Top 20 Cold Hardy Annuals for Super Early Spring Containers

Window boxes and container flowers are a simple and lovely way to bring color to your home and outdoor spaces. When the winter whites and browns finally start to recede, we’re all ready for some bright life and splashes of color.

The problem is, most of the flowers and plants we use in containers can’t withstand life outside for another six or eight weeks or more, even when it is finally spring.

Worry not! If you’re yearning for spring life and living decoration, there are several cold hardy annuals that you can use for a first round of container planting in the early spring -- even if frosts are still frosting.

Jump to:

• Top Cold Hardy Annuals for Containers
• The Cold-Hardiest Annuals for Early Spring Containers
• Hardy, Frost-Tolerant Flowers and Plants for Early Spring Containers
• What Kind of Containers Can You Create with Early Spring Flowers?
• Can Early Spring Flowers Last Through Summer?
• What About Cold Hardy Flowers for Fall Containers?
• Can These Flowers Be Planted in the Ground and Garden Beds?
• A Few Final Tips for Early Spring Container Plantings

Top Cold Hardy Annuals for Containers

The plants and flowers on this list can be planted outside long before your last frost date -- months before!

We’ve broken them down into two cold-hardy categories.

The Cold-Hardiest Annuals for Early Spring Containers

The first list of flowers is the most hardy. They are those that can survive temperatures down to as low as 28°F (-2.22 °C).

Plant these for hardy spring planters:

1. Pansies
2. Violas
3. Violets
4. Primrose
5. Bachelor’s Buttons (aka Cornflower)
6. Ranunculus (aka Persian Buttercups)
7. Anemones

For some fillers or cold-hardy interest plants, try:

1. Ornamental cabbage
2. Ornamental Kale
3. English Ivy (perennial in most places, but can be grown in containers as an annual; can be invasive in the ground)
4. Asparagus Fern
5. Bells of Ireland

Hardy, Frost-Tolerant Flowers and Plants for Early Spring Containers

These flowers and plants tolerate frost well. They are slightly less hardy than those listed above, but they will survive in temperatures as low as 32°F (0°C).

1. African Daisies
2. English Daisies
3. Dianthus (aka Pinks)
4. Pot Marigolds
5. Snapdragons
6. Namesia
7. Annual Poppies
8. Love in a Mist (aka Nigella)

What Kind of Containers Can You Create with Early Spring Flowers?

All kinds! The flowers on this list are great for hanging baskets, window boxes, as patio plants, pots, urns ... any container you would plant with ornamental type plants and flowers.

Can Early Spring Flowers Last Through Summer?

Because the flowers on this list like cool conditions, they often don’t do well in the heat of summer. You may get lucky with a few, but for the most part, plan for these to be your first round of ornamentals and replace them after the danger of frost has passed with more typical warm-season annuals.

By then, these annuals will be slowing down in blooms and blossoms, and will start to look spent. Look at it as a way to refresh your flower power once again!

What About Cold Hardy Flowers for Fall Containers?

These same flowers that work well as early spring planters work well for fall planters and containers, too. This gives you something more than just the usual fall mums for fall displays.

The hard part might be sourcing them. Even though these flowers are known for cold hardiness, nurseries don’t always offer them in the fall. Some do, some don’t.

If you haven’t seen these around your neighborhood nurseries in the fall in the past, consider starting your own from seed. Plan to start them between 8 and 12 weeks before you want to plant them out for display.

Can These Flowers Be Planted in the Ground and Garden Beds?

Yes! In fact, the ground holds temperatures more steadily and does a better job of protecting the plants’ roots, so planting in the ground is actually better than planting in containers. The one advantage that containers have is that if you get into some seriously cold, freakishly low temperatures, you can move them inside. But planted in the ground and with a frost cover in those situations, these plants should still survive all but the worst of the worst of the pop-up spring cold.

A Few Final Tips for Early Spring Container Plantings

• Pack in the plants! Don’t worry about proper spacing, because these early spring planters are only intended to last for a couple of months. Then you’ll be replanting with more heat-tolerant summer annuals.
• Keep containers watered, just like you would for summer containers. They won’t dry out as fast, but those plants will drink, and the soil will dry out. Check daily and water as needed (which probably will not be every day, but look anyway).
• Keep your flowers looking great with some simple fertilizer. Fertilize your containers once a week with a water-soluble all-purpose plant or flower fertilizer. This is especially important since we’re “overloading” the planters.
• Use a variety of cold hardy plants, spillers, fillers, and flowers for a more unique look. Pansies are pretty, but they can also be pretty boring if you just put out a pot of pansies like everyone else does.
• Sticks, twigs, prunings, pussy willows, forsythia, and other spring branches can add height and interest to your planters.
• If you have occasional hard freezes (below the hardiness rating for the plants in your pots), it’s best to move them inside the house or a garage for the night. You shouldn’t need to do this unless the temperatures fall well below freezing. Most flowers on this list should have no trouble with an occasional frost around 32°F (0 °C). If temperatures drop below 28, some extra care is in order.
• If you can’t bring the planters inside, a good frost cover fabric or a set of old sheets should protect them well enough.