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Gardening in Canada

Spring bulbs in large containers

Crafty Gardener

10 years ago

I'm in zone 5b, Ontario ... really cold winters and usually lots of snow. Usually anything left in containers outside over the winter does not grow again in the spring.

I've successfully grown hosta in large pots for a couple of years and stored them in the unheated garage over the winter.

I'm thinking of trying a pot of spring bulbs, stored in the garage over the winter and bought back outside in the spring. The soil will get really hard but not that rock hard freeze that happens to pots left outside all winter.

Has anyone tried doing this successfully?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Comments (6)

rosco_p
10 years ago
Crafty; I have had some success with a few bulb types that I have overwintered in my "attached" but unheated garage. I regularly have my Calla lillies stay dormant in their pots over winter as well as elephant ears and both do very well.. I have not tried spring flowering bulbs as tulips etc. HTH Ross.
Crafty Gardener
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the reply Ross. I have Peruvian daffodils that I usually bring inside and store in the well cupboard, maybe I could try them in the garage this year too.

I'm thinking I just might try some spring bulbs, haven't got much to lose but the price of some daffodils or tulips.

Here is a link that might be useful: craftygardener.ca
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The Asiatic lilies may work. I have two containers, 24-inch diameter, that get a few hours of direct sun in the later afternoon. The lilies are in the back and one has black eyed Susan in the front while the other has coreopsis Moonbeam. Please don't pull out the bulbs, let the foliage shrivel up before you cut it so you can enjoy the flowers next year. Just plant the annuals in front of the bulbs. Enjoy.
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Bulbs that need a chill period will bloom most vigorously if stored at temperatures between freezing & 45* F. It's possible that the temperature on the floor would be cool enough to supply adequate chilling, but I think you are sort of borderline. I plant many containers of bulbs each year for early spring displays. I plant the bulbs anytime after Oct 1, use a fast soil, and keep the containers on the floor of my unheated garage where I occasionally throw a shovel of light snow on them to prevent them from drying completely. The air temperature in the garage varies from the extreme low of around 0* when the door is open on very cold days to around 50* on warm days, but the fairly steady temperature of the floor moderates temperature extremes and prevents the bulbs from getting so cold that water inside plant cells freezes & rots the bulbs or so warm that proper stratification doesn't occur. When I'm sure night temperatures will no longer drop below 25* F., I put the containers outdoors & allow nature to take its course. I've never found reason to be dissatisfied with the results of using this easy method. Al
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I'd say you are safe. The wood of the barrel insulates fairly well. As loong as you don't over water during the months of inactive growth then your bulbs should make it through the winter. When you say you are switching the pots out I presume there will be holes in the dirt of the wooden barrel where the mobile pots will fit like gloves? I think this is the way to go. p.s.- by placing the barrel on casters you run the risk of freezing the container. If the cool air can circulate then the "insulation" of the dirt will only do so much.
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Liatris? Elegant flower stalks of tiny blooms.
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mollyzone5
10 years ago
I pot up Spring bulbs in Fall and bury the pots in a raised bed for winter.Come Spring they will sprout and I pull up the pots and put them where I want some color.Been doing this for years,always works.
Crafty Gardener
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Molly, I've done that in the past too, but the pots have always been the smaller ones. This time I want to try a big, big pot ... too big to dig into the ground.

Here is a link that might be useful: craftygardener.ca
marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
10 years ago
The lilies I've had in containers have done well - it wasn't a huge container, but big enough. I would bury it in the vegetable garden, so easier digging. I've also done tulips but they've never done well - they come up but end up being a bit misshapen or warped. This year, the bulbs in one of the containers rotted and I took the others out and planted them in the ground. I'm not sure if I could overwinter them in the garage in zone 3, though dh keeps it minimally heated because it's his workshop too. And besides, there's no room in there!
ontnative
10 years ago
This should work quite well for you. Just remember to check the pot a few times during the winter, and give it some water if the soil looks extremely dry. If the pot was outside in your zone, it would get moisture from the snow and/or rain.

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