From the article: How Can I Over-Winter My Container Plants?
Let us know how you protect your outdoor potted plants during the winter months. And please tell us what Zone you're gardening in, so we'll know if it will work for us. Thanks. What's Worked for You?
Protecting Container Plants with Plastic
- I have herbs in containers that I put around my garden veggie areas to attract good bugs/repel bad bugs. I also bought some perennials on sale for 50 cents in late October, which I found out online was too late to plant them. (I live in Chicago where we had a cold October.) We had a warm November, so I waited until the forecast was going to be below freezing before doing the following: I put all my containers close together (allowing a slight space for contracting/expanding if they froze) in an area I grow veggies. This is on the south back side of the house at the end of the patio near the house. the dryer vent also vents into the back yard and I keep the patio lights on at night (use regular bulbs, not CFLs). I then put hardware store 6 mil plastic over the containers. I hold it on by putting the other containers that held annuals on top of the plastic around the perennial/herb containers. Last year I put styrofoam insulation around the perennial/herb border line. It worked.
- —Guest Lana
Tomato Cages
- Upside down tomato cages wrapped in 6 mil plastic from any hardware store. (Leave the top open.) You can even stake the cage down with landscape stakes. If the night is gonna be cold use a light or Christmas lights to create extra heat and wrap the whole tent in a old blanket. I have started tomatoes a month early with this method and it worked great. Much cheaper than wall o waters and will accommodate a larger plant.
- —sunkingofov
Storage Shed
- I put mine in a storage shed with one section of the roof that lets light in. I put in some cheap spot lights that give off heat and set them on a timer to come on every night between 7p and 7a. That way they get more light and more heat. The shed is by no means air tight, so it never gets too hot in there. I live in zone 8.
- —Guest Lynn Marie
Winter Under the Lights
- I bring mine in also. I have a room in the basement with lights for my favorite potted plants. I don't bring them all in, just the perennials.
- —Guest Ron
winter potted plant care
- I simply bring my potted plants inside. Sometimes I have blooms all winter long!
- —Guest lihoerske
Winter Container Solution
- I purchased Bourbon clematis especially for my patio thinking it would be OK in my Zone 3. I was told by the nursery to bury it late fall, pot and all, to protect it from our tough winters. They said it was better to bury pot and all rather than taking it out of the pot and back and forth each year. I dug a hole in my veggie garden deep enough to put the pot in so it was ground level with the soil in the container. I then wrapped straw all around for additional protection. I'm looking forward to a lovely Bourbon clematis next spring!
- —Guest Sandy
Winter Container Solution
- I store my container plants in the garage, I water them well before hand and check them about half way through the winter to see if any are dry. I pack them closely. I have done this for about 10 years now with perennials, shrubs and even a potted fig tree. Two other places that I've had success are a shed that has a window and also under my bilko door hatchway to my basement. (We only use that entrance in the summer) The hatch is pitch black so I have to remove those plants first or when they sprout the foliage is white instead of green. (of course they green up once they get a little sun) I prefer the plants in plastic containers for storage so the plants don't dry out as quickly. I live in Connecticut zone 6.
- —Guest BC
