I haven't tried hostas that way. Do you cover the pots with anything or just leave it? My problem with that method is I would likely forget to water.

I overwinter my cannas in pots in the garage. But I wrap the pots in bubble wrap and cover them with brown paper bags so they don't get any light. I don't water them at all though.

Here in Minnesota I keep my potted hostas in my unheated garage. I don't give them any water during the winter months and they come up just fine in the spring..

I am a lot farther south than Minnesota, (we are just east of Detroit) so my pots don't stay frozen, even on the floor of our attached, unheated garage (it has two west-facing windows). I just go out about every 3-4 weeks and touch the soil to see if they need a bit more water. I know that if they totally dry out that I will lose them,

I would not do that with Cannas though, even if we are almost as far south as Colorado. I don't think they would take the freeze. I did winter some successfully, one winter in the cold room under the front porch, along with the amaryllis lilies.

I like hearing success stories because I'm still struggling with overwintering pots.

".......making sure they do not dry out, but not overwatering. " This is the hard part!

I have killed all kinds of plants finding dried shriveled roots, and also killed them with too much moisture in the cold = rot.

I have four pots of hostas with no sign of life yet. I put some snow on them maybe three times over the winter. I'm going to wait a while longer before digging around in the pots, but I'm not feeling confident. I don't know why I can't get the moisture thing right. I'd really like to try mini hostas in pots again, but.....

I think I killed my nine potted mini roses. Unhappy about that. :-( My Thai Giant Elephant Ear corm is half dried out and half is still firm. ....But I do have 2 out of 3 cannas showing signs of life so not feeling like a total failure.

Hey Sandy and Pop, I'm with you, but I'm still trying. This year I tried just leaving them outside tipped over next to the house in a pile of leaves but not completely buried. The crowns look OK, but no growth yet. I think our warm and cold, wet and then freezing winter may have been tough for them to deal with.

I had only 2 potted hostas this winter - Rainbow's End and Dream Weaver (which was new last summer). RE has double the pips this year, which is fantastic, and is coming right along. DW is showing no sign of life.... Does anyone know if DW is a late riser?

Update: My potted hostas are alive! What a difference a couple of days makes. I can see them all breaking the surface now. I kept them under the deck, shoveled a little snow on them, and it worked!

Those darn roses had me down, but hostas have lifted me up today! I'm feeling optimistic, like I might even try some minis again. Funny how much better things seem when our hostas come through. I hope everyone else will see good results, too.

I overwintered in my unheated shed --- and the voles got in. Totally finished off some of my minis. There are just holes in the pots where I know there was a hosta :( Rather discouraging especially since the minis are harder to find at the garden centers. I have been doing this for years and never encountered the damage that I found this year.

I left two hostas in pots leaned up against the north side of the house foundation under a bunch of leaves. No water. They’re doing fine. Thank God the voles didn’t find them!

I cheat with my potted hostas. I bury them just below the ground in my garden, then after a hard freeze put a foot of leaves on top and then ignore them until mid-April. I just dug out 200 pots this past weekend and I lost three - that were in really sad shape last Fall when I put them in, so no surprise there. They are now in a temporary greenhouse where over the next couple of weeks I can clean pots and repot any that need it. It gives me something to do while I wait for the last frost date to pass.

I don't have too many in pots, but I leave them out on our deck all winter, then in March I bring them inside to the garage where it's warmer and they break dormancy quicker than the outdoor ones, so I get to enjoy some leafing out hostas inside the house when it's still too cold at night to keep them outside. It gives me that little bit of satisfaction seeing them emerge and leaf out every day and that gets me to spring. This week everything went outside for good, and the in-ground hostas are in various stages of pip growth. Rabbits got to some of the pips last night so I will have to do something about that today.

I stumbled on this discussion and thought it might be interesting to those who grow in pots.

bkay

http://www.perennialnursery.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60843

They are all sprouting about a half an inch to an inch above the soil. A
lot earlier than the ones outside, because they warm up sooner.

==>>> two thoughts ...

first.. you should have moved them outside ... say around march first ... when completely dormant ... so they sprouted more in tune to local weather ... in my z5 MI .... we have soil thaw by the third week of march.. or so ... and by that time.. the pots should not be at risk of freezing solid.. and if it rains .... thats ok.. if the pot isnt frozen solid ....

second .... the easiest way to water in winter.. is to use ice cubes ... that makes it very easy to not over water ... all you need.. in terms of water.. is to keep the media damp enough.. that it isnt sucking moisture out of the roots ... the plant itself simply doesnt need water ...

ken