Hi karen: I'm interested in your: Pennisetum ÂNational Arboretum I have my trade list posted, plus I have the following in small amounts: Hosta Seiboldiana Hollyhock Creme de Cassis dwarf impatiens balsima "Tom Thumb" Morning Glory: Mount Fuji Pink Morning Glory: some japanese MG which blooms a solid hot pink. I think this might be a cross between a "regular" MG. Pls. let me know if you'd like to trade, GGG Here is a link that might be useful: GGG's web exchange page

first issue.. is the pots themselves .... fired or ceramic pots should be ok .... but water expands as it freezes ... and when the ice forms.. it can break them ... so perhaps the easiest thing.. would be to heel them into the garden .. and repot in spring ... as the buds start extending ... compare to the plain old terra cotta clay pots.. they themselves suck in water.. and they will surely crack when freeze hits .. so first.. if you have the wrong pot ... you have to remove the hosta.. and figure out how to store the pot ... DRY!!! now.. move to the hosta ... the roots can NOT survive.. if they freeze into an ice cube ... so as per above ... margo.. they need to dry a bit.. and if a plastic pot.. its as simple as placing them out of ALL WINTER SUN.. so the pot itself does not heat in the sun.. and laying them on their sides ... in late november ... i even had about 500 of them stacked on top of each other against the wall of the polebarn .. once frozen ... on their sides ... out exposed to nature.. in the shade they should be near bullet proof ... next.. they do NOT come in the house for 'storage' NO MATTER WHAT .... finally ... [probably not.. lol] ... any structure is easily.. 2 or 3 zones warmer ... since it traps day heat.. and doesnt get as cold at night ... which means your hosta will start coming out of dormancy a month or 3 early .. which will excite you early on.. until you realize you are not frost free until nearly june .... you have 2 options ... you could bring them in the house at that time for an early 'forced' display .. but the furnace will make the house very dry for them.. and they might be spent by late july [ugly] ... their season will be early.. and over fast ... or when the snow melts.. and they are still in full dormancy.. you could just line them up on the north side of the house.. so at night they stay cold.. and stay in full dormancy.. until the more proper time. ... but if rain is possible.. you would lay them on their sides.. again.. because a pot with frozen media might trap the water.. and a frozen hosta will not like trying to breath with its roots in an ice cube ... there was something else.. but the caffiene rush is addling my brain.. will report back when it comes to me .... this topic has been covered many time.. and by using the search function within GW.. you may find many more posts .... if you care for more ideas .... wintering over pots is not specific to hosta.. so the type of plant discussed does not matter ... oh ... i recall ... if you have just a few.. and you line them up in a structure... come about xmas or so ... put a couple ice cubes.. or a snowball on each ... such will melt when the temps warm.. offering a LITTLE moisture as necessary ... w/o drowning them .... do this once a month or so .. NEVER FORGET.. in the cold white north.. winter is the driest season of the year.. near desert ... in that almost all water is tied up in frozen form.. so though we do not want to 'water' them.. we dont want them getting so dry.. they root rot and die ... think a piece of chicken poorly wrapped in the freezer .. and extend such logic to the roots ... good luck .. believe it or not.. its not that hard ... ken

I just put one in yesterday- and have 2 more to plant in later this week- I am in zone 4. I don't even want to say how many more other perennials I have that need to be planted out.... YIKES! As long as the ground is not frozen- I will still try to plant most hardy perennials. I do however risk blowing out a hose from ice in the line because I know from experience that I must keep them well watered till the ground freezes. I have found with these later plantings to dig a bigger hole and mix my dirt with the pots dirt and fan out the roots to avoid heave. When I dig a hole just big enough to slide the plant out of the pot and put it in the ground, the difference between the plants dirt and my dirt promote heave, as does the shape of the undisturbed potted plant. I also have found that when I mulch heavily- if I do not expose/uncover to a normal depth in the EARLY spring, the pips may not thaw and grow normally- and I risk "Winter Rot". Leaving a heavy mulch over my hosta in the spring is the same as burying the crown too deep in my experience. Now that said- I have forgotten to plant some hosta divisions in the fall- and have left them laying on some dirt- in a BIG well draining pot all winter- only to find then in June happily doing just what they do- growing up to be lovely! I bet if you just banged them out of their pots and left them near the drive way..... Well, you know the rest.... Happy planting! Julie

Ester, real feel of 14 is pretty bad....... if you have something to cover them with, easily so you don’t hurt your back, I think I would cover them. Did you see the article in the most recent Hosta Society Newsletter? It’s almost all about what to do in freezes. Many planters shared their methods and results. Andrea DeMink in Indianapolis used and reported on a number of materials. Her first recommendation is cardboard boxes (best) along with gift bags and paper bags. Then plastic nursery pots and buckets as long as they don‘t touch the Sides, then plastic storage containers large enough to cover the plant. Then sheets and blankets as long as they stay dry. I took all of this information from the Newsletter and it is not my intention to plagiarize but share. For myself, I actually used almost all last year when the frost came. Whatever I had, I used. I even had a large amount of burlap and light blanket batting. When I ran of of those options, I mounded hay around the backyard hostas where there is less wind. Most survived with little damage. debra