Start with a hardy perennial with beautiful foliage. Transplant it into a large container. Add summer annuals (on sale everywhere in July) and Voila! Beauty for this season and the beginning of next spring.
Adding hardy perennials gives a base to a container planting that you intend to have for many seasons. Pick one with beautiful foliage. And don’t be shy on the size. It can be a shrub or a small tree. Pruning maintains its size. Creative bonsai.
Make sure you have shade plants for shade and sun lovers for sun. Then your own creativity can take over. Don’t limit yourself to only those plants that will overwinter here in Michigan. Consider Lantana, Pentas, Geraniums, and Hibiscus for overwintering. Also, don’t forget beautiful draping herbs like Mother-of-Thyme or Golden Oregano.
Combining herbs with drought-tolerant flowers is the perfect pairing for outdoor beauty all summer and culinary herbs year-round.
How-To For Overwintering Tender Perennials
So many “tender perennials” can live for years if they are protected from frost. This list is a good starter, but not all-inclusive.
- Lantana — goes semi-dormant indoors, rebounds outdoors
- Pentas — great indoor plant, blooms again in spring
- Mandevilla — classic overwintering plant
- Jasmine (Confederate/Star) — excellent houseplant in winter
- Bougainvillea — can overwinter if kept dry and bright
- Hibiscus — very common overwintering tropical
- Geraniums — not Southern, but overwinter beautifully
These can stay in the same container, but you MUST:
- Bring them in before nights drop below 45°F
- Cut them back by ⅓
- Reduce watering drastically
- Give them bright light
- Expect them to look “ugly” until spring
They will flush beautifully again once you set them outside again at the end of May in our Kalamazoo area (zone 6a).
I have overwintered these plants for years, cutting back ⅓ each fall. They often bloom indoors in winter, as this geranium is doing in December.
If your container has both overwintering perennials and annuals, you get the best of both worlds. Just pull out the annuals (Petunias, Ipomeas, Verbena, etc) and bring the perennials indoors. Many of them are evergreen or will bloom for you all winter. This geranium in my sunroom is 15 years old and was given to me by another garden club member. It’s not just a beautiful soft peach geranium (Pelargonium hortorum ‘Peaches’) blooming indoors in December; it’s a living memory.
This Horticulture magazine article has more information on overwintering those plants we consider annuals. If you’ve spent any winters in Florida, you know Lantana is a perennial shrub! Have fun with creative planting this summer.
