What to do with pots during winter?

12 years ago

As we are getting a little closer to winter, I'm starting to question what, if anything, I should do to give my potted conifers the best chance of making it through the winter here. To see exactly which plants I am talking about, see my post in the Registry thread.

Everything I am growing is hardy in my region, so my concern is more in regards to large amounts of snow sitting, and then possibly melting, on my plants during the winter.

My three options are: let things go as they are currently, bury my pots in the native soil of the garden plot, or bury my pots in my raised bed.

I'm not very high on option one because as I have mentioned before, I'm not really enthusiastic about my potting mix. It's roughly 2/3 potting soil from the garden center I work at (it is apparently the same as the U Cornell blend), with the remaining third split between pine-spruce bark mulch and river gravel (exact ratios for this 1/3 depend on how much of what I have available to me at the time). It seems to be fairly well draining, but it does take my larger containers maybe 3 to 4 days to dry out after a good rain. I would prefer to make my own mix and have more control over things, but I'm working on a VERY limited budget so I have to make ends meet with what I can. I have other questions related to this and specific plants, but that's for a different thread.

I'm a little unsure of my soil type in the garden plot, the soil doesn't really seem to be THAT heavy, but it is certainly not light and sandy. The plot is located behind a church in Brookline, MA. Historically, it was farm land but has been occupied by the church for ~150 years now. Over the past several years it has also been amended regularly with compost, so it has noticeably lightened up from what it was.

The final option is to bury the pots in my raised bed where I grew herbs this year. It was filled early in the spring with about a half and half mixture of composted manure and top soil. As I said in a different thread, it has broken down over time into a pretty light and fast medium. It dries out and gets crumbly in around 2 days after a heavy rain.

Like I mentioned, my main concern is snow melt logging my pots with water, so I'm mostly between options two and three, and mostly leaning towards three. Is there anything that I am blatantly overlooking? Any other details that you need? Any tips on testing my drainage to determine if it is acceptable/unacceptable?

Thanks to everyone for any input you can provide!

Nathan

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

firefightergardener
12 years ago
Heya Nathan. We get amazingly wet winters here near Seattle and I have about 50 conifers in pots year round. They are in well-draining mixes of various material and so far I haven't lost a single plant due to water. A few have been injured by severe cold(for us severe is 10 degrees above) but otherwise excellent results.

I imagine as long as you make sure your pots are well drained and won't compact and you don't have any real cold-sketchy plants in those pots, you'll come out OK.

For reference sake, we had 10+ inches of rain last March and no issues still. Drainage is the key.

-Will
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
hey plucky ....

welcome again ...

where more specifically in z6 ..

the trick with pots.. is to get them dormant.. and KEEP THEM dormant.. for the whole winter...

pots in winter sun get HOT.. yes.. hot in winter.. and the roots can go in and out of dormancy ... and they find no humor in having 70 degree roots on a sunny winter day.. and near zero at night ...

in my mineral sand.. i can stick plastic pot and all into the sand.. and walk away for winter ... with no fear of winter water accumulation ... DRAINAGE IS IMPORTANT

the only thing worse than the dormancy issue is soggy roots all winter ... roots need air.. as much as water.. and freezing the roots into an ice cube is bad ...

fancy pots may crack in winter.. so those need to be emptied ... no harm in dumping out the plant.. shoving it in the ground .. and storing the pot ...

i can be as simple as a couple bales of straw ... and stacking the pots on the north side.. to keep the pots in shade all winter ... and insulate the cold ...

or just a pile of mulch .... and bury the pots ...

gotta run.. let me know what is not clear.. as i do not have time to study the above..

