Top 10 Winter Dazzlers

For those of you out there who love winter, here are the most dazzling of winter plants. Remember, your garden can still look great and have a few hints of color even during those dreary, cold months.

Photo: RDA GID

Camellia

While most garden plants spend winter taking a well-earned rest, camellias are just getting warmed up. These popular evergreens flower in the fall, winter, or early spring. They are great for landscaping and produce beautiful rose-shaped blooms.

Camellias have been cultivated for years in the Far East, their native region. Today, there are over 250 species and more than 3,000 varieties.

• Common Name: Camellia.
• Botanical Name: Camellia.
• Hardiness: Zones 6 to 11, depending on variety.
• Bloom Time: Fall, winter or early spring, depending on variety.
• Size: 3 to 20 feet high.
• Flowers: Primarily red, pink, and white.
• Light needs: Partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Plant in a spot protected from hot, dry sun and cold, strong winds, but not in full shade, which will reduce flowering.
• Prize Picks: There are a few hardier camellias available that may survive as far north as Zone 6. Aptly named Pink Perfection is a classic. Cold-hardy (to Zone 6) Polar Ice is very pretty.

Photo: RDA GID

Firethorn

Looking for autumn beauty in your backyard beyond the pumpkins, cornstalks, and chrysanthemums surrounding your doorstep? The firethorn is right for you. While it has beautiful white flower clusters in spring and attractive glossy-green foliage the rest of the year, it's those compact bunches of pea-size red, orange or yellow berries that always get all the attention. These brilliant berries carry on long after the last of autumn's leaves have dropped.

• Common Names: Firethorn.
• Botanical Name: Pyracantha coccinea.
• Hardiness: Zones 5 or 6 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Spring.
• Size: Up to 15 feet high, up to 20 feet wide.
• Flower/Fruit: White flowers in 1- to 2-inch clusters; orange-red and yellow berries appear fall through winter and remain until birds feed on them.
• Light Needs: Full sun (for best fruit production) to full shade.
• Growing Advice: Sow seeds in containers in a cold frame in autumn. Plant container-grown ones in spring, in well-drained soil.
• Prize Picks: Consider a disease-resistant hybrid such as Apache. For northern regions, try the hardy Teton or Yukon Belle, which survive winters to Zone 5.

Photo: RDA GID

Harry Lauder's walking stick

This unique shrub does have flowers in spring, but that's not why gardeners plant it. The twists and turns of this plant's branches make it a great choice to liven up winter landscapes.

• Common Names: Harry Lauder's walking stick, corkscrew hazel.
• Botanical Name: Corylus avellana Contorta.
• Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
• Bloom Time: Late winter to early spring.
• Size: 8 to 10 feet high, 8 to 10 feet wide.
• Flowers: Long yellow catkins.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Prune branches to maintain showpiece appeal.

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Heather

While heather is a well-celebrated plant throughout Europe, it's often forgotten in this country. It's time for that to change, though. This versatile flower boasts color year-round. With beautiful flowers in summer and autumn to gorgeous foliage in winter, this beauty is sure to make a strong impact in your garden.

• Common Names: Heather.
• Botanical Name: Calluna.
• Hardiness: Zones 5 to 7, although hardy in Zone 3 with adequate winter protection.
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to late autumn.
• Size: 4 to 24 inches high, up to 30 inches wide.
• Flowers: Bell-shaped flowers of red, purple, pink, or white shades.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Overwinter where snowfall is light with mulch and pine branches.
• Prize Picks: Blazeaway's yellow foliage turns bright red in the winter to fire up barren landscapes.

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Hellebore

No winter garden is complete without hellebore's lovely cup-shaped blooms. It'll be difficult to choose just one variety of this distinctive flower. But no matter the kind and color, each offers beautiful evergreen foliage. You're sure to love hellebore so much, you'll wish it bloomed year-round.

• Common Names: Hellebore, Christmas rose, Lenten rose.
• Botanical Name: Helleborus.
• Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9, depending on cultivar.
• Bloom Time: Midwinter to spring.
• Size: 2 inches to 4 feet high, 1 to 3 feet wide.
• Flowers: Cup-shaped blooms of white, pink, purple, and green.
• Light Needs: Full to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Top with organic matter in spring, then mulch around the plant to retain moisture. An even supply of moisture is important.
• Prize Picks: Royal Heritage easily blooms for about a while in a mix of colors.

