Flowering Plants for Mother’s Day

Tradition has that you give Mom a bouquet of flowers for her day and that’s fine. Even so, I have another suggestion. Why not give her a living plant, one with beautiful blooms? It will be just as attractive as a bouquet of cut flowers, but will last much longer and, in most cases, she can keep it going for several months or even plant the container outdoors permanently.

When Is Mother’s Day Exactly?

The date Mother’s Day is held varies from country to country, but it usually takes place in the spring. In most countries, including Canada, the United States, and most of Europe, it’s the second Sunday of May, but in Spain, it’s the first Sunday in May and in France, the last Sunday of May. In the United Kingdom, Mothering Day is the 4^th Sunday of Lent, so it moves around quite a bit. Australia and New Zealand keep the “second Sunday of May” tradition, which means Mother’s Day takes place in fall.

Here are some flowering gift plants that Mom is sure to appreciate:

Annuals

Be it hanging baskets, flower boxes or planters, you’ll find a huge selection of pots dripping with gorgeous annual flowers—calibrachoas, scaevolas, hybrid alyssums, pelargoniums, etc.—in just about any garden center, the perfect gift for a mother who has a balcony or terrace she’d like to brighten up with bloom. Ask the clerk to help you choose one adapted to Mom’s light situation, always the limiting factor: full sun, partial shade or shade. In areas where springs are still cold at Mother’s Day, she might need to keep the containers indoors for a while, until night temperatures stay reliably above 12 ° C.

Indoor Azalea (Rhododendron simsii)

The indoor azalea is covered with a mass of usually double flowers in red, pink, white or two tones. Mom can grow it indoors while it blooms, then put it outdoors for the summer, in a fairly shady spot. Tell her not to bring it back indoors too early in the fall, as azaleas like cool fall temperatures as long as it doesn’t drop below freezing.

Chinese Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

This will be a houseplant for most Moms, but a plant-in-the-ground outdoor shrub if she lives in the tropics. It has huge flowers shaped like parabolic antennas and it will bloom sporadically all spring and summer, even into fall and sometimes winter. Full sun is a big help in getting good bloom. Ma can move it outdoors for the summer if she wants.

Florist’s Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)

With its huge globes of blue or pink flowers (sometimes other colors), this plant never fails to please. Tell Mom to water it abundantly and often: this plant loses a lot of moisture to the air because of its huge leaves and thus dries out very quickly. This is not a houseplant: after it blooms, Mom will have to acclimatize it to outdoors conditions and plant it in the garden where it will grow in sun or partial shade. With a little luck, it will then bloom again annually. It’s not the hardiest of hydrangeas, though (it’s best suited to zones 6 to 9), and will need winter protection in colder regions.

Lily (Lilium spp.)

Pink, red, yellow, orange or white, with flowers shaped like trumpets, stars or turbans, scented or not, potted lilies are always gorgeous. To prolong their effect, buy a pot with many flower buds, but only one or two open flowers, a guarantee of weeks of flowers to come. Lilies are hardy bulbs (most to zone 3 or 4) and can therefore be planted out in a sunny spot in the garden after they bloom. They’ll live for decades in the average garden!

Primrose (Primula spp.)

There are many kinds of primroses, many of which are sold as gift plants. Some, such as the German primrose (P. obconica) and the fairy primrose (P. malacoides), are usually considered annuals and die after flowering. Just toss them in the compost. Most of the others, though, and especially the very popular common primrose (P. vulgaris) and its hybrid, the polyanthus primrose (P.x polyantha), are hardy. Indeed, they are classic perennials for the flower bed, most being hardy to zone 3. Plant them out in partial shade in moderately moist soil and they’ll come back year after year.

Rose (Rosa spp.)

It’s mostly miniature roses (very hardy) and polyantha roses (moderately hardy) that are sold for Mother’s Day. Often these plants will bloom several times during the summer if given proper care. Plant them in the ground, in full sun, and expect to see them back in bloom for years to come.

Spring Bulbs (Tulipa, Narcissus, Crocus, Hyacinthus, etc.)

These are hardy bulbs, so after they bloom, Mom can plant them outdoors in her garden. Look for a spot that is sunny in the spring (these bulbs will be dormant and underground during the summer, so aren’t concerned in the least about summer shade).

Of course, there are many other flowering gift plants that Mom would enjoy on Mother’s Days: cinerarias, flowering shrubs, bromeliads, African violets, orchids, etc. Choose one for Mom considering not only her taste in flowers, but her growing conditions and her ability to keep them going … and then buy one for yourself too. You deserve it!