color: mostly white (rarely with a pink edge or reddish flowers)
Christmas rose, Helleborus niger
Hardy heather (Erica darleyensis)
The Erika is one of the most popular winter flowers ever. That's not just because she doesn't mind cold temperatures and frosts. This heather plant is also very floriferous. The typical, small buds of certain varieties do not open until the end of October. But the Erika blooms in the balcony box throughout the winter.
- winter-flowering variants (end of October to March)
- Flower color: in various shades of red and white, mixed color, rarely yellowish
- Erica darleyensis: flowers very profusely
- Erica verticillata (South African Heather): large, bright pink flowers in September to November
Heather family, Ericaceae
Common heather (Calluna vulgaris)
At first glance, the common heather is reminiscent of the heather. It also belongs to the heather plants and forms small, mostly pink flowers. New breeds of winter flowers grow upright and cypress-like upwards.
- belongs to the heather family (Ericaceae)
- easy to care for and evergreen
- winter flowering varieties with pink flowers
Common heather, common heather, Calluna vulgaris
Pansies and Horned Violets (Viola)
Horned violets have somewhat more delicate flowers than pansies. Both variants of the viola are winter-blooming flowers. Depending on the variety, the winter flowers even grow hanging in a hanging basket or balcony box.
- Flowering time: from autumn
- at very cool temperatures no flowers form
- second bloom in early spring
- all imaginable flower colors and shades, often multicolored
Pansies, Viola
Hardy grasses
In addition to the winter flowers, there is a variety of hardy and evergreen ornamental grasses with which the balcony can be put in the right light even in the cold season.
Sedges (Carex)
With over 2000 known species, sedges thrive primarily in cold and temperate climates. The sour grasses are not only known for their good winter hardiness, but also for their often two-colored leaves. The pretty winter plants beautify the balcony on frosty days when the sun is reflected on the ice crystals. The following are suitable as winter plants for the balcony box.
- New Zealand sedge (Carex testacea and C. buchananii): orange-brown colouring
- Japanese golden sedge (Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'): green and white striped culms
- White-edged sedge (Carex morrowii 'Icedance'): green leaves with yellowish-white edges
Rough sedge, Carex hirta
Fescue (Festuca)
The sweet grasses include the robust fescue. They also survive somewhat colder winter days unscathed. Fescues are easily recognizable by their compact, bushy growth with very fine leaflets. Among the most popular of these evergreen grasses are those listed below.
- Blue fescue (Festuca cinerea): forms blue-grey clumps
- Bear fescue/bear fur grass (Festuca scoparia): lush green, dense hemispheres
- Golden fescue (Festuca glauca): golden-yellow, fine culms
Blue fescue, Festuca cinerea
Feather Grass (Stipa)
Unfortunately, feather grasses are now threatened with extinction in the wild. As evergreen winter plants, they are in great demand simply because they are particularly drought-resistant.
- Angel hair (Stipa tenuissima)
- Tussock hair grass (Stipa capillata)
- Maidenhair grass (Stipa tenuifolia)
Giant feather grass, Stipa gigantea
Evergreen dwarf shrubs
Wintergreen dwarf shrubs are suitable for increasing the height of the planting in the balcony box.
Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus)
The Japanese spindle tree grows upright and quite slowly. It is easy to care for and tolerates pruning, is frost hardy and insensitive to heat. The spindle shrub is not only one of the perfect winter plants, but is also suitable for summer planting in balcony boxes. When buying, look for a hardy variety such as Euonymus japonicus, because there are also deciduous spindle shrubs.
- yellow-green variegated leaves
- available in different sizes and types
- evergreen
Spindle shrub, Euonymus
creeping spindle (Euonymus fortunei)
The creeping spindle belongs to the same family as the Japanese spindle tree. It is also winter green and grows very slowly - but not upright, but creeping. On the other hand, the creeping spindle is able to climb a few meters if you offer it a climbing aid. The variegated varieties are particularly beautiful:
- Variegated white creeper 'Emeralds Geiety': green and white variegated, small leaves
- Gold-variegated creeping spindle 'Emeralds Gold': yellow-variegated, evergreen leaves
Yellow-colored creeping spindle, Euonymus fortunei 'Gold Tip'
Variegated winter plants
It is usually the beautiful colors and shapes of the leaves that make a plant an attractive candidate for the winter window box. There are a number of balcony flowers that keep their beautiful foliage through the winter.
Purple Bells (Heuchera cultivare)
Although the purple bells are not a winter-blooming plant, their beauty is not reflected in the abundance of flowers. The special thing about the herbaceous balcony flowers are their attractive leaves. The new, robust varieties tolerate both the sun and shady places on the balcony.
