Plant pots over winter

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The flowers in my plant pots from the summer have died and I’d love to put something in the pots that will look nice over the winter.

What should I plant? I’m a fairly atrocious gardener so has to be something idiot proof!

Following as I’d also like to know. I’m assuming flowers that are being sold in the garden centre at the moment should be ok but don’t know for sure. Those colourful ferns do quite well over winter but flowers would be nicer.

Evergreens with colourful foliage are best as there is little that flowers all winter. I am very fond of heuchera which are largely evergreen and have attractive leaves that come in a wide range of colours from dark purples, through reds to yellow and lime green. I'm looking at some pots in various colours outside the window now. Oxalis is also semi-evergreen and comes in a range of similar colours. You could underplant these with some early flowering bulbs too.

I like to have pots with something evergreen like heuchera and then swap out different things alongside them seasonally. You could google evergreen perennials.

Take a trip to your local garden centre. You should see some small size perennials that you can plant in a trough/hanging basket/larger pot and top with winter pansies or violas (although these are likely to flower better next spring). You could also get some midwinter fire Dogwood which is gorgeous just for the stems alone. Heucheras are evergreen, but will look much better in spring/summer.

My go-to for winter pots is always violas, in varying shades. They are pretty bombproof, and tend to flower all winter, depending on weather. Winter-flowering pansies are good too, but I prefer violas.

Pansies flower will in winter while temperature is above 40 degreesF, so depends on how mild winters are where you live. I recently bought a small varegated pachysanda plant to go in a pot for winter, and have put violas around it. It looks nice but the plant will need to go into garden itself in future.

Also Fatsia japonica is a lovely, very hardy evergreen plant with big ivy shaped leaves. There is a pale version that looks good too thatr has thew look of webs across it. Noy for flowers though, just nice greenery.

Those ornamental colourful cabbages always look cute but I have never tried them. I'd stick in some spring bulbs around anything else you plant

Put some daffodils or tulips in and pansies over the top when they have all died back over plant with summer bedding. The daffodils and tulips will come back next winter

It depends where OP lives and what the aspect is. It's not just the temperature, it's the rain and prevailing wind. Some plants just rot in the rain and the wind where I am could take your skin off, never mind a plant. I have never had pansies, cyclamen or any other flowering plant (other than Mahonia which is too big for a pot) flower right through winter. There is a always gap in the year before the hellebores and very early bulbs come through. That's why decorative evergreens are so good.

However, some hellebores in pots to swap in would be good for earlier in the spring and it is alway wonderful when the Pasque flowers, Pusillata, get going Once the flowers have gone their seed heads fill the next gap.

*There is a always gap in the year before the hellebores and very early bulbs come through.” I get a continuous display from Cyclamen hederifolium (August - November) and C. coum (December - March) Don’t give much height in pots, though. I once combined them with winter flowering heathers

In my experience, violas are less susceptible to slugs than pansies

Ive got lots of pots and have … cyclamen , heather , aster , Carex ( I think , looks like a spider plant ) Ivy , pansy , viola , heuchera

With bulbs planted underneath to come through in the spring

I had a fatsia , til it grew so big , it’s now in a border !

A garden centre near me is still trying to sell begonias and geraniums , don’t buy them unless you’re really sheltered

Look for “” perennial “” plants , they should last for a long time

Very grateful to everyone who has given their advice - I’m off to the garden centre this weekend!