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Create stunning containers that shine all winter long with evergreen foliage and winter blooms.
Dress up your porch or patio with gorgeousevergreen shrubsperfect for winter containers.
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
The key to fabulous winter containers is evergreen foliage, but evergreen doesn’t have to mean just green.
Look for variegated varieties of your favorite shrubs for added interest or choose plants with golden or purple foliage.
Winter blooms are a bonus.
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
Here are shrubs that will make your winter containers dazzle.
Be sure to check out the winter container tips below to guide your selection.
Winter Container Tips
When selecting shrubs for winter containers, it is important to consider cold hardiness.
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
To account for this difference, select plants that are hardy to temperatures twohardiness zonescolder than local conditions.
The ratings listed are adjusted accordingly.
Experienced gardeners often identify warmer niches in the garden where container plants can be grown beyond this range.
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
Most of the plants listed here are evergreen and will require occasional watering throughout the winter.
Watering plants before an expected freeze will help moderate temperatures in the container.
Be sure to use frost-proof containers such as those made of metal, stone, or fiberglass.
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Glazed pottery will stand up to winter temperatures much better than terracotta pots, which are prone to cracking.
The USDA hardiness zones listed in this article are adjusted foroverwintering plantsin outdoor containers.
It thrives in shade, making it an excellent selection for covered porches and patios.
The colder months are when this native beauty shines.
Green summer foliage takes on red and purple hues in fall that carry through until spring.
Best suited for containers in USDA hardiness zones 710.
As a bonus, plants thrive in the southern summer heat without burning.
Give this beauty plenty of sunshine and water regularly.
Grow in winter containers in USDA hardiness zones 78.
Credit: Lowe’s
Summer foliage is light green tinged with blush pink hues, but autumn really brings out the color.
Plants turn completely red in fall and the color only intensifies through winter.
Thiscompact nandinagrows just 212 feet tall by 3 feet wide, perfect for winter containers in USDA zones 810.
Credit: Lots of Plants
The foliage contrasts beautifully with golden hues when planted in mixed containers.
Spring brings hot pink flowers and cranberry-hued new growth.
This shrub is for the more exposed containers in the garden.
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Plants tolerate full sun and winter winds.
Branch tips take on bronze hues as temperatures dip, leaving interior foliage a chartreuse green.
The dense mounding habit creates adorable containers in zones 78.
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Provide dappled shade and pay attention to water needs in winter.
Pieris can grow inwinter containersin zones 79.
Best suited for containers in zones 69.
Credit: Steve Bender
This variegated variety brings warm golden hues to brighten winter days.
Juniper
Plant this evergreen in winter pots for a dramatic focal point.
Their tall column shape and slow growth make them perfect for adorning a walkway or an entryway.
Some junipers bear stunning bluish berries during colder months.
Give junipers plenty of sun and well-drained soil as they do not like to sit in water.
Yellow flowers bloom in late winter to spring.
After blooming, its fruit adds a pop of blue or red to the garden.
Add these easy-to-care-for evergreens to containers in zones 7-9.
Camellia
Camellias are a great pick for winter color.
Depending on the variety, blooms appear from fall through spring.
As the name suggests,Yuletide Camelliaflowers bloom around the holidays.
Plant in containers in USDA zones 6-9 using a well-draining potting mix made for azaleas and camellias.
