Identify by feature

What flowers in winter? Trees and shrubs in bloom from December to February

In winter, our main flowering plants are hazel (yellow catkins), witch hazel, cornelian cherry, winter jasmine and laurustinus; alder and winter heath also flower before spring.

Updated on 10 October 2026

16 species with this feature

Hazel Corylus avellana

Shrub

Yellow, hanging male catkins as early as January–February; tiny red stigmas of the female flowers.

Native
Witch hazel Hamamelis

Shrub

Flowers with four ribbon-like, crinkled petals, yellow, orange or red, from December to March on bare branches; fragrant.
Cornelian cherry Cornus mas

Shrub

Little clusters of yellow flowers on the bare branches, February–March.

Native
Winter jasmine Jasminum nudiflorum

Climber

Bright yellow flowers (2–3 cm) with 5–6 lobes, single in the leaf axils on the bare twigs, November–March; unscented.
Laurustinus Viburnum tinus

Shrub

Pink buds and white, lightly scented flowers in flat heads, from November to April.

Poisonous
Winter heath Erica carnea

Dwarf shrub

Urn-shaped bells (5–6 mm) in one-sided spikes, December–April, with protruding brown anthers. The buds are already formed in summer.
Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox

Shrub

Hanging, cup-shaped flowers (2–3 cm) with waxy, translucent yellow outer and purplish-brown inner tepals, from December to February; very strongly scented.

Poisonous
Alder Alnus glutinosa

Broadleaf tree

Long, hanging male catkins as early as February.

Native
Camellia Camellia japonica

Shrub

Large (6–12 cm) white, pink or red flowers, single or double; they drop off whole.
Gorse Ulex europaeus

Shrub

Golden-yellow pea flowers with a coconut scent, mainly in March–May, but a few almost all year round.

NativePoisonous
Mezereon Daphne mezereum

Shrub

Pink to purplish-pink, four-lobed flowers in twos to fours against the bare stem, from February to April, before the leaves; very fragrant.

NativePoisonous
Silver maple Acer saccharinum

Broadleaf tree

Small red flowers, as early as February–March.
Grey alder Alnus incana

Broadleaf tree

Hanging male catkins in February–March, before the leaves.
Turkish hazel Corylus colurna

Broadleaf tree

Long yellow male catkins (up to 12 cm) in February–March.
Filbert Corylus maxima

Shrub

Yellow, hanging male catkins in February–March; tiny red stigmas of the female flowers.
Persian ironwood Parrotia persica

Broadleaf tree

Small flowers without petals, with conspicuous red stamens, in February–March on the bare branches.