Having some of your winter plants in containers instead of the ground can benefit you in several ways. Your plants will be mobile, so you can move them indoors for extra protection, or leave them outside on your porch or backyard for an extra splash of color. It also gives you a simple way to decorate your winter garden.
Containers in Winter: Garden Preparation
In order to use containers in winter, you need to make sure that you choose containers that will be winter-hardy, as well as correctly prepare the containers for winter plants.
- Use concrete, stone, wood, fiberglass, or cast iron containers
- Avoid any clay, terra cotta, or cracked containers; they are liable to crack in winter
- Use a container with drainage holes, or add broken clay pot pieces at the bottom to help with drainage
- Fill the container with well-drained potting soil about 7/8 of the way
- Note that larger containers will provide more insulation for roots
Containers in Winter: Choosing Plants
There are many winter-hardy plants to choose from that will grow well in containers. You can arrange several plants together in one container, or have designated containers for specific plants. Know that since containers are not as good of insulators, it is a good idea to choose plants with USDA zones two zones colder than your own. Try to pot your plants several weeks before the first frost so that they will be well-established.
- sages, flaxes, annual grasses
- pansies, violas, primrose, and hellebores
- flowering cabbages, flowering kale, lettuce, spinach
- smaller shrubs and deciduous hollies
- creeping wirevine and ivy
- dwarf junipers, dwarf spruce
- varieties of yucca
Containers in Winter: Maintaining Your Garden
Since they are smaller, your containers will freeze and thaw harder, and much quicker, than the soil in garden beds. Protect your containers so that the roots of your plants will not suffer.
- Place your container indoors, either inside the house decoratively, or in a storage space
- Place your container in a place outdoors with a warmer microclimate, like against a wall
- Wrap your container in bubble wrap
- Cover the container with leaves or straw, or bury it in your yard (up to the rim of the container)
- Sink the pot into a larger container
Winter is a difficult time for plants, so make sure to continue taking care of the ones inside your garden containers.
- Water your winter containers about once a week, but if it rains frequently, check on it about once a month
- If your soil is freezing, you can stop watering your plant
- If you have evergreens, you can spray them with antidesicant to help them maintain moisture
- It’s not necessary to fertilize your plants during winter; the potting soil should give them enough nutrients to survive
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