Cold hardiness of potted plants left outdoors in winter

Colleen silkie@frontiernet.net
Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:31:44 PDT
Plants in pots do not have the same amount of soil protection as a plant in
the ground.  The roots of a potted plant are often very close to the pot if
not right on it.  The penetration of the cold causes die back of the roots.
I don't keep much in pots because of the extreme temperatures we have, and
generally what I have are plants that I didn't have time to get into the
ground.  I have learned the hard way that the best policy is to sink the pot
into the garden for the added root protection.  If you are talking about a
pot that you cannot do this with, then I would wrap, wrap, wrap it so it is
very well insulated.

Colleen  - 4100 feet, high desert, zone numbers seem to be just for
discussion.

-----Original Message-----
From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]
On Behalf Of Jim McKenney
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 4:56 PM
To: Pacific Bulb Society
Subject: Re: [pbs] Cold hardiness of potted plants left outdoors in winter

J. Denys Bourque wrote: "I suspect that dessication due to wind effect may
be the cause that plants in pots left to overwinter outside die,
particularly if snow cover is lost."

You might be right - we rarely have snow cover here, and desiccation is a
likely cause with potted conifers in pots in the wind swept canyons of the
inner city. But I've had this happen with plants in my own garden which were
in relatively protected sites where wind and desiccation are not likely
causes.  

Jim McKenney 






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