Hi Barbara! I've successfully wintered over many potted perennials in my attached, unheated garage. I've had good luck with this. I think this past winter is when I lost the most - about four pots out of approximately 80, and they were small pots with newer, little plants.

However...

I haven't had as much luck with my roses. Two winters ago, I brought 18 roses into the garage. Only 1 - yes, ONE! - survived. I lost 17 roses! I think I brought them out too early in the spring. This past winter, I was better about bringing them in later, to make sure they were dormant, about covering the window with dark material to block out more light, and about bringing them out later in the spring. I did have a better success rate this past winter. I don't recall the exact number but I think about 10 or 12 out of approximately 15 survived. I had hoped to get all my roses in the ground this year (yeah right, lol!) but I didn't, so I have about a dozen to overwinter again. I will admit to not being as confident about the roses as I am about the (still) 80 potted perennials that will live in the garage this winter, but seeing as I don't have much choice, I will try to follow the same methods as last year and hope for the best for the roses.

I can't help you with the other plants you mentioned, as I've never tried overwintering them, but I will be putting a few peonies in the garage this year. Well, wait, actually, I did plant a bareroot peony last fall and left it in the garage and it survived and grew quite well this year, so maybe that does count?

Best of luck to you!
:)
Dee

Just curious, Dee: Why *did* you overwinter 18 roses in your garage??? LOL

IMHO, if at all possible plant the peonies now. Most any jostling of the roots may disturb bloom in the first replanting season. But, I understand the love.

To move them in a container do everything possible to Leave The Roots Alone. A leftover 16" shrub pot, washed, is the perfect size for a mature peony. Be sure the rootball is tight.

The Anemones and Windflowers will do well as long as you wait to put them out until it's consistently 45deg. (It'll be tempting to baby them with too much water. They need their rest :-)

I 2nd Dee's: Good Luck!

Martie

I successfully overwinter potted tree roses in unheated poolhouse (consider a garage equivalent) for the last 3 years. They would need ocassional watering during winter.
Since to cover windows in my pool house is not practical, I just cover their crowns with black plastic garbage bags with numerous punched holes for ventilation. I uncover them in March at the 'crocus time' and bring outdoor permanently at 'forsythia time'.
Main trick is to bring them back to outdoor light.
Too early, they'll leaf out earlier than outdoor ones and could be killed by late frost.
Too late and they'll be covered by PM in no time.
In your case I'd suggest to dig out your roses as late as possible to let them be as close to dormancy as possible and pot them as deep as pot will allow.

Potted peonies could be successfully overwintered outdoor in pots in z6. They are z3-4 plants after all and customarily live for many years in grounds that freezes to 4-5' down. Actually, storing them in some warm place, say basement, could do them more harm than good as peonies need at least 60 days of 20-24F to bloom. That is why growing peonies down south is a challenge.

thanks so much, dee, martie and ego45. dee, since i'll have a much smaller yard than i do now, what you're doing actually sounds like a really nice alternatrive to expansive flower beds!

so, is it generally a better idea to dig the plants up as soon as possible and let them get accustomed to the pot or as late as possible so they're going dormant at the tome? i know ego45 suggested digging the roses late, but is that true for the other plants as well?

thanks again, everyone!

Sorry, Barbara, I can't really help with the potting-up time, as all my potted perennials have been in pots for goodness knows how long already. It's not like they're in the ground and I dig them up to pot up. After seeing George's garden (EGO45), I would take his advice in a heartbeat, lol! Maybe you could clarify, George, whether you mean to actually *dig* as late as possible, or to *bring in* as late as possible? In other words, can Barbara dig up and pot *now*, leave the pots outside, and bring in *later*, or do you think she should wait till later and dig and bring in all at once?

