An interesting video. I suspect that we need to be a little bit careful about the idea of "insulation". If one is at a steady -10C or less for weeks and the ground is frozen solid, none of these techniques offer "insulation" as there is no heat being trapped. The "penguin" analogy is a bit misleading as penguins are generating heat themselves - unlike plants. Fleece and other cover fabrics offer zero insulation if the ground is frozen. What it can offer is protection from wind, but there is no heat differential. A cold frame or plastic unheated greenhouse would offer zero heat differential either at cold temps. They can be useful in spring or autumn or when you do have significant daily temp swings night to day. I think fleece, for example, is oversold as an "insulation". Also - snow is often touted as an "insulator" but I read that this trapped air protection only kicks in if the snow is 30cm+ deep. So again, this might be a bit of a myth around lighter snow fall.
Depends on what you bare growing/trying to overwinter. Many plants survive long periods of extreme cold with some or all of their roots making it through winter in solidly frozen ground. Freeze can kill lots of plants, but lots of others are able to withstand it.
Thanks. If insulation meant something related to only internally generated heat, you'd be right. It doesn't. Insulation is something that slows the transfer of heat regardless of the source. The walls of your house would have the exact same R value if you turned off the thermostat. Granted, once the house reaches the same temperature as the environment (if there's no thermal gain from sun through the windows) the flow of energy would cease, but the insulation remains insulation. I'm not sure how it could qualify as a myth if it's quite literally true. Even as regards snowfall, it's true that a thicker layer of trapped air will insulate better than a thinner layer (just as a thinner jacket or thicker batt of insulation will offer lower R value than thicker) but it's all insulative. The real question is "does buffering the temperature changes by such small amounts of insulation make any difference to the outcome for plants?" After all, the goal is to maintain the conditions of the plants with the minimum of extra inputs. Of course there's a lot of "it depends" built in, but yes, I can say with zero doubt that crops I've managed have exhibited more damage around the edges of the crop than in the center when grouped together. I can also say that when we trialed side-by-side crops covered or not (usually not on purpose, but because something was missed or blew off) the crops with fleece applied came through in better condition. Just to address your point on the penguin analogy: obviously, I throw it in there as shorthand for viewers to see that there's insulative value in grouping tightly together. No, plants aren't endothermic in the way we're talking about, so any heat we're trapping is only from the thermal mass in their tissues, pots and anything being transferred from the ground. But we're not trying to keep plants at room temperature or (human) body temperature. We're trying to maintain a more stable temperature in the range they're built to tolerate - ie, more like what they'd experience if well-established in the garden just a few inches below! If these small measures are enough to keep them from dramatic swings in temperature while also cutting down on damaging wind, then something like fleece has done its job perfectly well as an insulation. One final point of discussion (and I did feel a little constrained for time when producing this video - wanting to target a 10 minute discussion that can be recommended to a wider audience): You're right that after a solid week of -15C temps with no appreciable sun, the temperature inside the greenhouse and "under the blanket" will have little if any differential to the top inches of soil in the outdoor landscape. For that scenario, you just have to live with the fact that you offered as best protection as you could, and rely on the natural hardiness of the plants. However, in my climate, a completely blacked out deep cold like that is uncommon. Usually, we're dealing with some level of solar gain during the day. In a greenhouse & under the blanket (which does indeed trap more heat, one of the reasons remay can be useful for pushing early spring crops) I can often measure a 10 to 15 gain at the level of the crops. That means they're getting up to nearly freezing temps - not enough to thaw them out, but a buffer nonetheless. A long while back I read a book by Eliot Coleman "The Winter Harvest Handbook" where he used exactly this setup (polytunnel with crop fabric) to keep his veggie crops alive and productive over winter. Turns out those in-ground beds with the double layer is a great way to trap heat and beat the winter (in Maine, I think, so not a super mild climate)
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm 💯% on the insulation factor. Irregardless of the temperature rise or fall the insulation factor will help control the effect in a less dramatic way. When a severe sharp freeze is expected that insulation will help regulate the temperature drop within the insulated zone no matter how severe that drop is, the same applies to heat waves, the insulation will absolutely buffer the temperature rise and allow the plants to adjust more slowly as well as allow you a bit of time to provide additional protection if needed. Sustained temperatures will determine the hardiness of the plants, if they survive they are appropriate for the conditions, if not then not. All of the measures are preventative and effective within their range of reason. If a person is trying to guarantee survival of all their plants then they need to build the appropriate structures to do so.