ken
Related Discussions
What is compost doing during the winter?
Q
Comments (15)
I remember reading about the biological process of the various organisms in a compost pile. I wasn't reading for that purpose so I did not intentionally "study". What I gathered from the reading is: There are many different organisms that work the pile. Each organism thrives at a different temperature range. They're all good. And it explained, to me, why a long-composting pile ... like that which I find along my fence line where leaves, dead plant matter and grass clippings gather unhindered is so vitally rich in nutrients for the plants. (I dug this up and used it in my planter. Best soil I have.) It read that most the organisms don't die in colder (or hotter) temperatures, but they either slow down or move on to another area that is more suitable. Quite fascinating. The reading helped me understand one of the major reasons why turning too frequently hinders composting. When doing so, I'm moving the organisms to a spot they cannot thrive. It's like removing the plate in front of my children at the dinner table and hiding it. It takes time for them to find it, again. This is telling me that I cannot make the perfect compost pile, only nature can. All I can do is try to help. Because of this reading, I deliberately placed some compost materials along that fence line where these organisms exist naturally giving them more to eat. Then, I left it alone. Most of us are more interested with the type of organisms that break down in near-perfect environment with higher temperatures because it composts fast and because these quickly destroy bad things like disease. If you leave any compost alone, in time it will become rich and healthy. But it can take a long time. By "long time" I'm saying at least two years. I'm like most. Don't have time to wait. (I play it safe and put any known diseased stuff off the property.) I'm not well versed in plant disease pathogens. Likely, I'll end up throwing some bad stuff in the pile without realizing it until later. If that happens I'll know to just leave it alone ... for a long time ... while starting another pile somewhere else. Still, the rich nutrient-dense material from good compost is designed to make plants withstand disease. That's why I go organic. Some things ya just can't control. Instead, I want healthy plants who can fight for themselves. These are why "any compost is good". Now, if I can just grow a garden as well as building some composts.....
...See More
do your terra cotta pots crack if kept dry during winter?
Q
Comments (12)
Mara, But you're a perfect 8B, surely! I often listen to 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered', usually by Ella, when repotting Gasterias. It also puts me in a betwixt and between space, which helps a lot when you're dealing with northern top dressing. aseedi, That's a good way to describe it - rather than crack in cold-but-not-as-cold-as-us weather, it spalls (full disclosure - gears, as in wind turbine generator gearboxes, also spall, but only when they're bad). Calling it flaking is too imprecise. From Wikipedia - Spall are flakes of a material that are broken off a larger solid body and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure (as in a ball bearing). Spalling and spallation both describe the process of surface failure in which spall is shed. ---------------end quoted text---------------------- And I love the observation 'Each place has its charm, though very different.' - ain't that the facts! I was in SanD for 20 years until I came to the Southern Interior of BC almost 6 years ago - even in August, you can feel Ol' Man Winter get near.
...See More
what to do with succulents during winter
Q
Comments (3)
Is Babys Tears that little flat thing with teeny tiny leaves? I think there might be more than one thing with the same name. If it is, I wouldn't call it succulent. It requires a constant water supply and good humidity but also reasonable drainage so it isn't in saturated soil. It thrives in parts of my garden that get water runoff so they don't dry out too much, plus some protection from the sun. They can take some frost. Ice Plant also covers a lot of different species. Some are very hardy plants for the garden, others are winter growers. but a little tender All will want some water over winter unless you plan to freeze them.
...See More
Storage of potted plants during the winter
Q
Comments (3)
If possible, dig up an area (I use an end of my veg garden) and put the plants in the ground in their pots or burlap or bags or containers. Put them in so the roots are below ground level, then water them well and mulch them with leaves, grass clippings or any mulch you have to hand. Put them close together with just a small amount of soil between each plant in the row. You can get lots of them close together. In the spring, pull them out of the ground and take them to their new home. I nursery hundreds of plants each year this way. I grow lots of perennials from seed and like to get at least a couple of years growth on them before they go into their permanent homes. I also do lots of propagating, and want several years growth on most trees and shrubs before they get planted. I rarely lose much by doing this each year, though some loss is inevitable. You can split and wrap the hostas and bury them as above. In fact you can use cardboard boxes or anything that will hold the plant over the winter, as long the roots are covered with soil to protect them from winter conditions, of which drying out can be the most insidious. The garden shed or unheated garage might work, depending on how cold/warm it gets in there, and what zone your plants are rated for. Again you will need to make sure the roots don't completely dry out (or remain too wet). I think I once read something that being out of the ground is the equivalent of 2 growing zones, so if your plant is hardy to zone 5 and you are in zone 7, it can be left in a pot without further protection. In general, in the ground is the best place for a plant. I have several standards in large pots, so I cover the sides of the pots with plastic to protect them, and bung the whole shebang in the ground. Hope this helps. Rosalinda
...See More
gardener365
12 years ago
Do this except without the rocks. I read about your soil. Bury them anywhere. You don't need any mulch either. There's a VERY limited budget for ya. Dax
{{gwi:492000}}
pluckypurcell
Original Author
12 years ago
Will - That makes me feel a lot better to hear about your wet winters. My plants are only about 1.5 miles away from me, so I feel confident that I can get down and clear snow off of them and still keep them well under the amount of moisture your plants are getting. 1.5 miles is not that much seeing as how all plant material was moved at least 3 miles from store to garden by bike! By the way, your pictures are always a joy, so please keep them coming. Thank you!