:)
Dee

Dee, it's my notion that moving/transplanting roses could be done at any time of the year when soil is workable, but to do so in late November or even early December is the most convinient way.
Two main reasons for that:
- in late fall you could safely prune them to manageable (for transportation) size without worries about inducing new growth. At that time most of the leaves on them already fallen down and you could clearly see a branch structure you would like to have the very next spring. So, I prune them 4-5" above those future spring cuts and if planted in new 'permanent' (haha!) location they could be easily covered by mulch mound.
-during the transplanting process you inevitably will ruin network of fine feeder roots. If plant is not dormant yet it will spend already stored energy to reestablish them, thus will be weaker going into winter and upcoming spring. In November-December all/most of those brittle/fine white feeder roots are gone and you have to deal with the main roots only. Essentially you are doing a bare root planting as you do in a spring, only difference would be that you are moving them with soil intact and dealing with absolutely fresh plants.
Over the last few years I moved at least a couple of dozens of roses in such time and never lost a single one, even after a harsh winters we had last two years.
In Barbara's case, since she'll not plant them in ground right away, but rather have to pot and overwinter somewhere, I think the same approach should be taken with only difference that she should take extra measures to protect pot(s) from extreme cold, I'd say zero F and below, assuming her roses are hardy to z6. It look like she's in a z7, so I don't think she'll have a big problem to provide that kind of protection.
As peonies concerns, it could be done now or later, it doesn't matter.

Hi,

I am following along this thread with interest, as I usually have something in pots at this time of year. I remain confused and uncertain, so please be patient with me...lol.

First of all, is someone suggesting they are going to "dig up" plants that are in the ground now and pot them and store in the garage?

For my own questions...I have perennials shrubs and one tree that have been sitting in the yard in pots most of the summer. I still don't have a permanent place to put them, and I am debating digging them in anywhere just to overwinter them, or storing them in the garage for the winter.

Let's say I overwinter them in the garage..if I have a broken garage door that doesn't close all the way and don't fix it soon, won't that defeat the purpose of having them in there? Second, what is the story with the light? I don't understand the reason for covering up plants with black plastic for the season. If they were out in the yard, they would get light every day, even though dormant. Won't they remain dormant in an unheated unattached garage?

Secondly, I have perennials and annuals in pots around the patio. Can I leave them in them and also drag those in the garage "as is" and just drag them out in the spring and expect them to begin growing again?

Thanks,
Adam

Hi Adam,

I'll try to help, but I'll admit to having success with overwintering without really thoroughly knowing why, other than dumb luck, lol, at least in the beginning!

Barbara is going to dig up her plants because she is moving in a few months and wants to bring them with her. I'm assuming if she weren't moving, the plants would stay in the ground.

As far as your broken door, I honestly don't know. As far as I know, the idea of bringing the plants inside, but in an unheated space, is to get them out of the more severe temperatures in which a potted plant might not survive, but still giving a cold environment in which the plant can go dormant, which is necessary to it's cycle. This is why you cover a plant with plastic, or in my case, I cover the window in the garage with black material. I guess it's kind of a fine line between dormancy and just enough heat/light to keep growing. In my case, I think that's also the reason I lost so many roses last year - bringing them out of dormancy too soon. I think outside, the light doesn't matter because it's cold enough for the plants to stay dormant, whereas in the garage, those few degrees may keep the plant thinking it should still be growing.

The other option you mentioned, just digging them in somewhere for the winter, is certainly possible if you want to. There are two ways this can be done. One, plant the actual plant. I choose not to do this because 1.) digging a hole in my yard is a major construction activity and 2.) I have to add so many amendments, and at this time of year I just don't have time to deal with this. If you have an already-prepared bed (which is something I never have, lol!) and want to stick a plant in temporarily, that might be a whole lot easier.

The second way is to plant the plant with the pot. In other words, dig a hole and place the plant, still in the pot, right into the hole. I never really got the idea of this, since I figured if I'm digging the darn hole, I might as well just plant the darn plant, lol! But last year I did this with a really late-season, last-minute plant I acquired, and it did work. But I only tried this because it was a rose, and I was a bit gun-shy of doing the garage thing with roses after my experience, so I tried the pot-in-the-hole method. It did work, but I don't think I will do this too often, especially not with perennials, but that's my personal preference. Perhaps if I had a plant or rose that, like above, I really didn't want to lose, I would do it again, but it's so much easier to just drag it in the garage.

Lastly, as far as your patio plants, yes, you can drag them into the garage and drag them back out. I do it with my 80 or so plants each year. There's no absolute guarantee it will work, especially with the question of the broken door, lol (which hopefully someone else can address) and with the annuals it's an iffy thing, although I've overwintered some annuals my son bought me at a school Mother's Day sale for five years now! Again, at least with the perennials, the key is timing. Bringing them in after they've gone dormant, and bringing them out at the right time in spring.

