holding over plants (out of ground) for the winter-zone 5

I am trying to pot up and hold over as many plants as possible, so when we move I will have head start and my gardens gone and sodded for "curb" appeal.
I have heard about placing the pots of daylily on their sides (so no ice build up)..
but what about ferns, Jack in the pulpits, trillium ( assuming I still can find the special ones)
I am potting up the Asiatic and tiger lilies. Many of the peonies are in pots and some of the clematis.
Any suggestions helpful. The backyard area between the garage and privacy fence can cheat the zone a bit-still I am zone 5 at best.
I will try to get a part in the sale about "The Plants are Mine"...but.

Hi Marcia,

When I sold my home in Virginia to move to South Carolina, I made it part of the contract a list of the plants that I could remove or take cuttings from in the Spring. It worked out well for me, since the people who bought my home were not gardeners.

X

Hi Marcia,
This is something that I have a little experience with. Some plants will be fine in pots for the winter, even if they are left out in the cold with little or no protection...but those plants need to be zoned for at least 2 zones below you...so we're talking Zone 3. Do your best to keep them in an area that is protected but where they will still receive sunlight and moisture. What you need to be the most concerned about is the root system freezing.

A better idea is to "heel in" your pots. That's burying, or at least 1/2 burying the pot and then covering with a heavy layer of mulch or leaves for insulation from the cold.

Heeling in may be easier for you to do...then you could simply tell the new home owners that anything that's in a pot is going with you and doesn't come with the house...you could even have them all "planted" in the same area if that's possible, then they would be easier to point out.

We've recently begun discussing moving in the next few years, and I keep wondering how I'm going to move all of my plants....and so often I feel like I don't have that many plants...till I think of moving them!

Good luck, I hope all goes well and that you enjoy your new home and garden!
Heather

I overwinter potted plants every year for a garden club sale. I usually put pots in the soil up to the top in a garden. I have also left them on the ground and covered with a heavy layer of compost. I am zone 5.
At the nursery i have seen pots buried in peatmoss. They do need good water.

Thanks for info. I may have an area to heel in the ones that I had potted before I ran out of energy. I think it will be in the sale paper (whenever that happens) that I will leave the ancient oaks and ash, everything else goes! maybe. I have been digging and sharing with family..and I cannot see any spaces yet.
I think I hoard plants!!!