Whether a plant in a container would survive the winter depends on :(which one?): How big the pot is or what kind or thickness of pot is? Neither. Actually, these two variables only affect the length of time it takes for soil temperatures to change, and has no effect on how low soil temperatures will actually get; therefore, it has no effect on hardiness. Each species of plant has a general range of cold-hardiness. Within the species, cold-hardiness is genetically determined. That is to say that a plant that is propagated from cuttings or tissue culture will have the same ability to resist cold as the parent plant. Plants cannot "develop" a greater degree of cold-hardiness by repeated or prolonged exposure to cold, even after 100 years (trees). If we pick any plant at random, it may or may not be able to withstand freezing temperatures. The determining factor is the plants ability to prevent freezing of bound water. Bound water is the water inside of cells. There are three kinds of water to consider. The water contained in soil. When this water freezes, and it can freeze the soil mass solid, it doesn't kill the plant. Then there is free or unbound water, also called inter-cellular water. This is water that is found in plant tissues, but is outside of cells. This water can also freeze solid and not kill the plant. The final type of water is bound water or intra-cellular water. If temperatures drop low enough to freeze this water, the cell/tissue/plant dies. This is the freeze damage that kills plants. Fortunately, nature has an antifreeze. Even though temperatures drop well below freezing, all plants don't die. In hardy plants, physiological changes occur as temperatures drop. The plant moves solutes (sugars, salts, starches) into cells and moves water out of cells to inter-cellular spaces in tissues. These solutes act as antifreeze, allowing water in cells to remain liquid to sometimes extremely low temperatures. The above is a description of super-cooling in plants. Some plants take advantage of another process to withstand very low temps called intra-cellular dehydration. A generally accepted guideline to hardiness in containers is add 1 zone (2 to be absolutely safe). In other words, a plant hardy to 5 might only be hardy to 6 in a container. Again, this is a guideline. There are a number of factors that affect the cold-hardiness of individual plants, some of which are length of exposure to seasonal cold, water availability (drought stressed plants are more cold tolerant), how recently planted/repotted, etc . . . Al

thanks for the info and wow. I'm glad I didn't plant them yet. I have a couple fence posts that I can place just inside each end of the garden that will add more height. Thanks again and happy gardening Pam

I didn't disable them, just don't click on them. But I'd sure like to know how to stop the page going crazy when an ad expands from the top and then contracts again. Then I have to wait until it times out. Yesterday it did it to me twice in a row. I can endure it, but it's better to keep the site free. I've got the latest version of Firefox which blocks things but they're always one step ahead to get around blockers. Does anyone actually buy any of the products advertised? I just happen to shop at some of the places they advertise anyway.

I went to the Wissmach glass company ..... they had a warehouse to shop in . ( SOOOOO COOOOOL ! ) They sold mostly whole sheets - so we needed to bring our own crate and pack it ourselves. The best way to transport glass ( whole sheets ) is standing straight up on it's edge - very tightly squeezed together so it rides as one solid piece. WHen I buy smaller sheets - I stack them with a thick paper between each sheet & tightly wrap the bundle with heavy paper. How much do I spend ? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!! Way too much !!! But - once you buy the basic supplies - the biggest expense is over with. The rest is just Goodies ! I could easily spend $200 a month if I let myself go - LOL Take it from me - Don't make it a business . I did ..I cranked out so many glass things - I got myself totally burnt out. (I sold wholesale to gift stores) Now I'm dabbling in mosaics , maybe the change will make me want to get back into it. I know you'll be an addict in no time ................have fun !!