I hope this helped at least a little. Maybe someone with more knowledge will pipe in and add some info.

BTW, George, thanks for that added post. The info on the feeder roots was very helpful.

:)
Dee

My garage door doesn't close all the way - it's not broken, it's just the way it works. It's an old double door, and slides from side to side, and doesn't quite touch the floor. It's a detached garage, so during long cold spells, the temperature there is about the same as outside. I notice that on sunny days, however, the garage heats up quite a bit; in fact it gets darn warm in there. It's got a long south-facing roof.

I've always thought this made the garage completely useless for overwintering anything. Every year I put about a dozen temperennials out there, but almost nothing survives. I'll try again this year, but without much hope. At least it keeps the clay pots from cracking.

My point is just that every garage is different. For Barbara, though, putting her plants in the garage will at least assure that she can get them when she moves; they might otherwise be buried in snow.

Most people don't plan this far ahead, but when people first talk about the possibility of storing tender roses in their garage, I try to convince them to wait a year and do a trial run with a min/max thermometer first. Of course this doesn't work if the plants are already purchased.

The reason to cover roses and keep them dark is that most of them are very stupid about temperatures. If they weren't they would be much hardier plants. The accumulated heat under a roof can easily be enough to make them think they should start growing. They are less likely to do that if they are in the dark.

Kay, great wording, 'roses are stupid about temperature'.
How true!!!
Since even unheated garage will be several degrees warmer than outside, roses will wake up earlier. Darkness should compensate for the extra wormths to still keep them dormant.
Very important, at least in my particular case, in my well lit unheated pool house, if roses are not covered, they simply don't want to go into dormancy till mid-late January, while outdoor counterparts are already fully dormant by mid-December.
Nan, even if temperature in your garage always will be equal to the outside temperature, bringing in 'woody' plants always will have a benefit of avoiding windchill and/or sunburn factors. For a young broadleaf evergreens, some boxwoods and certain semi-evergeen plants that could be a matter of death or life.
Adam, covering by plastic is applicable to roses only. See Kay's post.
If your shrubs and tree are not tender and not evergreen, you simply could bury them in their own pots anywhere you wish to except areas that might have a poor drainage in fall/winter or early spring.
Don't forget, all plants that brought in, still would need water. Some more, some less, but you'll be obligated to water them once in a while.

What about with potted lilacs? I have two lilacs (about 1 ft tall each) that I don't want to leave outside during the winter and can't plant. Should I let them go dormant or should I try to keep them going? (I do have shelf space w/ natural light.) Or should I put them in our mostly dark and cool basement? (One hesitation is that it can be moist down there.)

Thanks so much for your advice -- I really hope these lilacs will make it through the winter.

Flwr Zab, for what it's worth, last year I got a lilac cutting at a plant swap, and it was only in a small four-inch pot. The plant itself was about six inches tall. I overwintered it in the garage and it did fine. That's my experience. Again, if you are unsure, you can always plant them in the ground pot and all.

:)
Dee

Flwr Zab, try to get the lilacs to go dormant if you can't plant them; leave them out until there have been some frosts. Depending on how cool the basement is, and on whether or not you have a garage, you should keep them as cool as you can over the winter. Freezing temps should not harm them. The cellar's dampness is a plus, I'd think, but not if the basement is too warm for the plants to maintain dormancy. Can I please bring over my temperennials and put them there, since my basement is too warm for plants? (Just kidding)

Hi Dee...

Thanks for the good explanation of why to use the black plastic and reduce the light to the plants in the garage. Makes sense. Also the timing issue of waiting until the plants are dormant to put them away.

Does anyone ever have a prepared bed waiting for plants that need to get in...lol?

DtD...
I suspect my garage is similar to yours. I have tried overwintering dahlia tubers one year and they didn't make it. I think this year I might just put a thermometer out there and see what it is. Also wait until the garage door is fixed. I guess I will have to get things in the ground and forget about the annuals. I don't have room in the house this year and I didn't have that many annuals this year.

EGO45...oh, just roses covered with black plastic..ok. Thanks, I didn't notice that, I will go back and look at Kay's post. And thanks for the reminder for watering.

Flwr Zab...I left a lilac pot outside last year over a very bad winter and it did fine. It flowered last spring and is in the ground.

My basement is too warm for plants too.

Adam