If you live in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere, you’re all too familiar with the awkward season between the last hard frost and when it’s time to start your seeds for the Spring.  Sure, you’re secretly relieved to not have to do so much work in the garden, but your green thumb is getting itchy and you’re sick of all the snow and cold.

These winter blooming houseplants provide some much needed colour when all you see is white snow and Spring seems oh-so-far away.

General Care Tips for Winter Blooming Flowers

Most indoor plants require a south-facing window, tons of water, and as much sun as possible, right?  Wrong!  At least when it comes to winter blooming plants.  You’ll find that most winter blooming plants prefer indirect sunlight, require a period of darkness, or even like cool temperatures.  Whichever plant you get, make sure you read the care instructions carefully, because your new plant might not like what you think it does.

Christmas Cactus

Most of the Christmas Cacti sold in stores where I live are actually Thanksgiving cacti.  In fact, did you know there are three varieties of these cacti?  For more info on caring for a Christmas cactus and how to gets yours to rebloom, head over to this post.

Poinsettia

Nothing says Christmas like a poinsettia.  Here’s how to keep yours alive until Christmas, and what you can do to dress up a plain one for gift-giving.

Amaryllis

Your next Amaryllis purchase can provide you with years of beautiful blooms at Christmas time.  Just make sure you keep it in a cool spot with diffused light over the winter, and take it outdoors during the summer to grow more leaves.  Read more details here.

Paperwhite Narcissi

These gorgeous white flowers are easy to care for and can even be grown without soil!  Read here for more care instructions.

Hyacinth

Hyacinth’s are usually spring bloomers, but can be easily forced to bloom in the winter months indoors.  Here’s a slideshow of how to do it in a vase.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen are one of the easiest plants to beat the winter blahs.  They bloom indoors in February–just when you feel like you can’t take winter anymore, but it’s still too early to start most of your plants.  Here’s a good article on how to care for yours by Sarah Raven.

Wax Begonia

Don’t throw out your Begonias in the fall!  Take a cutting or two indoors, where they can bloom year round with proper care.  (Fellow Northern gardeners, they might not bloom for us over the winter, but it will save you lots of money to propagate them instead of buying a whole bunch of new ones in the spring.)  Here’s some simple care tips.

African Violet

I once bought my grandma an African violet as a birthday present for my grandma, and that violet grew and grew and came back each year better than before.  The only reason it died is because she finally got sick of it and threw it out because it was getting too big for her house.

Buy an African violet especially if all you have is a North-facing window.  Here’s how to care for yours.

Kalanchoe

Kalanchoes are a type of flowering succulent that do best in bright light.  The article I’m linking to on their care is written my a gardener in Arizona.  If you live much farther North like I do, I’d take her advice to buy one with as many blooms as possible, put it in a south facing window, and take it outside for the summer.

Anthurium/Laceleaf

I had a lovely anthurium plant that flourished for many years.  It was very easy to care for and coped with my occasional lack of watering.  I highly recommend it as a good houseplant for beginners.  Here’s how to properly care for yours.

Lipstick Plant

Lipstick plants are so named because of their resemblance to a tube of lipstick.  They’re a good choice for crazy plant ladies who tend to forget about watering, and not a good choice for those who love to overwater.  Here’s more information on how to keep your lipstick plant happy.

Succulents

Succulents don’t necessarily bloom in the winter, but hear me out.  You can get them in plenty of colours other than green, and they come in so many interesting shapes.  They may not bloom, but I feel like a brightly coloured collection of succulents is almost as good.  Here’s how to keep them from dying.

Have any winter blooming plants you’d add to this list?  Tell me about it in the comments!