Raised table top bed and perennials over winter

10 years ago

First off I'm in zone 4

Here's my dilemma, I merchandised for a perennial co. this year and at season end I got all the left over plants....hundreds. I have been giving them away but there are still A LOT more which include ones I know I want but don't have the time to create the new beds I want to put them in. I also don't have time to create a holding bed for the winter besides my husband probably wouldn't appreciate me randomly digging up the yard.

What I do have is 3 raised table top beds but I know that if I put them in there the roots will freeze killing the plants because thats what happened to my strawberries (not my chives though lol). So if I enclosed the opening to the beds maybe even stuff leaves under them (we have a bounty of those) would they make it through the winter?

Oh and if any of you are in central WI I am still giving away plants :)

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Comments (7)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH
10 years ago
I would put them in a rectangle along a foundation and pile the leaves around them there. I've wintered over potted plants buried in mulch.
snowbunny_wi
Original Author
10 years ago
I like that idea even better. I've purchased hostas before and never got around to planting them and they were fine the next year. I don't want to chance that with all these though and would at least try to prepare them as much as I'm able to.
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I wouldn't venture to comment on the rose. Perhaps you should pose the question on the Rose forum. Re the perennials from seed: once they germinate and start to grow, they'll need approx. 6 weeks to be established enough to make it through the winter. Since you want them to be portable at any notice, I would have germinated them in pots and sunk the pots into the soil. Then you could remove the entire pots at any time and position them in a new (similarly cozy) location. If you have already direct-sowed the seed and will definitely will leave them during the winter, then you only need to worry if they haven't started growing 6 weeks before your first frost/freeze date. I've started many perennials from seed sown in July, and I'm also in zone 5, so you shouldn't see too many failures there unless you have slow germinating seed.
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Hey, GG, nice to hear from you again! You know that was a very nice thing you said to me about the smile, thank-you. (Insert embarassed smiley.) Gardening really does make me so happy; I'll bet you can imagine. : ) It kinda' scares me, though; it is getting to be more like an obsession! You guys here in the perennials forum are such great people. I wish I could surround myself with all of you all the time. Really, really great idea about the journal, thanks for the heads up. I honestly thought about it just for general ideas, but the idea of notes on my flowers and plants, now that is good! Next time I go to Walmart I'm going to visit the stationary and get something beautiful and perfect to keep my notes in. Maybe Ill press some flowers to make a cover! LOL!! It's impossible to remember everything, you are correct; especially when I have so many new things coming up around me all the time. (I was a silly girl and tried some different varieties of zinnias, from seed, no less, in late June; I wanted so badly to have some new surprises later in summer, and they are already blooming!) Now lets see, first things to add to the journal: propagation, plant tags-color coded, .. AND, surprisingly enough, all three of my children have followed in my footsteps, although they still dont help as much as I would like. Its not that I want them to do the work, but there is just something about being outside digging in the dirt and spending time with your children. I believe that everything comes from God; and Im sure that is how I found this forum. You guys are really great, and I knew from your first post that you were a gem! Hiya, Iowa, thanks for the interest. Actually, Ive been thinking of talking very frankly with my landlord, just as you suggested. My lease ran out, but I wish I had a two sided one, now. He is a very good Christian man, so Im sure he will be honest with me. Its just very hard to bring things like this up, but I think I am going to have to have that talk. I wasnt sure if it was a good idea, but now that youve said the same thing, I guess its not just me. Thanks for the reassurance!! Hey Magic, nice to hear from you. The idea about Lowes is awesome, thanks soooo much!! Im certainly a bargain hunter, especially these days. The idea about using a #2 is great also, details, details!! Ive got a mini blind to replace in my sons room, so I guess Ive got a couple years supply. Oh, and I am going to try Winter Sowing; Im very excited about the idea and more excuses to dig! Thank-you mostly for the vote of confidence; it really means more than you know! Take care, all, and Happy Gardening! Brenda P.S. To all concerned, I was born at Mount Carmel downtown Detroit, which is no longer there. I was raised in Garden City and had relatives in Brighton, Dearborn Heights, and Ferndale. Im in Ohio now, but I do miss my hometown. I do visit every now and again to see the Lions and Tigers when I can!
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shelli, if you add your location next to your zone in your i.d. line, people will be able to learn from and help you because they can relate to your experiences through theirs. i think the question you have is not are these plants zone hardy but are they hardy when planted in raised beds. 18" is not terribly high but i don't know the answer. i think there is some rule about plants surviving in raised planters or beds if they are 2? zones hardier than your zone. but i've been meaning to look that up for awhile myself. I can tell you that my sedum in a container 2' H- survived our z. 5 winter fine last yr. and my hakonechloa planted on the sloped walls of our 'chasm' also has survived for years. best, mindy www.cottonarboretum.com/
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Karen, I'm glad to hear that you also have the inclination that adding mineral soil is the right answer. When creating the beds, I wanted to add good soil with lots of organic matter, and I also wanted to avoid spending a fortune on it. The topsoil/peat/manure mix was good for that, and it's been an absolutely fabulous growing medium with excellent water-holding capacity but also excellent drainage, but overall was probably too high in the organic matter for long-term stability. It's also possible that the heavy rains earlier this year contributed to the higher rates of decomposition and therefore more shrinkage. I will say that I'm not looking forward to digging up and replanting all of those plants, plus all of the additions to the bed, yet again. The herbs are even bigger, being a year older, and even last year they had larger root systems than I ever would have imagined. Some are due for dividing, which is fine, but leaving the others exactly where they are would have suited me. Maybe I can get by another year with the current levels, and only moderate topping-up.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
if I put them in there the roots will freeze killing the plants because thats what happened to my strawberries (not my chives though lol). So if I enclosed the opening to the beds maybe even stuff leaves under them (we have a bounty of those) would they make it through the winter?