Ken and Dax - Thank you both! I think that I will probably do is just watch the plot once winter comes, determine what is the most sheltered spot, and then move the raised bed frame there. I'll then bury them up to the lips of the pot in the raised bed mix (the ground may be too hard to work at that point) and hope for the best. Fancy ceramic pots aren't much of a consideration at this point, the only one I have was free from work as it was already damaged. I'm planning to save money and repot everything in the spring in a lighter mix, and 5 gallon nursery pots are easy to come by, so I say let 'em crack even more! I can obtain salt marsh hay bails for just a couple of bucks so I may put that down as a safe guard.

Nathan
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
snow is irrelevant, except in the sense of crushing a plant ...

water accumulation in the problem .. and i dont recall what your potting media is ... it should NOT be a high peat mix ... peat holds too much water ...

sometimes you can find STRAW .. not hay ... after Halloween for the taking ... hay is animal food .. and has seeds .. which can be a nightmare if you use it in the garden next year ... straw is the bottom part.. and has 99% less seed .... but free is free ... but i dont know what salt marsh hay is ...

i would just get 4 ... make a square.. and put the pots inside ...

do NOT leave the pot edge in the sun ... make sure it is all shaded ...

the pots can go in the ground now if you want.. no need to wait until late fall when the ground is not workable.. as soon as you remove whatever is there.. just stick the pots in ...

another option.. is to collect some larger pots .... fill bottom with bark or course mulch.. then insert pots ... and fill edges with same .... so that the interior pot stays cold .... and if you buy some bark fines.. you can use that next year .. to make a better potting media for trees/conifers ...

it SEEMS .... you are ignoring the potting media as an issue ... either you fully understand what we are talking about [will mentions it] .. or you are not understanding how important it is ...

if you are using a very high peat .. perennial mix.. you might want to repot them NOW.. to insure drainage ... now .. in my z5 .... is a perfect time to be bare rooting and planting trees ..

ken
maple_grove_gw
12 years ago
Nathan,

I bring my potted conifers into my garage from December to early April. It has several windows on the West side, and so the plants get direct (albeit filtered) light for 4-5 hours in the afternoon. I water them once every 2-4 weeks, based on their individual needs. Temp's in the garage are usually in the 30's, although they can drop down into the 20's when it's particularly cold outside. I have been doing this for 4 yrs now and haven't lost anything over the winter (yet).

I don't know if you have an unheated structure available to you - if so, I would recommend this as a very simple, affordable option.

Alex
pluckypurcell
Original Author
12 years ago
Ken - I definitely understand that the potting media and its ability to drain is the key issue here. If I were more confident in my mix, which is a standard potting blend - unfortunately high in peat content - that I've amended with pine/spruce bark mulch and gravel to loosen it up, I'd be way less anxious about the prospect of winter.

I'm certainly open to making a new medium and repotting now, it's just that things like Turface are prohibitively expensive. I mention Turface because a lot container threads I've seen direct people to Al's Gritty Mix as the ideal. I'd love to hear any suggestions you guys have on making a good mix on the cheap.

Short of that, though, I'm really stuck with having to minimize the amount of water that the pots are exposed to in the first place. Alex - I do have access to a garden shed, but there are no windows and the plants would be in total darkness.

Thanks again to everyone for comments and suggestions. Nathan

What to do with pots during winter?

Comments (7)

firefightergardener

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

gardener365

pluckypurcell
Original Author

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

maple_grove_gw

pluckypurcell
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

What to do with pots during winter?

Comments (7)

firefightergardener

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

gardener365

pluckypurcellOriginal Author

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

maple_grove_gw

pluckypurcellOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

pluckypurcell
Original Author

pluckypurcell
Original Author