Storage of potted plants during the winter

14 years ago

I bought a new house and will be moving in February. The beds at my current house are overflowing with perennials. I want to take some with me when I move. Since it is still warm, I have dug some up and put them in pots (I am in Westchester county New York). So far I have potted hydrandea (2 different kinds) and Peony. My hostas are too big to pot (they are 30 years old), so I want to split them and wrap them in burlap.

Question: Where should I put these after they are out of the ground until spring. Should I leave them outside (i think they will freeze), or should I put them in my garden shed or my unheated garage, or bury the pots in mulch?

Also, do the Hostas need to be in dirt, or since they are roots, can I take the roots with me and plant them at my new home in the spring- how should I store them until spring?.

I hope I didn't ask too many questions in one post?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

rosalinda_gw
14 years ago
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
tom2112
14 years ago
I think the hostas would come back if you just planted a piece of the root. It's a tough plant to kill.
Related Discussions
Potted Blueberry Plants Always Die During Winter
Q
Comments (30)
I had potted strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I am in zone 7. In late fall I brought them into an unheated but enclosed porch, which seems to remain somewhere between 5-10 degrees above the outside temperatures. I wrapped all pots in bubble wrap and kept them against the house, and watered them lightly once a week on days when temps were above freezing to avoid the roots drying out. Everything looked OK until late winter when we had a deep cold snap and I covered the entire bunch with an old blackout curtain I had available, which served the additional benefit of keeping one of my cats from digging the soil, and kept it that way for probably a month or so until moving them back against the window side of the porch. When I was sure the last night of freezing temps had passed and I put them outside. Everything did well except the blueberry bush, which I'm pretty sure is dead. Looking for some resources, I did see that blueberries need some light, which surprised me since most outside bushes are advised to cover in mulch. I'm not sure but my conclusion is that blueberries do not do well in pots and if I want to try again, need to give them a chance in the ground. Or else i just focus on raspberries and strawberries.
...See More
Need advice for storing potted trees during winter
Q
Comments (12)
I purchased 7 bareroot apples from Stark last summer during their sale. I planted them in pots and never got around to planting them in fall, so I overwintered them. I placed the pots as tight together as I could against the wall of my garage, but outside. Ideally I suppose I should have covered them with leaves and tried to get a tarp over them, but I was unable to do so. The only protection that they got was that I'd shovel snow over top of the pots every time that it snowed here, so they were under a pile of snow for at least 50% of the winter. I'm in zone 5A and they came out of the winter fine, are in the ground now and have broken dormancy and look fantastic. I'm not suggesting that trying to overwinter potted trees in cold areas is ideal, but if you have to do it and can give them any protection, they'll likely be OK. Admittedly, we had a fairly mild winter this year but were still sub-zero quite a few times.
...See More
Container potted Japanese Maple...left outdoors during winter?
Q
Comments (6)
Zone 5 is pretty much the lower hardiness range for Japanese maples. Any container-grown JM will need winter protection in your climate - either indoors under low heat or sunk in the ground. And it really doesn't matter what size container. And 'miniature' JM's is a bit misleading :-) Sure, there are dwarf varieties but even dwarfs grow. And often faster than you would expect. I'd take mature size listings for dwarf JM's you find online with a large grain of salt - they tend to be seriously understated. Both my dwarf 'Mikawa Yatsubusa' and 'Hupp's Dwarf' - not supposed to exceed 4-5 feet - are already close to 4' feet tall and still very young. And are low graft plants as well. I know of one Mikawa planted inground that is around 15' tall!! I've included a pretty good link for "dwarf" JM's - but keep in mind these guys - like all other trees - just keep on growing :-) Here is a link that might be useful: dwarf Japanese maples
...See More
When, and how, to pull potted fig out of winter storage?
Q
Comments (6)
These are very common questions on this forum. In fact this was addressed just a day or so ago. Furthermore, a search through earlier threads will provide an abundance of information on the subject. Still, I'll share my experience on the topic having a couple seasons behind me growing figs in zone 6, and over wintering them in the garage. First off, it sounds like you've done the right thing by keeping them in a cold, dark, garage, through the coldest part of the season. When you take them out depends on your geographic location or growing zone and the resulting warming trends. My garage has windows so they get some light, and I find that mine start to leaf out when the daytime temps start to go up into the mid to upper 50s consistently. Those temps along with the longer daylight prompt them to start. The higher the temps the faster they grow. I usually start shuffling them in and out when the first leaves are fully open and only bring them back in if the overnight temp is forecast to be less than 35 degrees, as they are a hardy variety. When you are able to safely put yours out depends again, on your zone, the variety you grow, and the amount of work you are willing to do to get as much sunlight as possible for a productive season.
...See More
in ny zone5
14 years ago
About outside winter storage of potted hostas see threads in the hosta forum. People there place potted hostas on the side to avoid rain pooling up inside the pot and rotting the plant. They stack the pots like a wood pile in the shade of the house or under a conifer and place a plastic cover over them. This will also prevent repeated thawing and freezing which kills plants.
CT Palm Trees
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Ctpalmtrees.com/winter-plant-storage

Storage of potted plants during the winter

Comments (3)

rosalinda_gw

tom2112

Related Discussions

in ny zone5

CT Palm Trees

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US