Question about winter protection........

I recently saw some kind of insulation cover that you can put over your potted outdoor plants during the winter which is supposed to keep them 15-20 degrees warmer, if I remember correctly-hence, eliminating the need to sink the pots into the ground during the big chill. It was almost like a clear, lightweight, breathable insulated tarp-style thing but I cannot remember which website I saw them on, nor if they work. Has anyone tried these and/or do you have any idea where I can get them online? Thanks-Brit

Hi, I have seen the fleece covers for containers - you can get them online from www.thompsonmorgan.com or go to a large garden centre near where you live. I have found most garden centres in the United Kingdom have them - they certainly do near where I live, which is in Norfolk, nine miles North of Norwich. The best ones that I have found are Wyvale. This will be my first winter too, so I will be interested to know how your plants get on. I may bring all my non-hardy plants that are in containers indoors instead. However, someone (I forget who) told me that ALL plants in containers are non-hardy.

Best wishes
Lorraine

I'm not positive I'm thinking of the same thing, but I've gotten things like that from Charley's Greenhouse, they have big sheets of the stuff that you can buy, or they sell ones that are designed just to go over one plant. As far as hardiness in containers--basically being in a container subtracts about a zone off the hardiness, so if you're in zone 6 you shouldn't leave plants outside in containers unless they're hardy to at least zone 5. The plant protector will help protect the leaves from frost damage, but in colder zones it's usually the soil temp in the container getting colder than it would in your garden that's responsible for knocking a zone off the hardiness and a thin lightweight sheet like this won't do much to insulate the pot, so personally I don't think it would be a good substitute for sinking pots in the ground.

Here are examples of the things I'm talking about on Charley's website just to make sure we're talking about the same thing
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=1724&cid1=174&cid2=271&cid3=-99

Thanks to both of you. I really don't want to sink all 6 pots (whine, whine)...I bought tree peonies hardy to zone 4 ( I am a 5b)...on the website they said they do wonderful in pots for many years so I thought it would be a great idea for my back deck. I was also afraid that because Tree Peoniess cannot be waterlogged or they will die, that if I sunk them for the winter they would drown in the pot. Any suggestions about assuring good pot drainage before I sink?

I have heard that you should set the pots at an angle when you sink them so any water that might want to collect on the top will run out. I've never tried it but seems logical....

ecrane- that website is awesome. I got completely sidetracked and forgot what I was originally looking for! I think I might be investing in a greenhouse soon.....That may solve a lot of my problems! :)

If they're hardy to zone 4 and you're in zone 5 then you should be OK--the rule of thumb is you lose about a zone of hardiness when it's in a pot, but since they're hardy one zone below you they should be OK.

Brit thank you for starting this thread, I have several perennials in pots that I can’t get into the ground due to illness and I was hoping that they would make it in their containers. Ecrane thanks for your answer, all of my plants are hardy to zone 4 or 5 so they should be okay here in zone 6B. That’s great news for me.

I just revisited the site where I got my tree peonies and it says hardy to zone 3. I thought it was 4 so that is good news for me also! Hurrah!

Ah! Just the conversation I was looking for. I have two large bushes and a very small redbud tree that I got for free about two weeks ago from my local community association. (Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten plants so late in the year.) The redbud is only a baby, a few thin branches in a 12" plastic pot. I was actually thinking of just bringing it inside for the winter and planting it in the spring. Would that be ok for it, or might it do better if I sank it? Actually, I'd never heard of sinking plants before this thread, although I've been gardening for many years. As I said, I've never gotten plants this late before. I don't know what the bushes are, only that they are hardy in Buffalo, NY. They are in big 24" plastic pots, very healthy, lots of foliage. Again, not knowing about sinking, I was going to put them in a protected corner of my garden. Should that be enough, or should I really consider sinking? In which case I'll go find out exactly what that is.

If you're thinking of not sinking them in the ground I'd definitely find out what they are first and make sure they're hardy at least a zone lower than you are. Being in a container (above ground) knocks about a zone off the hardiness. Sinking them in the ground definitely won't hurt though even if they are hardy a zone lower than you are, it gives you some extra insurance.

Wondering if this might work....Straw bales come apart in "books about 5" thick. Could a pot be surrounded by these "books" and tied with twine (or wrapped with netting of some sort) to protect the soil from the cold, with loose straw placed on top of the pot around the stems/trunks? Another issue with pots with soil is that the pots could crack with the freezing soil.

That would be better than doing nothing to protect the pots, but I don't think it'll give you the same insulation benefit as sinking the pot in the ground.

I have learned that the two bushes are pussy willows. I'll sink them where I'll plant them next year. If I have to dig holes anyhow, I might as well dig them now. Then there'll be less to dig later. Thanks for the advice.

I did read recently that straw around the pots helps very well. Since my zone is 5b and my potted tree peonies are a 3-8, then I think it will be ok. Plus, we get a lot of insulating snow here in NY.

Liag, just out of couriosity, if you're going to dig a hole where you're planning on planting them anyway, why not just plant them in the ground?