Can you just leave hardy perennials outside in pots over the winter? Will the pot freeze and bust? Also, can I pot some animones bulbs and leave them outside until spring?
overwintering perennials in pots
Baa
Dec 28, 2002
A lot depends on the material the pot is made of, the plants and the situation the pots are sited in.
Terracotta can crack in severe weather, plastic stands cold weather much better except when it's getting old and thin. Stone copes quite well too. If the plants are hardy down to lower temperatures than your winters bring then they are fine to leave in pots. If they are hardy but only just you can wrap the pots up in sacking stuffed with straw, a less environmentally friendly, but easier alternative is to wrap the pots in several layers of bubble wrap (don't wrap the top or bottom of pot in either case.
You can also mulch the top of the pot with straw, bark etc during the worst of the weather. One thing that we find ups the survival rate of all our outwintering containers is to put them on pot feet or bricks to keep the pot as well drained as possible, one of the biggest causes of plant death overwinter isn't the frost, it's wet roots.
We also move the pots if the weather gets really bad to a more sheltered area of the garden and have been known to place a couple of sticks in and cover with a large, clear plastic bin bag to create a temporary cloche.
Anemone bulbs will survive in your zone overwinter and if planted out now will probably flower late spring.
This message was edited Saturday, Dec 28th 1:39 PM
Wow, Baa, thanks a lot. I have 2 terra cotta pots with heucherra's in them that I will put in the basement. I will plant out the anomeones in a plastic one. Thanks again...