I bought these at a local native plant sale in August. They’ve been doing well since then, but we had a big snowstorm a few weeks ago, so some of them went into winter mode. I live in a place that gets sometimes extreme winters, but it varies throughout the winter. We can go weeks or a month without snow and then suddenly get 12 feet of snow in a week. When it’s not snowing, it’s usually pretty warm (50-65°F) and sunny.
I assumed I could just leave these like this on my deck and they’d be fine since they’re natives. But I’ve seen a few things about protecting them with mulch or something.
Are you doing anything to protect your plants this winter, or do you just let them be?
Located in California zone 6a
by olliecakerbake
14 Comments
I saved a bunch of mine by covering them in leaves !
I’m in Canada and we get much harsher weather and most lasted!!
Snow insulates and would actually be preferable if it’s gonna be cold.
I’m in 7b, in TN. We usually have 2-3 cold dips every winter that would kill roots in pots, but no snow that just hangs around. I just mound wood chips around everything I have. Take it from this native plant nursery outside of Chicago: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETGBQtPSObg&t=1806s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETGBQtPSObg&t=1806s)
Get them off the deck and if at all possible, heeled into an existing bed or other soil. Heeling in will help insulate them and conserve moisture.
I put my overwintering pots into a raised bed, about 3-4” deep. Z7 coastal New England.
I put them in a corner between my shed and a fence. Then I pile a bunch of leaves over them. Leaves always pile up in this corner over winter, so I don’t worry about them becoming exposed. I just wait until spring and then uncover them when I’m confident they won’t freeze solid. I have never lost a well-established plant this way.
I place them all together, with larger ones on the outside and smaller ones on the inside. Then I pack leaves around them all. I still have to do it this year.
Insulate insulate insulate. For potted plants and things above ground, they are lacking the insulation provided by the ground. I’d recommend surrounding my mulch, and even year around. Also going forward I would recommend to stop buying plastic containers. They leech chemicals into the soil, and a wood container (scorched/wood burned for longevity) is the way to go. Hardest to acquire, requires more more, but our planet is worth it.
im going to try the garage route. watering every 2-4 weeks tbd.
Plant them in the ground before it freezes up
I bring them into my unheated garage when the night temperatures fall below about 25F. After that, if we have a warm spell I leave them in the garage and open a window to let cool air in. If we have an extended deep freeze (a week of 15F or below isn’t unheard of), I bring the smaller pots into the basement but the bigger plants stay in the garage. Virginia USA zone 7a.
Well it’s not a native but I had this potted dianthus and thought it was dead, didn’t realize it’s perennial so I chucked the root ball into the woods to degrade but this spring I found it in there turning green, upside down on the forest floor so I repotted it and it grew just fine after overwintering upside down in the woods with exposed roots.
Abuse your plants, it builds character.
I like to wait until my husband is in his jammies to freak out and decide we need to bring everything into the basement. Monday night was super fun. 😆 Now it’s back in the 60’s so I’m bringing them all back out. The plan is to plant them or bury the pots in mulch piles before the next cold snap.
If i plant in a pot I make sure its hardy at least 1-2 zones colder than me
I work for a native plant nursery in British Columbia Canada. My boss says the best insulation for a pot is another pot. This is what winterizing thousands of plants looks like.
https://preview.redd.it/eval7gb73x0g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c8d74dfc9b7cabf20bd0b99bab37b7dd1aa579c
Meant to flex the view but just to show those pots all together and the outer layers of pots get mulch.
uh, Great tip on the wood chips! I’ll definitely try that out for some extra insulation this winter. Thanks.