Oklahoma Plants That Grow During Winter

Pretty Bloomers

• Dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 10 is an Oklahoma native that springs up at the very end of winter and can bloom as early as the beginning of March in some areas. Growing only 4 to 6 inches tall, it has lance shaped leaves and blue-violet, white or purple flowers with sepals marked with white, yellow or purple stripe and crested ridges along the bands. It attracts hummingbirds and larger varieties were frequently painted by Van Gogh and Monet. Crested iris generally thrive in part shade and continuously moist soil.

Handsome and Adaptable Birch

• Easily recognizable by its satiny smooth silver bark that sheds to reveal a rich cinnamon-brown, this often mutitrunked birch (Betula nigra), commonly called river or red birch, grows in winter. It produces its green female and brown male catkin flowers in February and March, depending on the Oklahoma region. Hardy in USDA zones 3b through 9, the trees grow 40 to 70 feet tall, with a rounded habit when mature. The lustrous green leaves are triangular and toothed, turning bright yellow in the fall. In the wild, the trees are found in wet places and along stream banks. In landscapes, provide them with consistent moisture to mimic their natural habitat.

A Wildlife Favorite

• Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia), hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, is a suckering native shrub that puts forth showy, fragrant clusters of five-petaled white flowers as early as in the winter months of February or March and before its spring foliage. Growing between 4 and 20 feet tall with an equal spread at maturity, the shrubs produce edible, cherrylike fruits in August or September. The leaves are rounded, side branches can be thorny and the bark is black or very dark brown. Chickasaw plums make excellent additions to habitat gardens -- birds and mammals enjoy the fruit -- and they are also useful for erosion control.

Seasons of Colors

• Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8 is an Oklahoma native that blooms in midwinter, usually in January through February and sometimes into March. The yellow to reddish yellow flowers are spidery or ribbon-like and fragrant. Witch hazel shrubs grow 6 to 10 feet tall, with gray, hairy bark that smooths out with age. The leaves are an elongated oval shape that emerge as red-purple in spring, change to green in summer and turn bright yellow in fall. The plants thrive in either full sun or part shade in consistently moist soil.