Some plants thrive in colder conditions, providing vibrant color and interest all winter long. Here's how you can guide your clients to create stunning winter landscapes with a few choice plants, with the help of this USDA zone map to determine hardiness zones. 

Edgeworthia chrysantha is a standout for winter displays. Thriving in full sun and well-draining soil, this plant offers a sweet fragrance from clusters of silvery-white, silky blossoms that bloom in fall and last all winter. Come spring, it's adorned with long, strap-like leaves and warm yellow flowers, adding a tropical feel. It can grow up to seven feet tall and wide.

Witch Hazel is another excellent option for winter color. Varieties can reach up to 15 feet tall and come in a range of colors. Hamamelis x intermedia Jelena is a favorite, with abundant coppery orange, fragrant petals. For a smaller size, consider Hamamelis vernalis Amethyst, which grows eight to 10 feet tall and wide and offers a light aroma from its reddish-purple flowers. Hamamelis vernalis, with its intensely fragrant yellow-orange flowers blooming from January to March, is ideal for the Ozark Plateau region. For clients seeking a primarily yellow aesthetic, Hamamelis mollis Wisley Supreme is one of the most fragrant and often the first to bloom.

Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine) is another versatile option. Not quite a vine nor a true shrub, it can cascade like a golden waterfall from elevated spots, providing a stunning display. Its tubular yellow flowers peak right after winter, shining brightly against dark green branches. The stems can grow up to 10 to 15 feet, creating a veil of color in early spring.

Remind clients that even when deciduous trees and shrubs lose their leaves, plants with distinctive bark or berries can add winter interest. Red Twig Dogwood and Ninebark Birch are excellent choices for this purpose.

Red Twig Dogwood is a compact, native deciduous shrub that has bright red stems that provide winter interest. Winter Spark™, debuting in 2025, stays about half the size of other market varieties, while showing leaf spot resistance and less dieback in winter. This shrub is ideal for mass plantings, beds, containers or as a foundation planting. 

Black Jack Ninebark has exceptionally dark, black-purple foliage that is the most intense in full sun. It has a rounded, compact habit and blush-pink flowers perfect for foudations and landscape beds. It requires very little maintenance and prefers well-drained soil. Black Jack is also coming in 2025.

Traditional favorites like Thunberg spirea (Spiraea thunbergia) are hard to beat. And, for shady gardens, Corylopsis (winter hazels) are a great choice.

Finally, recommend grasses and perennials that offer year-round interest. Carex Feather Falls and Dianthus Mountain Frost Ruby Glitter can all add sparkle to the winter landscape.

Carex Feather Falls is a relatively new sedge with arching, variegated foliage with a clumping growth habit. With its beautifully cascading foliage, this is an outstanding plant to use in containers, elevated overhangs, or bed areas. It can be grown in filtered sun to full shade and requires moderate levels of moisture.

Mountain Frost Ruby Gitter is a wonderful landscape border Dianthus that provides a burst of red blooms with creamy white blotches in spring and continually blooms through summer and fall, has fragrant flowers that attract butterflies and is drought tolerant.

By offering these plant suggestions, many of which are a part of our Portfolio Nursery Collection, you can help your clients create beautiful, vibrant landscapes that shine all year round. Shop online at SiteOne.com or stop in a branch near you today to get all your landscape needs.