5 Hardy Flowers to Plant in Southern Michigan this Spring

Spring is here in southern Michigan and we are so excited to share our plants with those of you!

There are numerous flowers to choose from to plant in your Downriver region garden.  For this post, we’re going to focus on our 5 hardy flowers to plant in southern Michigan.  Our listed flowers add color to any garden and are hardy enough to withstand Michigan’s cool spring temperatures.  In fact, some of these flowers thrive in cool weather, making them some of the best flowers for early spring.  Remember that southern Michigan’s spring last frost date is April 28th.

Purple and yellow pansies that will grow in Michigan’s cool spring and cool fall weather.

1. Pansy

Pansies have a reputation for being cool weather flowers, and rightfully so!  Don’t let their delicate nature fool you.  Pansies are easy to grow, hardy flowers that do well in 40° to 60°F.  So, these are the perfect flowers for early spring gardening in southern Michigan.

Pansies are prolific and are terrific for creating stunning gardens.  They do well in containers and make for beautiful window box flowers.  There are about 500 different species of pansies, and the pansies come in just about any color you could want.  You could actually make a rainbow of pansies in your garden to create stunning landscaping.

Pansies like full or partial sun.  Water pansies by fully saturating the soil and avoid getting water on the foliage.  Let the soil dry to the touch before the next watering.  Fertilize pansies once a month with an all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer.

Pink geranium flowers that make for a stunning landscaping display in Michigan gardens.

2. Geranium

Geraniums are great spring flowers for southern Michigan’s Downriver region because they are hardy. In fact, geraniums are one of the most popular annuals because of their hardiness and versatility.

They have dark green, scalloped leaves that can look ruffled.  Also, geraniums come in a variety of colors and can be solid or multicolored.  Some popular colors are white, pink, red, fuschia, and salmon.  They bloom all summer long, and some people consider these flowers as American as apple pie!

Geraniums are a lovely addition to hanging baskets, window boxes, and planters.  They thrive in flower beds too.

Geraniums like full sun with some shade during the heat of the day and need well-drained, neutral soil.  Fertilize your geraniums once a month with an all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer.

When watering geraniums, fully saturate the soil and try not to get water on the foliage.  Wait until the soil is dry to the touch before watering again.  Fun fact: Geraniums are drought tolerant once they are established.  So, if you’re looking to save on your water bill, then geraniums may be the perfect flowers for you.

Pink dianthus flowers that brighten Michigan gardens and make for great ground cover.

3. Dianthus

Dianthus flowers are some of our favorite flowers for southern Michigan.  Not only do they have a neat name that means “divine flower” in Greek, but they also smell nice and are hardy flowers that can withstand Michigan’s cold fronts.

Dianthus flowers keep reblooming until the fall frost, and they are cold tolerant and heat tolerant.  They look great as cut flowers, garden cover flowers, and border flowers.  Dianthus flowers also thrive in containers.  Pretty much wherever you want flowers in your southern Michigan garden is where dianthus flowers will flourish.  Plus, dianthus flowers attract pollinators in Michigan.  What’s not to love about these adaptable plants?

These flowers come in a wide range of colors including pink, red, purple, and white.  They can be solid colored or multicolored.

For watering, saturate the soil, avoid the leaves, and wait until the soil is dry to the touch before watering again.  Fertilize monthly with an all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer.

4. Petunia

Petunias are vigorous, yet compact.  They come in a variety of colors and can be solid or multicolored.  Petunias are ideal for bedding, garden borders, patio tubs, window boxes, and hanging baskets.  They do well in nearly any garden soil, which makes life simple for many southern Michigan gardeners who may not have time to baby their flowers.  And who doesn’t love easy gardening that goes a long?

For a stunning landscaping display in your southern Michigan garden, try creating a cascade of petunias over a fence or rock wall.  Petunias are also excellent as ground cover flowers.

The “wave” petunia does best in cold weather and can tolerate temperatures as low as 35°F.  So, if you’re worried about a surprise Michigan frost killing your flowers, then wave petunias may be the way to go.

Petunias grow best in full sun and in moist, well-drained soil.  But try not to get their foliage wet when you water them.  Give your flowers a petunia-specific, water-soluble fertilizer every seven days.

5. Sweet Alyssum

Sweet alyssum are dainty flowers that smell like honey and group together like small pompoms.  If you want cute flowers that grow into true showstoppers in your southern Michigan garden, then sweet alyssum is for you.

Sweet alyssum has the bonus of attracting pollinators in Michigan.  They are also great companion plants for marigolds, geraniums, and petunias, and they will help fill in any spaces in your garden.

These flowers prefer fertile, moist, but well-drained soil  When watering sweet alyssum, make sure to fully saturate the soil but do not get water on the foliage.  Fertilize sweet alyssum once a month with an all-purpose, water-soluble fertilizer.

Visit us at Schwartz’s Greenhouse!

We are super passionate about gardening and flowers (seriously, meet us and you’ll understand).  So, we want to do whatever we can to make your spring garden dreams happen.  Whether you’re interested in our expert gardening knowledge, award-winning flowers, garden supplies, or flattering green uniforms, we’re here and we’d love to help you.

We’re Michigan proud, and we want to make everyone else green with envy over your Michigan garden.

Our opening day is mid-April.  Follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when we open for the season.