10 Solutions for Cool Weather Plantings

Solution #1: Bright Lights^™ Double Moonglow

It’s a sure sign of spring when retailers line their benches with colorful pots of Osteospermum daisies. These cheerful bloomers can't help but bring smiles to gardeners' faces and a bright splash of color to their newly planted containers.

All of the Osteospermum varieties from Proven Winners are early to bloom in spring yet they also have improved heat tolerance, blooming along with other annuals throughout the summer months and into fall in most climates. Use them as winter flowering annuals in the sunbelt states and as early season color from north to south.

Solution #2: Aromance^® Mulberry^™

With masses of blooms in deliciously warm shades of Cranberry, Blood Orange, Lemon, Coconut, or Aromance^™ Pink. Nemesias are the perfect plants to bring the spring garden back to life again. Their attractive upright habit makes them useful as fillers in combination containers and hanging baskets where they will thrive from spring through fall with no deadheading needed. Thriving in landscape or raised bed plantings, these gems will perform well into the late fall, and may be the last flowering annuals in color before any heavy frosts.

Solution #3: Superbells^® Lemon Slice^®

Boasting vibrant yellow and white pinwheel-like flowers, this low-maintenance annual thrives in cool weather and brightens up the landscape from planting through hard frost. Grow it in hanging baskets, window boxes, and mixed containers for a continuous display of cheerful blooms. See more Superbells.

Solution #4: Laguna^® Lobelia 

For the perfect medley of spring color, blend Laguna^® lobelia with osteospermum daisies in borders, pots, and baskets. The tiny blue, purple or white blossoms of the lobelias will knit the combination together into a fabulous show of color. As an added bonus, these particular varieties of lobelia are more heat tolerant than most, extending their show longer into the season. 

Solution #5: Lobularia 

Snow Princess^® sweet alyssum is vigorous, floriferous, and heat tolerant. Blushing Princess^® duplicates the garden performance of Snow Princess but with a twist—her flowers open white and then turn silvery lavender. These big, showy bloomers make enormous hanging baskets and work well as a groundcover too. Though they perform admirably as cool-season annuals, they continue to be a blooming powerhouse through the summer heat and well into fall.

Dark Knight^™ is an exceptionally dark purple selection that provides early color and is extremely cold tolerant but can take the heat too. If purple’s not your color, try a more restrained white flowered sweet alyssum called White Knight^®. 

Solution #6: Supertunia^® Bordeaux^™ 

While Petunias may not be the first annual you think of planting in early spring, there are certainly some varieties that can tolerate colder temperatures than others. Trials have shown that all Supertunias are excellent for early spring planting. Encompassing shades of red, pink, purple, yellow and white, there’s a Supertunia to match every spring color palette. 

Solution #7: Supertunia Vista^® Jazzberry^® 

This is a superb all-weather plant, thanks to its ability to adapt to temperature fluctuations and exceptional heat tolerance. This resilient variety showcases a profusion of dazzling fuchsia flowers that create a striking visual impact from planting to frost. Its robust growth habit and continuous blooming make it an ideal choice for adding a pop of color to your garden or containers.

Solution #8: Golden Butterfly^®

You might think of daisies as summer flowers, but Marguerite daisies were made to handle cooler temperatures, too. Cheerful white or yellow daisies appear all summer on full plants that make perfect thrillers in containers or mass plantings in landscapes. You won’t need to remove the spent flowers for them to keep right on coming all season. Also try this variety: Pure White Butterfly^®.

Solution #9: Superbena Sparkling^® Amethyst

The Superbena^® Sparkling Amethyst is a noteworthy plant featuring large clusters of bicolor flowers that appear early and continue all season. Enchanting amethyst purple flowers blanket the dark green foliage, which boasts exceptional resistance to powdery mildew. Remarkably low-maintenance, this plant requires no deadheading and serves as an excellent spiller for combination planters and hanging baskets.

Solution #10: Berried Treasure^® Strawberries

Strawberries are a popular edible crop that can be planted in spring and enjoyed all summer. Berried Treasure strawberries are twice as nice since they produce beautiful semi-double flowers and sweet snack-sized fruits together all summer long. Since the plants produce short runners, they are easily grown in patio containers and raised beds to make fruit picking a breeze.