If you fertilize with a fertilizer that relies on urea or any other organic source of nitrogen (blood meal, feather meal, hoof/horn meal, alfalfa meal, boiled rice hulls, etc) there is a considerable risk of ammonium toxicity if soil temps are below 55-60*F or will be below 55* at some point in the near future. Immediately after nutrients are absorbed they are deposited in plant cells. If the nitrogen is in nitrate form, this is not a problem for plants; however, if nitrifying soil bacteria are inactive due to low temps, they are unable to convert ammoniacal nitrogen to nitrate. This causes ammonium to accumulate in plant cells with a high potential to damage the cells (at temps below 55-60*F). If you do fertilize, using Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 wouldn't be much of an issue because it supplies >2/3 of its nitrogen in nitrate form; however, most other 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers (like 24-8-16 and 12-4-8) rely completely on urea as their source of nitrogen and they would very likely create toxicity issues. Hobby growers almost always misdiagnose ammonium toxicity and attribute its symptoms to unrelated causes. In addition to being a frequent problem when grow media are below 55-60*F, the toxicity is also extremely common in waterlogged media or in plantings with compacted grow medium and/or when roots are congested; this due to the paucity of oxygen and high levels of CO2 in waterlogged or compacted media. BTW, if you will be keeping the chives in a pot, you should divide them every year, taking one or two divisions from the perimeter of the clump - not from the middle. The planting will need fertilizing if you keep it in a pot, but probably won't need fertilizing if planted out. Every plant needs a full compliment of nutrients essential to normal growth to be at it's best, and the only way to tell if your garden/ beds need supplemental nutrition is by way of a soil test. Al

I'm hoping that someone who has tried to overwinter pansies in a climate similar to yours will chime in. I'll suggest that your success at over wintering in your zone might depend on whether you take special care to protect the root system or not. It's a little late to plant the pansies out in a bed, but you might consider sinking the pot as Ken suggests. The soil provides excellent insulation. There are Viola hybrids that are extremely cold hardy, something you may want to look into for next year, but you would still need to protect the root system from freezing. Even those new-ish hybrids are not recommended for container planting in very cold climates. In my zone 7 climate, pansies are planted as a fall/winter/spring annual. If protected from the coldest of temperatures, they'll provide color all during the cold months and will only die back once it gets too hot. Where ever you live, pansies do not like the hottest months of the year. I expect that you can begin to see pansies in your garden centers in February or so...they don't mind frosts or even freezing temperatures. I wouldn't stick them out in advance of a severe cold snap, though.

You know, if I could get the pictures from Mr. Goodwin of his British container garden with the pots stored along the fence, I might be quite happy with following his setup. I say the south fence, because the sun is very low during the winter months, and that fence of wood 7 foot tall stays shaded. Prevailing winds which can drive the rain, will also be blowing mostly from the south east. I have to use the changing shade patterns in moving hosta around the garden, it is amazing how much it can change in a short period of time. Look where the sun is rising now, and it is a little bit more south of east at sunrise every day. And more south of west at sunset. Yes, Pieterje, rain is a boogerbear here as well. Two years ago we had a real winter spell, and it was below freezing for two whole weeks. Unheard of, never before! Then, last year it was back to normal, with temps dipping down to 28 overnight a couple of times, but not continuous. I need not have moved my tropical beauties into my Teahouse--where I had to water them, instead of letting nature do the work. I am now wondering what kind of season we'll have this year, and might need to consult the ole Farmer's Almanac. I have a thought in mind, which will utilize the "metaposts" which you drive in the ground, and then can insert 4x4s to which shelfs might be attached. WIRE shelves, which let the pots drain with no lifters or feet beneath, no wood to rot. I already have a good bit of wire shelving wasting away. Maybe with the extra 4x4 supporting front of the shelving, the fence itself won't be strained. What I like about those Metaposts (Aubuchon sold them online, then I found some at Home Depot) is you can remove the 4x4 and just leave the metal part in the ground, if you don't want that "look" along your fence. But my area in question is at the very back and far end of the garden. I also want to avoid infestation of the pots by fire ants, who like nice dry places on the ground. Lifting them up is a good way to avoid those terrible ants. BKay, with my pot count as high as it is, no way can I keep them on our 10 x 12 deck, and besides, we will be remodeling this winter. That means I cannot put anything in the Teahouse either, because I'm keeping it temp controlled since construction material is filling it up already. Right now, I'll be happy when the squirrels quit bombing me with the Mississippi Giant pecans and also tearing up hosta leaves. Ken, you are such a charmer, 30 minutes below 40....guffaw guffaw guffaw.....I'll tell DH what you said, he will probably borrow that for his own tales of southern winters. Yes indeed, cold soggy media and rot, go together. Last winter I had only a few hosta to deal with, and all went dormant up in Massachusetts before moving south. Where, as you said, Ken, they woke up pipping in late February and early March. Without checking, I think the Satisfaction NOID was blooming as early as mid March?

When I gardened in zone 4/5 in Wisconsin I had several roses in pots and I overwintered them in my unheated attached garage. I had the floribunda Sunsprite in one pot or another since 1984. In November I would remove all of the foliage from the bushes and water the pots real well. After they drained I would slip the pots inside extra large 55 gallon black plastic garbage bags and fold the open ends over - dont' tie the bags shut, they need air. I found these large bags at farm and fleet type stores. Then I'd prop the bagged roses up off the cold cement floor. I used wooden boards or styrofoam sheets to place the bagged roses on. The plastic bags helped keep the potting mix just moist. Heck, the last 2 winters when we were snow birds here in FL I wasn't even around to water the pots during the winter! When I returned north the roses had begun to sprout. This new growth was pale and weak. I left them alone - unless they really needed water. When the forsythia bloomed I would take the roses out of the bags and into the sunshine and remove the pale sprouts. Then I'd water them real well. In a week or so new normal looking shoots would begin to appear. This was my sign to begin giving them regular care (fertilizer, etc.).