- 'Key Lime Pie': fresh lime green foliage
- 'Marmelade': maple-shaped leaf, ocher on top, dark pink on the underside of the leaf
- 'Green Spice': rich green leaves with dark purple veins
- 'Silver Lord': dark purple foliage, silvery coated
- 'Apple Crisp': strongly crinkled leaves with apple-green color, slightly silvery coated
- 'Red Fury': bright sienna-colored leaves, slightly wavy on the edge
- 'Midnight Rose': very dark purple foliage with bright pink spots
- 'Electra': bright light green leaves with red veins
Purple bells, Heuchera
Spurge (Euphorbia cultivar Helena)
The hardy, evergreen perennial forms narrow rosettes of leaves with white variegated edges. At low temperatures, the color of the balcony flowers changes and the foliage is tinged with pink. For this reason, the Euphorbia cultivar is particularly popular among the winter plants for window boxes.
- variegated foliage
- slightly pink in frost
- young shoots are reddish in color
Steppe Spurge, Euphorbia seguieriana
Crawling Bugle (Ajuga reptans)
Although the creeping bugle is not a winter-flowering plant, but flowers in spring, it is still ideal for planting in window boxes over the winter. The easy-care ground cover is winter or evergreen depending on the variety and impresses with shiny metallic leaves.
- Foliage in green, brown or red
- grows very dense and sometimes overhanging
- needs moist soil in sunny areas
Creeping bugle, Ajuga reptans
Silver Wire Plant (Calocephalus brownii)
This small, silver-colored shrub is reminiscent of barbed wire. In the balcony box, the typical winter plants keep their color throughout the winter.
- not hardy
- however, retains color and shape when dead
- perfect for combinations with heather plants, skimmia and checkerberries
Silver Wire Plant, Leucophyta brownii
Ivy (Hedera helix)
In addition to flowering winter plants in the balcony box, a few hanging specimens should not be missing. Evergreen ivy is perfect for this purpose. You can buy ivy with a wide variety of leaf shapes and colors, so that you can find the right variant for every arrangement.
- 'Yellow Ripple': Slightly elongated leaves with a green center and a creamy yellow edge
- 'Sagittifolia' (arrow-leaved ivy): dark green leaves, very deeply dissected
- 'White Wonder': medium green leaves with a white border
- 'Tear Drop': teardrop-shaped green leaves
- 'Mini': Variant with tiny, dark green leaves
Ivy, Hedera helix
Winter plants with colorful berries
Checkerberry/Red Carpetberry (Gaultheria procumbens)
Beautifully colored foliage in winter, attractive red berries - hardly any other plant makes as much effort to attract attention in the dark season as the checkerberry. The oval, small leaves are usually simply green over the summer, but turn a deep red or purple in the fall. And the fruits are amazing too. They are red, pink or white and remain on the shrubby plant until spring.
- evergreen
- beautiful fall and winter foliage colors
- attractive berries
Red carpet berry, Gaultheria procumbens
Japanese Blossom Skimmia (Skimmia japonica)
Skimmias are beautiful to look at all year round. In spring, their fragrant white or red flowers open and the foliage stays on the plant even in the cold season. In the fall, the skimmias form red spherical fruits every year.
- Inflorescences (small red globules) form as early as autumn
- Flowers open in spring
- spherical, pea-sized berries in bright red
Skimmia, Skimmia japonica
Nice combinations
So that the roots of the winter flowers do not freeze completely, the flower box must not be too small. Dimensions of at least 60 x 30 x 30 cm are recommended. A drainage layer on the floor prevents waterlogging. The number of balcony flowers depends of course on the size of the balcony box.
Variant 1 (about 60 cm wide)
- heather
- Sedge (Carex hachijoensis 'Evergold')
- Silverleaf/White Tomentose Groundsel (Senecio cineraria)
- Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus)
- Purple Bells (Heuchera cultivare 'Red Fury')
- Common heather (Calluna vulgaris 'Skyline')
- Günsel (Ajuga reptans 'Elmblood')
winter heath
Variant 2 (small box about 40 cm wide)
- Sedge (Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance')
- Purple Bells (Heuchera cultivare 'Midnight Rose')
- Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus)
Variant 3 (box width 40 - 50 cm)
- Common heather, heather multicolored
- Purple Bells (Heuchera cultivare 'Red Fury')
- Sedge (Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance')
- Ivy (Hedera helix 'White Wonder')
Variant 4 (60 - 80 cm width)
- Purple Bells (Heuchera triarelloides 'Stoplight')
- Heather (Calluna vulgaris, red)
- Ivy (Hedera helix 'White Wonder')
- Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicas)
- Spurge (Euphorbia cultivar 'Helena')
- Blue fescue ornamental grass (Festuca glauca 'Kingfisher')
Variant 5 (60 to 80 cm box width)
- Purple Bells (Heuchera cultivare 'Silver Gold')
- Common heather (Calluna vulgaris, red)
- Common heather (Calluna vulgaris, white)
- Ivy (Hedera helix 'Wonder')
- Japanese spindle (Eonymus japonicus 'Aureomarginatus') variegated
- Red carpet berry (Gaulheria procumbens)