15 Winter Flowers for Indian Gardens: Annuals

Flowers are colorful, fragrant, and exude the joy of life. The most popular type of home gardens in India is annuals, i.e., ones that are raised from seeds, grow, bloom, seed & exhaust themselves during a season.
These seasonal flowering plants have the advantage of a tremendous variety of color, size & form. They occupy the garden space in less time & can be easily replaced. Annuals can be grown in beds, herbaceous borders, as an edging, for window boxes pots, etc.

In India, winter is the best time to grow many different species of beautiful blooming annuals. The seeds of winter flowering annuals are sown in October-November. Some seedlings almost hibernate during the cold months of December & January & start growing as soon as the spring sets in.

Let’s have a look at some of the best winter-flowering annual plants that you can grow in your home garden:

1. Alyssum:

The low-growing plants branch freely with usually white flowers which are honey-scented. The compact plant looks like a carpet of flowers.

2. Antirrhinum (Snapdragon):

Branching annual with numerous flowering spikes, mostly of crimson or white color. Many other colorful varieties of Snapdragon are used for bedding and pot culture.

3. Aster:

China Aster is an excellent cut flower. The flower heads come in many different sizes, types & colors.

4. Calendula (Pot Marigold):

The flowers vary from straw color to deep orange. This single or double flowering plant is useful for bedding, potting & for window boxes.

5. Clarkia:

A hardy annual with slender branches & attractive long spikes of flowers. It can be grown as a pot plant.

6. Dianthus (Sweet William):

Double or single fragrant, colorful flowers are born at the top of the branches in rounded clusters. The plant is suitable for beds, borders, rock gardens, or window boxes.

7. Hollyhock:

This is a tall majestic annual. The large flowers are born in the axis of leaves all along the length of the stem. Hollyhocks can be used as a background plant, screen, open space shrubbery or annual border.

8. Larkspur:

It is a very popular blue/mauve-purple/pink cut flower. The plant is grown as a background or in front of a tall hedge or border & in pots.

9. Pansy:

The beautiful butterfly-like flowers are available in almost all shades of colors & their combinations & blotched, variegated, marked, stripped in contrasting colors. These low growing plants thrive well under the shade of other tall plants.

10. Petunia:

The petunias are the most popular, loveliest & valuable race of garden plants. The flowers are trumpet-shaped & may be small or large. Petunias are classified into many different types of flowers. Buy flowering plant seeds online in India.

11. Phlox:

One of the most well-known & favorite annuals grown for its brilliant display & long-lasting blooming period. Flowers are delicately scented, with a wide range of colors & many are with contrasting ‘eyes.'

12. Salvia:

The lost terminal spikes with tubular bright scarlet flowers are borne above the foliage. Salvia is ideal for growing in mass, in beds, borders, background shrubbery, under trees & semi-shaded places.

13. Sweetpea:

This garden climber is valued & widely cultivated for its range of flower colors, elegant form, fragrance, and utility as a cut flower.

14. Verbena:

A free-flowering, low-growing, spreading plant. Flowers are born in clusters with light mauve, white & pink as common colors.

15. Statice:

The flowers of this plant retain their shades for a long time when dried & are used for dry decoration as ‘everlasting’ flowers.

Apart from the above, many other seasonal flowering plants can be grown in winter. Eg. Candytuft, Carnations, Centoria, Cornflower, Gypsophila, Nastrissium, Nigella, Poppy, etc.

Now that you know the winter season flowers, make a note of the following things:

• As the growth of plants during winters is less, start with proper-sized ones.

• Plant according to the size of the container.

• Place your container in a place where it receives ample of sunlight.

• Water your plants cautiously during winter.

• Compost regularly.

• Use containers with proper drainage facility.

What all do your winter garden plants need:

• Sow the seeds of your favorite flowers right before the winter sets in.

• Flowering plants need soil to be 5 inches deep. So, select an earthen pot of 6-8 inches, and bury the seed about 2 inches deep.

• Saplings will emerge in about 6 weeks.

• Sprinkle water as and when required.

Happy Gardening!