Hi Cindy,

I’ve found that ornamental cabbage and kale are great colorful plants that can live and grow in cold winter temperatures.

Ornamental Cabbage plant

You can buy ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea) and ornamental cabbage plants and put them into your pots. It’s almost too late in the season to grow them from seed, but you can try. I like to buy the one gallon containers that are already a good sized plant. Put the plants is a nice sunny spot where they’ll grow well and the colors in the leaves will be bright and vibrant looking. The colorful pigmentation gets better and better in the sun as the weather cools down. These plants can survive temperatures as low as five degrees F, but should be introduced to such low temperatures gradually. Cover them if  there’s going to be a freezing rain or ice storm so the leaves aren’t damaged. Keep the soil moderately moist. Too much fertilizerPlants need fertilizer only when they are actively growing. Slow growing plants in low light require very little plant food. Too much fertilizer is worse than not enough. Most plants prefer a water soluble plant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. Plants that are in bloom or dormant should not be fertilized. Houseplant food contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A fertilizer containing these elements in equal proportion is considered a balanced plant food. Nitrogen helps in photosynthesis and encourages the growth of leaves and stems. Potassium and phosphorus also help in photosynthesis and aid in root and flower development. Most fertilizers have trace elements of other minerals that are lacking in the soil but are necessary for good plant growth. Fertilizers have a high salt content. If a plant is not producing new leaves and doesn’t absorb the fertilizer, salts build up in the soil. These salts can burn the roots, discolor the leaves, and cause new growth to be small.   inhibits the  color and causes stem elongation, so just feed the plants once when you first pot them. Use a balanced fertilizerPlants need fertilizer only when they are actively growing. Slow growing plants in low light require very little plant food. Too much fertilizer is worse than not enough. Most plants prefer a water soluble plant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. Plants that are in bloom or dormant should not be fertilized. Houseplant food contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A fertilizer containing these elements in equal proportion is considered a balanced plant food. Nitrogen helps in photosynthesis and encourages the growth of leaves and stems. Potassium and phosphorus also help in photosynthesis and aid in root and flower development. Most fertilizers have trace elements of other minerals that are lacking in the soil but are necessary for good plant growth. Fertilizers have a high salt content. If a plant is not producing new leaves and doesn’t absorb the fertilizer, salts build up in the soil. These salts can burn the roots, discolor the leaves, and cause new growth to be small.   that also has micro-nutrients. Ornamental kale and cabbage can also be grown indoors in a brightly lit cool room, but I think they do much better outside.