Wintering Plants in Pots


clear plastic packing material kids love to pop. Two layers around all the pots or around individual pots will provide pretty good insulation for the plant's roots.

 Or, you can use a combination of bubble wrap or clear 6 mil plastic with Styrofoam packing peanuts. Just be sure the ones you use are not the biodegradable ones or you'll have no insulation once it rains! First wrap your group of pots and then work the peanuts down between the plants and heap them over the soil in the top of the pots. This method provides even better protection.

 If you can't get your hands on these materials, you can use burlap and leaves. It is more awkward on a hard surface because you can't pound in stakes to hold the burlap, but it can be done - you end up with a very odd looking pile.

icon The best way to do this is pound stakes into the ground about two feet (0.60 m)apart around your group of pots; staple burlap (you can buy this by the roll from A.M. Leonard, if not at your local DIY store) to the stakes to form a cylinder and stuff it with leaves, squashing them down well. The burlap comes about three feet (1m) wide, which will form some protection for taller top growth, too. As mentioned before, if you use leaves, it's a good idea to keep some dry, unfrozen ones handy for topping up as the season wears on. Pile the leaves over the tops of the pots, too.

icon Next time, I'll tell you some more ways to overwinter those pots of plants. See ya' later.

More Information

  • Although this article, Raised Bed Gardening isn't about building a plunge bed, it does have line drawn illustrations on making them with both landscape timbers and concrete blocks - the same concept as using those materials for a plunge bed...plus, there's good information on raised beds.

  • North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's article, Frost/Freeze Protection for Horticultural Crops is geared toward field crops, but it does have one of the best explanations of why freezing occurs and the difference between "frost" and "black frost"... good information for all gardeners in frosty climates.

  • Gardener's Supply's offer for t-posts has an illustration of one way to make a
    The copyright of the article Wintering Plants in Pots in Shade Gardening is owned by Marge Talt. Permission to republish Wintering Plants in Pots in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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