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Holly

You'll have especially happy holly-days when colorful holly takes center stage in your yard. Whether holly is planted for its beautiful foliage, bright berries or both, gardeners have quite a selection of evergreen and deciduous species to choose from. There are at least 400 of them that range in size from small bushes to 80-foot trees. Ask your local nursery or garden center for the variety that best suits your climate...and make every day a holly-day.

• Common Names: Holly.
• Botanical Name: Ilex.
• Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Inconspicuous small white flowers in spring.
• Size: Varies greatly; 2 to 80 feet high, 2 to 40 feet wide.
• Fruit: Red or black; sometimes white, orange, or yellow.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Both sexes are needed to produce berries, so plant about one male for every few female specimen.
• Prize Picks: Savannah, a variety derived from American holly (Ilex opaca), is fast-growing and looks great when used for wreaths. Cold-hardy favorites are the Meserve hollies-look for Blue Prince and Blue Princess.

Photo: Erv Evans, NC State University

Paperbark maple

This tree's bronze ornamental bark takes first place every time. Coppery curls peel off all over - from the multiple trunks to even the smallest branches. Not to be outdone, the summer green leaves turn a warm shade of cinnamon in fall. Be sure to water well during hot summers to protect foliage from scorching.

Though it's extremely slow-growing, plan well to give this winter wonder prominent placement for adequate attention.

• Common Names: Paperbark maple.
• Botanical Name: Acer griseum.
• Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
• Bloom Time: Grown for foliage.
• Size: 20 to 30 feet high, 15 to 20 feet wide.
• Foliage: Green; turns to bright red or orange in late fall and persists over the winter.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Balled-and-burlapped trees can be transplanted into shallow holes three to five times wider than the root ball.

Photo: Erv Evans, NC State University

Paper birch

Though attractive year-round, this tree is at its peak during cool weather. The leaves turn a magnificent yellow in autumn, and the white bark looks lovely against a winter backdrop of evergreens. Homeowners prize it for its "northwoods look," and some make it a focal point in their Christmas displays, shining a spotlight on the distinctive peeling bark.

• Common Names: Paper birch, canoe birch, white birch.
• Botanical Name: Betula papyrifera.
• Hardiness: Zones 2 to 6.
• Bloom Time: Spring.
• Size: Up to 60 feet high, 20 to 25 feet wide.
• Flower: Catkins.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Balled-and-burlapped trees can be transplanted into shallow holes three to five time wider than the root ball. Mulch to help keep the soil moist.

Photo: RDA GID

Red twig dogwood

Red twig dogwood, also known as Tatarian dogwood, is a longtime favorite. It has unique red stems that make a nice backdrop to overwintering perennials or an accent plant with evergreens.

Regular pruning keeps the color vibrant year-round (though in spring and summer, the leaves disguise it). Simply remove older brown stems at ground level in late winter. This encourages new growth, which is the most vivid.

• Common Names: Red twig dogwood, Tatarian dogwood.
• Botanical Name: Cornus alba.
• Hardiness: Zones 2 to 7.
• Bloom Time: Late spring and early summer.
• Size: 10 feet high and wide.
• Flower: White.
• Light Needs: Colors best in sun.
• Growing Advice: To produce best coloring, remove oldest stems in spring for new growth.
• Prize Picks: Elegantissima grows fast and offers stunning, bright red winter color. Sibirica has coral-red stems.

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Winterberry

Few deciduous shrubs garner winter interest like winterberry. Unlike its cousin, holly, winterberry drops its leaves in fall, so nothing detracts from the showy brilliance of the red berries. Winterberry is often regarded as a must for cold-weather landscaping, and it's easy to see why. You'll love the colorful fruit, and the birds will love you for it.

• Common Names: Winterberry.
• Botanical Name: Ilex verticillata.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
• Bloom Time: White flowers in spring followed by fruit.
• Size: 6 to 10 feet high, 6 to 10 feet wide.
• Fruit: Bright red to orange-red berries last throughout the winter.
• Light Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
• Growing Advice: Sow seeds in containers in a cold frame in autumn. Germination may take 2 or 3 years. Transplant in early spring. Prefers to grow in organically rich, moist soil.
• Prize Picks: Winter Red's berries last until the spring.