Shallow Winter plants to go in a bird bath

last year

A few years ago I converted my bird baths to planters. I used succulents in one, and portulaca in another.

I put the succulents in the greenhouse, and grow new portulaca from seed. So those bird baths just sit empty from November until April or May!

Any suggestions for a winter annual that would do OK in there?

The soil is about 3" deep with good drainage, and both will be in full sun.

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Comments (6)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
Not annual but Sempervivum comes to mind. For something a little bigger, maybe pansies, Dianthus, or cabbage/kale.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
last modified: last year
With only 3 inches of soil to work with, stick with Sempervivums (hens and chicks), stonecrops or other equally shallowly rooted plants. No way will cabbage or kale survive in only 3" of soil!!
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May I suggest you not turn the compost pile....at this time. Your pile, if it has some fall gatherings.....grass clippings, leaves, dead annuals....etc....is trying to generate some heat in there.....especially from the grass clippings if you have wetted down the pile. Turning it may indeed put some oxygen into the pile but not much anything is happening in there without heat. Over winter the pile is resting....unless there is still latent heat that has been allowed to be generated from what we've added before the low temperatures arrived. I would further suggest you cover your bin/s to prevent snow/rain/snow/ice/rain from inundating your bin and freezing over. The earth there will freeze in its own time but you may have still some latent heat down there for a while. You could leave a corner open for putting in there additional kitchen scraps. And the bird bath; you are advised to remove the bowl from the pedestal and avoid possible ice thawing/freezing/thawing.....leading to cracked bowls. Instead, remove the bowl and place it on a wooden pallett...of sorts....a piece of 2 by 4 will do...as long as the bowl doesn't rest on frozen ground it will survive deep freezes. Wood is a very good non-conductor of heat and cold....so the bowl will never feel the cold, yet will be ready and able to be put back onto the pedestal when spring arrives. You should also ensure the pond does not entirely freeze over.. the fish will then be able to gain some oxygen.
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A standing birdbath on the patio has gotten only limited use for several years. Also far from the house and a pain to keep clean. This year I bought one of those deck-railing birdbaths. It's only steps from the kitchen so easy to keep clean in hot weather, and it's being used for both drinking and baths. The red-headed sparrows that drink from the ant cups unfortunately still use the ant cups as well as the birdbath. Well who wouldn't like to have two sources of water? :) I thought a brick too high so used a small flagstone type stone and a couple of 3-4 inch river rocks in the middle. However, they drink from the edge.
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There are really some beautiful hardy sedums developed these days. If you planted them with the sedum you would have some pretty winter interest decor in the garden. They do not have to be brought in for the winter and many are evergreen. Check these out. My local nursery has started carrying a lot of sedum. I have two cement planters at the end of the driveway I have been using sedum in them. Sedum Angelina is gorgeous in the Fall and winter. http://www.sunsparklersedums.com/2014/12/07/new-for-2015-sunsparkler-xsedoro-blue-elf-ppaf/
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Comments (15)
Portulaca (moss rose) is already blooming, so it's looking pretty awesome today! I have a feeling that this is going to become a crowd favorite :-) I still need to figure out how to handle where it touches the ground. Mondo grass will be too big, I think, and I'd have to split it up all the time to keep it in check so that's a pain. I might cover it with creeping jenny or Anne Marie ivy; something I can cut back every year without having to dig it up.
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Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
last year
I've never had much luck with sempervivum living over the winter :-/ It could be because the last few years have had warm winters with that one sudden 15 degree week? But I'm getting kinda tired of spending $100 every year on new ones.

I thought about pansies, mainly because I can get a 6 pack for like $4 at Lowes right now. But do they live all Winter, or just through the Fall? I'm getting mixed information on that.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
Are you sure you are getting sempervivums? They are winter hardy down to zone 2 so should have no issues surviving winter if drainage is good.

Pansies are a cool weather plant and if planted now should continue to grow and flower (if deadheaded) until things start to heat up in spring. Extreme cold can stop flowering temporarily.
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Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
last year
I mean, they LOOK like sempervivum! LOL But I have no way of knowing whether they're some sort of hybrid or something.

Last year I filled it up with what were labeled as Blacks, Royal Rubies, Cobweb Buttons, and then added a Blue Heron echeveria, Ice Plant, and Lemon Ball. I moved those last three to the greenhouse and left the first 3 in the pot, but they all died.

For drainage, I drilled about 20 holes through the cement (I think the bit is 3/8", but it could be 1/4"), and the soil is a mix of potting soil and perlite (I think I did 60% soil 40% perlite, but I can't swear to that). Everything seemed great through the warm months so I don't think that drainage is an issue?

I didn't buy new sempervivum this year, I just put the Lemon Ball and Ice Plant back in. They all did well, but it's getting close to time for me to put them in the greenhouse.
0
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
What about something permanent like Aubretia or Mossy Saxifrage? Spring flowers and green the rest of the the year.

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Shallow Winter plants to go in a bird bath

Comments (6)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

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Shallow Winter plants to go in a bird bath

Comments (6)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NCOriginal Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NCOriginal Author

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

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Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
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