Native Winter Containers

I was recently inspired to think about native plants and pots, and what could be used in fall and winter instead of the same old mums and pansies. The horticulture industry traditionally puts a lot of time and resources into producing these Asian/ European plants for pots and curbside beds throughout the country. Don’t get me wrong, I get it. They are easy, colorful, and… expected. If you ask a landscaping company for seasonal color, it’s what you get. I just think we can do better.

Photo: Wild Works of Whimsy, LLC (@Southern Branch Nursery)

The idea that possibly excites me the most is to pot up an adorable baby tree, and it does not get much better than a Seuss-like baby Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris, or the “Tree that built Tidewater!” These have a nice, evergreen grassy look when they’re really small, and as they get bigger, they grow upward into a Cousin It sort of shape, eventually developing lanky pom pom like arms. They are awkward and truly fantastic! What happens when they start to get too big for that pot? Plant it in your yard!

Other pines or Cedars may also be used in this way, but the Longleaf Pine can use all the help it can get after their population was nearly decimated historically. You can find out more about that story here.

Other plants to use? For a small pot, try a sweet little evergreen ‘Gembox’ Inkberry, Ilex glabra ‘Gembox’. There are larger versions, too, and because they are slow-growing, you could get one started in a pot, then transfer it out to your garden (they make great foundation plantings or small screens). Small native bees will enjoy the little white flowers they produce, and if you have a male around to pollinate them, the birds will certainly enjoy the black berries! (If red berries are more your thing, take a look at the Winterberry mentioned in my previous blog post here. The ‘Sprite’ is a dwarf female cultivar that may fit nicely in a pot.)

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/ilex-glabra-gem-box

Some smaller colorful plants include the berries of our native Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, or Partridgeberry, Mitchella repens, both of which could function as a slow growing evergreen spiller with pretty red berries.

https://www.waysidegardens.com/creeping-wintergreen/p/v1142/

https://ponsetilandscaping.com/partridge-berry/

And… if you can’t get over the Violas (which Pansies fall under), we’ve got plenty of native pansy species, too (32 species are listed in the Flora of Virginia app)! One of my favorites is the lovely Viola walteri, or Walter’s Gem (pictured is the ‘Silver Gem’ cultivar, as I couldn’t find a nice photo of the species one in bloom. It is slightly more silvery in foliage color than the species.)

Get creative and do something different this fall and winter!

https://www.laurensgardenservice.com/product/silver-gem-violet/

Have you used any of these plants in pots or planters? Share what plants and combinations have worked for you below or tag me in your social media post @wildworksofwhimsy