Container Gardening in the Winter

**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 10:32 AM

I know a lot of you container garden everything from fresh herbs to small trees. The question becomes what do you do with those containers in the winter. There are actually a few ways to protect your perennial plants without having to bring them inside. This is really helpful if you don't have much room to spare inside for a lot of plants or larger pots. If your pots are clay or terra cotta it's likely they will crack if left outside. Stoneware of any kind should not be left outside over the winter whether they are planted or empty. The freeze and thaw cycle will break them. Plastic pots actually do very well outside. The only thing to be concerned about plastic pots is they don't handle UV very well and will often degrade after a couple of years making them susceptible to cracking or breaking when you try to move the plant.

Smaller plants can be transplanted to the garden to overwinter...if you have a garden...then transplanted back to a container in the spring.

For mid-sized pots you can bury them in the ground. Bury them up to their rims. Make sure the soil in the pot is moist then mulch the top of the pot with leaves or straw. A thicker layer of mulch will help prevent the roots from freezing. You can of course do this with large pots they just take a bigger hole and are generally much heavier to move. If you have a garden that makes this method a lot easier since the soil is a lot easier to dig in.

If you can't or don't want to dig a hole then move the containers to an inside corner of the building. The east or north side of the building works best since the sun won't vary the temperature there. Then mulch the pots heavily with straw or leaves. Make sure the pots are completely covered. At least one foot of mulch. Two or three feet would be better. The air space in the leaves or straw will add insulation and the building will provide the heat. If you have really cold temperatures or you expect a period of below zero then you can wrap a tarp or other material around the mulch to help insulate a bit more. If you have to remove larger plants from a stoneware pot then lay them flat with their roots covered by as much dirt as you can save from the pot. Then cover the whole plant with mulch. Again, at least 1 foot thick.

Finally, you can move the plants into an unheated garage or outbuilding that holds temperatures above freezing. Just make certain to water the plants periodically because they will dry out in a garage. You don't need to add a lot of water. You just want to keep the soil moistened. If the building doesn't have heat then use the same method as the inner corner above.

Remember that snow is your friend. It adds additional insulation to the plants and helps keep them from freezing.

**hunter63** · 08-21-2013, 11:58 AM

It should be noted that theses techniques are about a 50-50 success rate, from my experience.....possibility too cold here in zone 5....or damp?

I have saved germaniums buy pulling them before they freeze, letting them dry in a box in the garage.....then closing up the box or bag, and moving to basement, in the dark.....
About February....take then back out repot water and even take cuttings, and they will take off again....again...about a 40-60 success rate.

Ceramic pots, stone-ware crocks, particularly the newer ones, if left out side, or anywhere they may freeze, with kinda egg shell crack, (very fine cracks in the glazing).
Found this out with some crocks that I used for sauerkraut, and pickles....the juice actually leaked thru the sides of the crock, exposing the mix to air and spoiling......Did not seem to be a problem with the older "Red Wing" and other older crocks.

So, when these cracks start, it won't be long before the glazing will flake off, and start to break down.......not a real big deal on a flower pot, but will crumble.

**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 01:20 PM

We did geraniums in the garage two years ago. What a mess that was. We had geranium petals everywhere. But it does work. We lost a few but most survived. We left them in the garage all winter.

We've had a lot of luck with the interior corner method. We have quite a bit of room inside so most of our stuff comes inside but the bigger plants stay outdoors.

**Solar Geek** · 08-21-2013, 04:37 PM

Lost 2 blueberry plants by not moving them to the garage. My neighbor kept his in his 30 gallon container over winter and they were fine. So I tried it but they died. Zone 5

**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 05:20 PM

We have to remember when it comes to container gardening the roots are above ground and very susceptible to freezing, which is what usually kills the plant. 30 gallon is a pretty large container. I don't know if you could wrap it with electric pipe tape to help keep it warm or not. I've never tried it.

**1stimestar** · 08-21-2013, 05:39 PM

I have these that I am thinking about just bringing in to work where I have a lot of plants already. Think I can keep them alive over the winter if they are inside? What about pansies? Do they live on?

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**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 06:39 PM

Those look like geraniums. Some varieties do better than others but you can keep them going for several years. Trim off any damaged or week branches as well as any dead or curled leaves and transplant them into new pots. Don't worry about over pruning. You can cut quite a bit off the plants and they will still be fine. When I transplant them I pull the roots out a bit trying not to break them any more than necessary. Make certain you have something in the bottom of the new pot like pea gravel or broken pieces of pottery. Something to keep the drain holes in the bottom open. Water them until you see water coming out the bottom of the pot. Don't water them again until you see new growth starting. Then you can feed them a good 20/20/20 mix. Here's a secret on feeding flowers. Water first then feed. Never add fertilizer by itself or before watering. You can feed them about every 4th watering. If your office has fluorescent lights and windows there's a good chance you'll have really good success with them. If they start to look spindly then you know they aren't getting enough light. If you put them in a window be sure and turn them every day or every other day so the plant gets light all around. Most flowers need at least 4 hours of light a day.

The pansies will also do great. Give them a good trimming and remove any old blooms and their stems. Pansies will do better on a 15/30/15 mix. If you transplant then follow the same process as above. Give them a good watering then add your fertilizer. You can feed pansies every couple of weeks if you want.

Another secret on feed. Mix it according to the directions. Don't be tempted to add a little extra. There are salts in most fertilizers that can actually damage the plant if you don't follow the directions fairly close. The same goes for rotating the plants if they are in a window and the amount of light per day.

I have no recommendations for the pretty flower in the blue plaid shirt. She looks fine as is.

**1stimestar** · 08-21-2013, 09:39 PM

Yes geraniums and pansies. We are supposed to get a frost tonight so will bring them into the cabin over night then to work in the morning. I have lots of room for plants here at work.

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**Rick** · 08-21-2013, 10:26 PM

Cool. Fluorescent lights are a lot better than incandescent lights. There's a way to boost fluorescent lights by overdriving them. You can buy a cheap ($30) double bulb shop light and add a digital ballast. You can get something like 80% more light out of the fixture. You can go from 32 watts to 55 watts and wind up with a great grow light for little money. If anyone is interested here's how along with wiring schematics.

http://reocities.com/heartland/pines/7557/overdrv1.html