==>> i am confused..

zone appropriate plants.. will NOT care if the ground freezes .. period

your prior failure.. most likely.. was winter water management in a frozen pot ... the SBerries roots rotted off ..

pots should be put in full shade .. never winter sun on a small pot ... else the pot might thaw in feb.. not good ...

and then once frozen.. laid on their sides.. so NO WATER accumulates in frozen media.. roots need air.. water on frozen media makes ice cubes ... like you dont know that.. lol ..

once frozen solid.. they could be staked on pyramid style and cover with a tarp .. but not one that will trap heat ..... to avoid excessive winter wind.. which will desiccate media like chicken in the freezer ...

and they should be left as such.. until the ground starts to thaw in spring.. not too early..

the key is.. GET THEM DORMANT AND MAINTAIN DORMANCY ... and manage water properly ...

ken

ps: little pots thaw fast.. during these few day warm spells int eh great white north ... by stacking them into a giant mass... they will insulate themselves .... a big gob of soil.. takes a month to thaw.. compared to a quart plant ...
mnwsgal
10 years ago
If you have an unheated garage or shed you can store them there. Once they are frozen and dormant I bring mine into the garage until early spring. Sometimes I place pots next to the house foundation and cover them with bagged leaves until spring.
gardenweed_z6a
10 years ago
I've had the most success over-wintering perennials when I've set them against the house foundation on my east-facing breezeway and allowed whatever winter precipitation falls to keep them hydrated over the cold season. Even delphiniums have survived winter this way but I'm 2 zones warmer zone than you.

Nursery-grown plants won't do as well as things grown from seed via winter sowing. Sorry to sound negative + don't wish to rain on your parade but that's been the reality I've experienced.

Ditto Ken's remark--no smaller than gallon-sized pots + good potting mix. I haven't found it helpful to lay pots on their sides but there again, I'm in a warmer zone.

Best of luck to you. Don't leave us wondering what success you have.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
there are many pot-aholics in the hosta forum ... who have many tricks for over wintering pots.... in many diverse zones ...

ken
marquest
10 years ago
I do not know if you can find them now but anything I want to over winter they are planted in Styrofoam coolers. I pick them up at the dollar store. Punch drainage holes, stack up the leaves and set the coolers on the leaves. Plant and stuff the leaves around the coolers.

I have never lost a plant with this amount of insulation.

Raised table top bed and perennials over winter

Comments (7)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

snowbunny_wi
Original Author

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Raised table top bed and perennials over winter

Comments (7)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

snowbunny_wiOriginal Author

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snowbunny_wi
Original Author