Flowers Brighten Your Room in This Winter

Winter can be a dreary time of year. What better way to add some cheer during this season than by bringing winter-flowering plants into your home? Here are some of the best indoor plants that flower during the colder months.

Though winter can bring up feelings of coziness and warmth, it can also be a dreary time of year. Long nights and cold temperatures keep people indoors all season, making it feel as though winter is dragging on and on.

However, one great way to add brightness and cheer to the season is by bringing some flowering plants into your home. While most plants bloom in spring and summer, some species naturally bloom during the colder months of the year. Other plants can be forced into blooming whenever you want, making them especially great options for winter holidays.

This article will introduce you to some of the most popular plants to bloom in winter. You will also learn how to give them the right care to keep their flowers looking beautiful.

Winter-Blooming Houseplants

This first category of winter-blooming indoor plants can be grown year-round as houseplants. Some of them bloom during the winter, while others flower continually, regardless of the season.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen is a compact houseplant with attractive foliage and beautiful flowers that come in white, red, pink, or purple hues. These flowers can last for the whole winter season, provided the plant is given the right conditions. Cyclamen typically go dormant in the summer but can return and bloom again the following autumn.

The key to keeping this plant happy during the winter is to provide cool temperatures and bright light. Since Cyclamen prefer temperatures lower than an average home (40°F to 55°F at night and 60°F to 70°F during the day), it works best to grow them in an unheated room or near an uninsulated window.

Peace Lily

Peace lilies are popular houseplants since they thrive in low-light areas that may not suit many other species. They feature glossy, dark-green foliage and flower readily. Their flowers are white, cuplike blooms called spathes.

However, peace lilies are not actually lilies but rather members of the Araceae family. Their common name comes from their resemblance to real lily flowers.

Most peace lily cultivars bloom in late winter and continue through spring. Winter temperatures around 60°F to 65°F trigger the plant to start blooming. Keep your peace lily evenly moist (but not wet) and provide fertilizer, if needed, to boost the chances of it flowering.

African Violet

African violets have a reputation for being fussy, but once you nail down a care routine, they are no more demanding than other houseplants. They come in a range of colors, sizes, and styles, meaning almost anyone should be able to find an African violet that suits their tastes.

To get an African violet to bloom, the temperature should stay consistently between 70°F to 80°F during the day and about 5°F cooler at night. They need plenty of bright, indirect sunlight. Fertilizer can be used, but only when the plant is actively growing. If your home doesn’t get enough sunlight in the winter, use a grow light to encourage blooming.

Christmas Cactus

Schlumbergera species are variously referred to as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter cactus, or by their other scientific name, Zygocactus. As their common names imply, Schlumbergera varieties produce blossoms during the times of year that correspond to the winter and early spring holidays.

These plants are easy to keep alive and come in several colors including bright red, purple, pink, and white. Schlumbergera’s exotic-looking blooms develop in response to longer periods of darkness as the days get shorter in winter and cooler nighttime temperatures. The flowers can last as long as two to three weeks, making this plant a lovely showpiece when it blooms.

Forcing Bulbs

A second option for long-lasting blooms during the winter is to force some bulbs. This method (also called coaxing) involves tricking a bulb into blooming by replicating the conditions that trigger the process. These spring blooms last longer than cut flowers, and many varieties emit a lovely scent.

Types Of Bulbs

The easiest types of bulbs to use are amaryllis and paperwhites because they don’t require chilling. Other bulbs, such as hyacinths, Muscari (grape hyacinth), tulips, and crocus, require a cold period for multiple weeks to signal to the bulb that it is time to bloom. The amount of time for each type will vary, so check with your garden center when you purchase bulbs.

How To Chill Bulbs

You can leave bulbs to chill outside, in an unheated basement or garage, or in a refrigerator. The bulbs should not be allowed to freeze during the chilling period, but the temperature shouldn’t be much higher than 40°F.

It is possible to buy pre-chilled bulbs, but you may not know exactly when they will bloom. If you need flowers at a specific time, chilling them yourself allows you to control the timing.

Be aware that it can take as long as 15 weeks, so plan ahead. For continuous flowers, you may want to chill several bulbs at different times so you always have some ready to bloom.

At the end of the chilling period, roots should begin to emerge. If there are no roots, give the bulbs more time before planting.

How to Force Bulbs To Bloom In Winter

Forcing bulbs can be done using standard household potting soil or in a container filled with water. If you use the water method, chill the bulbs first. If you use the soil method, plant the bulbs and then chill them in their containers.

After the appropriate chilling time, follow these steps to force bulbs in water:

Place marbles or gravel in the bottom of your container to hold the bulbs in place.
Fill the container with water high enough so that just the roots are submerged.
Place the container in a sunny location.
Top off the water levels so the roots never dry out. Soon, longer roots will emerge and growth will sprout from the top of the bulb.

As long as you keep the water level consistent, your bulbs should produce flowers within a matter of weeks.

To force bulbs in soil, follow the below steps:

Put a layer of regular potting mix into the bottom of a container with drainage holes. Be sure there will be several inches of space for roots to grow.
Plant the bulbs (close together, if putting multiple bulbs in one pot), covering them with about half an inch of potting mix. Water thoroughly.
Chill for the appropriate length of time, depending on your bulb type.
When the chilling period is over, there should be enough roots that they are starting to emerge from the drainage holes. If not, return them to chill longer.
Place the rooted bulbs into a bright, cool room. Water when the soil is dry.
Flowers should emerge within two to three weeks.

Depending on what kind of bulbs you use, your forced blooms may last only a few days or as long as several weeks. Many bulbs are annuals and, therefore, will be spent after they bloom. However, there are perennial options available that can bloom year after year.