Thank you for your detailed reply. "Some thoughts... "Even as regards snowfall... it's all insulative." But surely there is trade off to snow for plants that won't like ice all around them? " Insulation is something that slows the transfer of heat regardless of the source." So fleece is potentially insulative, but not if there is no heat difference inside it and outside it. " I can say with zero doubt that crops I've managed.... " But that isn't necessarily to do with heat. And you are in quite mild conditions. I would guess that most of the time there is a big winter day and night temp differential where you are, so there is daytime heat gain to hang on to. "Turns out those in-ground beds with the double layer of fabric is a great way to trap heat and beat the winter in Maine". What heat would it be trapping at minus 20C for example? ---- All very appreciated, Jason. It's easy enough to measure air temp under fleece and over fleece, as Dowding has videos on (UK). He concludes outdoor fleece is most useful for reducing wind damage. I am genuinely interested in this questions. Many thanks @@FraserValleyRoseFarm
Thanks @FireflyOnTheMoon. I'm trying to sync up with your thinking to see where your concerns are and which hairs we're splitting. Do nudge me the right direction here. When you say "surely there's a trade-off... plants won't like the ice all around them" I suspect you're not projecting a human idea of comfort when touching ice, but rather a plant's ability to withstand a certain temperature. We're talking about hardy perennials and shrubs here, which by definition will survive periods of below freezing temperatures. Between the option of being exposed to snow, ice or trapped air at just below freezing temperatures or being directly exposed to much lower temperatures, they'll be better off with the snow and ice around them. Yes, it also protects against the desiccating effects of cold wind, which I'll never underestimate, but I'm not sure the two issues are cleanly separable. On the issue of "potential insulative" vs. actual insulation, I'm not with you at all. Insulation is insulation, and your qualifier is meaningless. If it slows the transfer of energy (and there's just about always some sort of differential and transfer happening in nature) then it's insulation. That's just physics. We could quibble over R value, and yes, there's a difference between the light crop cover fabric that can make a difference in my climate, and the 2ft of leaves that another viewer commented they use in zone 5, but then that gets down to the practical question of which level of insulation is helpful in which climate - not redefining the science behind it. When I say that there's a observed difference between the edge of a crop and the more insulated plants in the center, and also an observed difference between covered an uncovered crops, to what else but insulative protection do you attribute the differences? BTW, I won't be an outlier in observing the extra damage to the edges of crops. It's something I've seen well documented. That I'm in relatively milder conditions makes not a lot of difference to the mechanism of injury. It got colder, quicker and the temperatures fluctuated more on the edges of the crop. Yes, my area sees more temperature fluctuation than some others, but each climate will have its own challenges. Someone in a more consistently cold climate will use a different level of protection successfully, as you'll be able to note in the viewer comments section. But the principles remain the same. An otherwise hardy plant is more vulnerable in a pot than it would be in the ground. Digging the plant into the ground can get closer to evening up the score. Why? Because the crown and the roots in the pot won't be subject to repeated fast swings to deep cold temperatures. Plants in the ground may get close to the same temperatures over an extended cold period, but they're build handle it. My goal, as it would be in any climate, is to offer just so much protection as it takes to dampen that effect and reduce that extra vulnerability. In the Eliot Coleman example I used, the temperature fluctuation he's trapping is solar. The earth acts as a heat sink inside the greenhouse and under the crop cover. It can be -20C outside and -1 or -2C in the in-ground beds under the blankets. That's a significant difference. Those two layers of insulation hold the temperature steadier, longer between sunny periods. This isn't too different than what happens on the floor of my greenhouse on a sunny day, where I can find plants starting to thaw when it hits 10C inside the greenhouse at -5C outside. I actually open doors and vents when this happens because I don't want the rapid fluctuations. If you're postulating a simplified scenario where there's long stretches of -20C temps and no solar gain, yes, that would be super challenging to protect against. I guess I'd be specializing in plants native to Siberia!
