Plants that flower during the winter?

I thought there may be a sticky on this, but not seen any. What can be planted now to generate winter flowers in an otherwise bleak garden? Are any pansies suitable? Thanks.

 

Pansies, violas, wallflowers.

Val

 

You could also try Polyanthus.

 

Personally I've never found anything that thrives during the depths of winter, pansies look awful until a few spring like days, Hellebores do flower but only half hearted until at least a few sunny days.
Winter flowering heather is usually early spring flowering.
In a mild winter, you do get more struggling through, but if its cold..................

 

Cyclamen is a possibility.

 

True!!! What a ghastly thought!!

Val

 

I'm only going by all the berries ripening in my garden right now, but, I thought that indicated we may be in for a bit of a hard winter?

If my guess is right, I won't be placing my hope in planting for winter this year Mind you, having said that, although I won't be planting for flowers, I did plant some dogwoods last year which I'm hoping will give me some interesting colour if the winter is a harsh one (again!) this year.

 

Plants only respond to what has gone before, they aint got a clue what is going to happen in the future.
Lots of fruit is the consequence of a good summer.

 

Good point, Pete! Never thought of it that way

 

Sorry Pete, I'm going to argue the point. Last year and the two previous to that were dreadful summers. Last year we had an abundance of berries and the worst winter here in fourteen years.

 

Plants can't forsee the coming weather any more than Michael Fish could. Fruit appears or doesn't according to the growing conditions during the longer days...old wives should stick to knitting and leave the tales to the Tabloids.

 

I realise plants can't foresee the future, but taking Pete's point, it doesn't necessarily follow that a good summer produces an abundance of fruit.

 

"sexism"

So, just as a point of interest ... are we saying that nature (be that Mother or Father nature!) doesn't have a "strategy"? Evolution doesn't follow a "path"?



I'm going to have to ponder this a little more: on the one hand, Pete's post gave me an alternative point of view - one to thing about.

And while there exists the potential that the fruits of Autumn are responding to the weather of (Spring) Summer, didn't our gardening "knowledge" initiate from the observations of weather/flowering/fruiting experiences from days of old? (Written by men who assumed women were too "sensitive", "uneducated" to know different?)

Now, admittedly, the thinking re: climate vs fruits could well be flawed, I'd need to research it a bit more before I could come down one side or another. Yet, at that same time, are we not experiencing "adverse" seasonal weather? (Climate change argument?).

I liked the way Pete presented his argument, and that gave me pause for thought. Sheal presented a differing point of view, based on experience and that gave me further pause for thought.

I dislike the connotation of your, "old wives"/"knitting"/"tabloid tales", sweeping statement as presented: a little bit stereotyped, somewhat patronising and ... on a number of levels: flawed! It debases any valid argument you may have wished to portray After all, your Michael Fish argument/comparison was only relevant to a 24/48hr time span. Nature's time span beats to a far lengthier tune!

It could be argued: "plants" can't foresee the coming weather - yet, that is not the job of "plants": that is the job of the seasons; plants are the result of seasons.

So, the result of the past 12 months (of seasons!) is, that my plants have responded with a bounty of fruit. This may well be due to the "past" season. Yet, this banquet will supply the insects and mammals, which rely on them, with a full tummy and the ability to procreate over this Winter, thus contributing to the next year. The strongest will survive, the weakest will struggle and Mother (Father) Nature will proceed based on those survivors/losers.

Let's just hope we are all winners: that's my bottom line!

 

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. If it is a mild winter much of the fruit will stay on the bushes, if it isn't then the birds will devour the lot.

From the pundits I have read the fact that there is a huge increase in the sea ice over Arctic (although not back to any previous levels) bodes well for a more mild winter. A warmer Artic is more likely to bring us northerly airflows.

Neither plants nor animals have any ability to portend the Winter ahead, the state of plants now is just an indication of how kind, or rough, the previous seasons have been to them. Old wives tales are just that ... "old" I kept a log of "Ash before Oak / Oak before Ash" dates for over a decade to see if there was any correlation with whether we had a "Soak" or a "Dash" ... it was balderdash.

 

Well if we get a bad winter i won't be "casting a clout till May is out" (knit one ,purl one)