Winter Flowering Perennials

There are many good choices of winter flowering perennials in USDA Zone 9. (That includes California's central valley.) Most of the plants that I write about should be in bloom for the next few months unless we have a particularly severe winter. It's best to have these plants established before the winter, never-the-less, you should still have a good show if you plant now.

Gaillardia (Gaillardia grandiflora ) 'Green Goblin') is a seemingly everblooming composite. Its flowers include colors of orange, brown and violet. Even its spent flower heads are ornamental. Gaillardia goes well with the colors of new garden bark and bricks. Cut it back to about a foot when it becomes leggy. You can keep it from getting leggy by banding it together with garden tie, support the tie with several stakes.

Penstemons (Penstemon gloxinoides and species) bloom intermittently throughout the winter. Plant several species or varieties to ensure some bloom. Stake the common garden penstemons. Fertilize lightly or not at all. Plant in poor soil or incorporate a generous amount of decomposed granite or sand into the planting hole. Full sun is required.

Red hot pokers (Kniphofia uvaria) are stout, spiky accents that bloom in the winter and then again in summer. The dwarf varieties are especially nice but difficult to find. Site these plants with care -- their distinctive look demands they be put in the right spot. No special care is required of the long lived kniphofia.

Euryops (Euryops pectincltus 'Verdis') is a yellow flowering sub-shrub that is quite important to the winter flower garden. This is a common plant around our area. Its yellow daisy-like flowers are borne on fresh green foliage. You must cut it back in February and then late summer to ensure that it does not become woody and unkempt. If fertilized throughout the year it will reward you with a good display during the winter. Do not shear off old flower stems since a vigorous Euryops will push out so many flowers that the old stems will not be noticeable.

The marguerite (Chrysanthemum frutescens), pictured below, is another shrubby perennial that features white flowers. Buy marguerites in one gallon containers. A one foot high plant will spread to three feet by three by the end of the winter. Cut back severely in spring but do not be disappointed if it responds poorly to the pruning. Marguerites tend to sulk through the warm weather, seemingly waiting for the cool weather of November.

The perennial sages are good candidates for winter bloom. The salvias: greggiz, microphylla, leucantha (until the first hard frost), and Mexican sage (Phlomas fruticosa), pictured below, are good choices. All of these will contribute some blossoms thloughout the winter. Keep the larger sages in check by shearing but remember that you are cutting off some flowering wood.

Winter is a difficult time to find flowers in bloom. But with a mix of the right annuals, bulbs and perennials, along with a few shrubs, you should have enough color to last until spring.

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