I am in zone 4. I do the huddle and cover method. Cutting back foliage and when pots freeze cover with a tarp and then a foot of leaves. Have 98% success. In spring just peal off tarp and leaves when weather starts to warm. Have done it this way for years.
Jason, the extra soil method is definitely worth the effort because it prevents much of the wind from cutting through, but air movement is still able to move between the pots.
@FraserValleyRoseFarm The comment section was not available, so I will post my question here. I have terrible time getting potted mums to overwinter. I'm zone 4. I usually mulch around the base with 2-3 inches of leaves but don't cover over the top. I've tried several places in the garden but they never come back.
Thanks Tess. It's tough in a place like zone 4, as most commercially available mums are estimated hardy to higher zones. I say estimated because with newer breeding, hardiness is never the focus and I doubt they test for it with any regularity.
Jason, I too am adding my "Thanks" for the information you share in your videos. They"ve helped me a lot. In this video you talked about many different ways to Winter protect our plants. My yearly struggle is with my container grown strawberries (now growing inside a milk crate in a fabric grow bag and growing on the top and one side, through an enlarge hole in the crate). Last Fall my husband created a trench in his veggie garden and we put the back of the crate's flush up against the solid edge of the trench and we huddled the crates together and then covered the top and growing side with the shredded leaves we collected in our yard. The top plants survived but the side growing plants rotted. A few years ago I grew the plants in a tall laundry basket (it was beautiful and prolific). To over Winter that basket we put the basket inside a cardboard box inside our unheated garage and I put a couple shovel fulls of snow each month over the top. Again the tops survived but not the sides. Growing in the ground is not a solution as our ground can freeze and the rain/melting snow creates deep puddles. Any suggestions on how best to over Winter the crates will be appreciated. I'm in z6 ,CT TIA
That's really a tough one, as you've tried some variations on mounding around the sides already - and they still took a beating on the sides. I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway. The question I think you need ask about the strawberries on the side of the crate: "did they take more cold than they could handle, die, and then rot *or* did they take more moisture than they could handle, and rot independent of the cold". Depending on the thickness and the moisture level of the mulch, I could imagine either scenario being true. If you think it could have been the moisture, the trick would be to tweak down the amount and moisture level of the mulch along the sides to better match the access to air circulation on the top.
Thanks Jason for answering. I think in the case of the cardboard box the plants suffocated and what little moisture trickled down from the top kept the tops alive but not enough moisture combined with the lack of air circulating killed the front plants especially as we got lower on the laundry basket. Last year our weather was weird. I lost my 3 year-old Chicago Peace Rose; my newly planted Jurassic Gold Wood Fern, Dryopteris wallichiana, a 4 year old tri-colored, (3 separate budleia) planted together, an Echinacea 'Mellow Yellow' and a few others. We had minimal snow fall and no snow cover to insulate from the cold that we did receive. I did layer mulched leaves over the beds on top of the wood chip mulch I had spread earlier in the year but it wasn't the same. I have bags of leaf mold I made this past year and will add that as a protective layer to the beds once they go dormant. Once the strawberry plants go dormant (they still are flowering) I will move the crates off the shelf my husband made for me and and put them closer to the ground, not on the ground directly as again the water puddles and freezes (my garlic pot had a 4" thick ice block across the top before I realized the ground underneath had frozen along with the pot .. no garlic again last year) and top them with straw and closer to the house. I might make a burlap wind break but leave enough room for them to breath and get moisture. Thank you again for your videos they are a great help.
Thanks so much Jason. Slowly starting to button up the garden and have several pots with tender perennials. You’ve answered a lot of my questions as always. You have helped me be a more confident gardener.
Jason, thank you for addressing this topic. Perfect timing. As you said, all 5 methods of overwintering plants in containers have pros and cons. In zone 6 I store containers (mostly 1 gallon and some 4" containers) in my unheated garage. The containers do freeze, but they don't have to contend with drying winter winds, deer, etc. The unheated garage keeps them slightly warmer than keeping them outdoors. Occasionally I bring some snow into the garage and place a light layer of snow on the containers. This offers a bit of insulation for roots as well as the melting snow watering the containers should temperatures approach freezing. Thanks again Jason for discussing this subject.
