Cold-Hardy Plants in the Winter Garden

Even though cold weather can easily ruin a garden, growing cold-hardy plants can keep a garden healthy through the winter.

Annuals

Once your summer annuals start to fade, replace them with flowers that can withstand freezing temperatures. Examples of cold-hardy flowers include

Pansies
Violets
Snapdragons
Nemesia
Diascia
Petunias

Place these plants in a spot where they will receive full sun. Remember, this location may be different than in the summer because of the lower winter sun.

Also, add color to your garden by incorporating ornamental cabbages and kale in flower beds and containers.

For more information on growing annuals in Florida, as well as other cold-hardy variety suggestions, read Gardening with Annuals in Florida.

Vegetables

For winter vegetable gardens, cole crops are reliable cool-weather producers. Cole crops, which are members of the Brassicaceae family, include broccoli, cabbage, collards, turnips, and kale, among others.

Use some of these varieties for your winter-proof garden:

Broccoli—‘Waltham,’ ‘De Cicco,’ ‘Packman’
Cabbage—‘Rio Verde,’ ‘Savoy,’ ‘Flat Dutch’ (also try Chinese Cabbages, such as ‘Bok Choy’ or ‘Napa’)
Carrots
Collards—‘Vates,’ ‘Top Bunch,’ ‘Georgia’
Kale—‘Redbor,’ ‘Winterbor,’ ‘Dwarf Blue Curled’
Spinach
Turnips—‘Purple Top,’ ‘White Globe’

To view planting dates and recommendations for these and other winter crops, look in the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide.

Cold Protection

Even cold-hardy plants that can withstand freezing temperatures aren’t invincible. During a hard freeze, make sure to properly protect plants.

Never wrap plants with plastic. If plastic touches plant foliage, it can move heat away from the plant and increase cold damage. If you use plastic covers, make sure they’re supported by frames or hoops and are not directly on the plants.
Lay or wrap lightweight fabrics, such as blankets or garden row covers, over plants and beds. In order to provide protection, covers must reach all the way to the ground and be anchored.
Bury perennials and root crops under mulch to trap soil heat.

For more advice on cold protection methods and winter plant selection, talk with your local county Extension agent.

Adapted and Excerpted From:
“Cold Protection Strategies for Landscape Plants” (1.51MB pdf), UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County (Accessed 10/2015).

S. Park Brown, et al., “Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide,” UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department (rev. 02/2012).