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Rocky Mountain Gardening

overwintering strawberries and grapevine

17 years ago

I have a huge raised bed of strawberries, and have read to put a heavy layer of straw over the top of the plants to winter them over. Is that all there is to it - just layer straw on top? Anything else I should do? Should I wrap black plastic around the raised bed to help hold in heat?

Also have a grape vine in a wine barrel and not sure what to do with it. It's a Valiant grape but I know it wont' make it through the winter?

Any help would be GREAT!

Thank you!

Kerry

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Comments (5)

david52 Zone 6
17 years ago
The biggest problem isn't necessarily the cold, although that might be an issue where you are, but around here the problem seems to be that the plants just dry out. If you can wait until the ground is moist and frozen, then insulate it with straw or grass clippings or something, then it should be ok.
singcharlene
17 years ago
This was my first year growing strawberries also. I have about 25 plants in a patch. Does the straw actually get piled on top of the whole plant or just thickly around it? I don't recall ever seeing straw for sale at the big garden center near me.

Thanks!
Charlene
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Living in the condo presents some 'problems'...do you have balcony? How many pots? I would make sure the soil in pots is very well draining; then keep them close together & if possible, surround with dried leaves. Maybe you can make some kind of bed - no bottom, just to keep pots together & keep the leaves around the pots & as mulch on top (from 2x4, or even fencing panels-doesn't have to be really sturdy). You could use chicken wire to make a cage, it will keep leaves from blowing around. If on balcony, do you get lots of snow in? They still need some moisture as Drew mentioned, so make sure they are not covered up with something like plastic. Good snow cover should actually insulate them. Worst is if you get constant freeze-thaw. As long as there isn't water sitting in the pots, they should be ok to overwinter. Rina This post was edited by rina_ on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 9:35
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I'm in mid-MI in a transition area between 5b-6a, though I'm able to over-winter almost all zone 6 plants in the ground. I have a LOT of plants in terracotta, as you can see in the background of this shot of a pair of Ficus cuttings soon to be going out to a friend These plants are all potential bonsai. I have no problem with breakage unless I leave them on the benches too long and they freeze (outdoors) when the soil is wet. Even though the soil sometimes freezes in the pots while the plants are in the garage, I never seem to have any breakage of the terra cotta there. If you have only a few plants, setting the plants on the floor will help guard against breakage. Most think the floor is colder because cold air sinks, but plants on the floor are able to take advantage of geothermal heat conducting through and radiating from the floor. If the pots are directly on the floor, they will remain quite a bit warmer than pots you isolate from the floor by putting them on something like a table or anything that insulates them from the heat coming from the floor. This is particularly important if you're likely to leave the door(s) open for extended periods during extreme cold. Al
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actionclaw, You mentioned that you "mulched" with leaves. I'm not sure if that means you put leaves on top or if you bury the pots in leaves. I also live in Northern Ohio (south of you). I gather my potted plants into a cluster and bury the pots in leaves (not the plants themselves). My plants include potted blueberry bushes and cherry tress, but not potted strawberries. I've been doing this since 2010. We haven't had an extreme winter during that time, but so far winter hasn't killed anything. In my neighborhood, leaves are still plentiful. And our neighbors are happy to dump their leaves in my pile. However, I have a pile of leaves to get rid of in the spring. You don't have to gather the pots. But the overall quantity of required leaves will be higher if you don't. disclaimer: on another thread, someone lost plants to rodents when they used a similar method.
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david52 Zone 6
17 years ago
I'd put it right on top about 6 inches thick. They often sell bales of straw at farm and feed stores.
singcharlene
17 years ago
Thanks David.

Did you get snow? We got about six inches of snow last night. No time to put straw on the strawberries. That was going to be this weekend's project. There's a thick layer of shredded cedar mulch around the plants but not on top ??

We put in about 40 perennials in the new butterfly/hummingbird garden last week but there are still about three more sitting out there in pots waiting to be put in the ground now covered in snow. We'll see how they fare. That's why I like to buy my plants on sale because only the tough survive in my garden. I only baby the veggies.

It sure is beautiful outside. The sun shining on winter wonderland :)
david52 Zone 6
17 years ago
Where I am, we dodged the snow, but got sleet and rain, the mountains are white, but I don't know how much they got. It was fun, we were on the collision line between the system from the north and the one from the south, so fantastic skies our over Utah to the west, and the San Juans to the east, with huge sheets of precipitation going this way and that, big rainbows, thunder, wind, and so on.

I was busy with the great outside-inside potted plant migration, which I should have done a week ago.

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