Hey Jason, We have a hoop house,open on both ends. Zone 7 b ,so not as cold for long periods of time. Just need to remember to water a couple times during winter. Some plants get left outside as not enough room. Like forsythia, crype myrtles,ect,they can handle the cold. And were still planting, putting a layer of mulch around all our plants,and preparing areas for next spring. Always something to do. Like your thought process on what to consider for winter prepping. Have a good week.
Thanks Dean. We're definitely not too different in our climates & the way we manage the greenhouses for winter. Wide open on the ends as much as I can (except in heavy wind) and walk for water every week or two.
I really appreciated this video. Everywhere I look I see plants still in pots. I've used all these protection methods in some way or another, The most valued or most vulnerable plants get the most protection. Here in NC we have an abundance of pine straw. It's amazing how many needles a single tree can produce. I don't like it as mulch, but I save it as a winter cover. An advantage is it doesn't crush the plants.
lm in 7 B , l huddle and mulch around the outside with leaves and pine tags , it saved me from digging holes , as we rent and eventually l want to take them with me , also move closer to the house , and on the full sun side . l did lose a few during some very cold snaps ,5- 10 F nights . been growing for 45 years , still learning . thank you for the additional tips
Fantastic video, great advice provided in a clear easy to follow guide. My first true winter coming up where I have a number of plants to overwinter, your knowledge will hopefully see me through successfully! Thank you very much!!
Hi Jason. Thank you for the thorough explanation of each. I'm in zone 5b New Hampshire. I dig and huddle my plants in the ground. That method worked very well for me last year with very little loss. My pots are small (typically 4 inches) so the small plants need a lot of protection.
Hi Jason, always find your videos informative. I am in zone 5B, in northwest Illinois. I have several pots like had in your video & I think I have a game plan for those. I also have several flats and 4 inch pots where I have hostas that I split and cuttings that I took this past season. For those, I was thinking of keeping in my outdoor shed which does have windows. Thoughts on that method as the pots are much smaller than say a trade gallon pot . Thank you for your time, Eric.
Thanks. I'm not in zone 5, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. It'd be a toss-up for me between the shed and a modified "dig in" method, with the flats pressed into good contact with soil in a sheltered location and soil mounded up over the edges. Since it's hostas maybe I'd pick the shed (they're pretty resilient if kept fairly dry).
Hi Jason, thank you for a very informative video. Looks like shelter is not a bad solution for my mature (-ish) young roses and lavender. However, I am still a bit unsure about less mature plants. I happened to take rose cuttings in the end of July. I understand that it is rather late in the season, but this is how it happened. So now I have a bunch of very young roses, some of them with just a few white roots and almost no new growth. One alternative that I considered was to take them in the house to a small room with a big east-facing window and no heating. Just for the sake of clarity, I have almost the same climate as you do living in the west coast of Norway.
Thanks. That sounds like a pretty good solution. Good light, low but controlled temperatures, and a good place for you to keep an eye on their watering needs, etc.
Most plants have no problem overwintering in my area, since they are from the area. But the ones that do die or get damaged, are because of too much rain and snow (and then rot away), not the cold. So I just need to cover those plants/give them some shelter from the rain and snow. We have 3 tables outside and I put them under those tables (this way they still get some sunlight and wind).
Thanks - great points. This video was more focused on cold protection, but it's definitely not just the cold (or even primarily!) that can damage plants over winter. Thanks for sharing your results!
I have dug in pots as well as grouped them on the ground and surrounded with mulch. Typically the pots are one gallon or larger. I've done this two years in a row and so far no loss. I will water a couple of times until a hard freeze then leave them alone all winter. Am in zone 5B.
we put our leafless fuchsia plants into our old unused underground septic tank between roughly mid november and beginning of april, no light, no watering, no nothing. works like a charm! they come out with brittle palish-white fresh growth, some mouldy, and dripping wet and start growing immdiately. we lose about two or three out of 60-70 plants every winter.
I live in zone 9B in Arizona there will be a few nights then it gets down to 28 degrees I just watered the soil in my pots I don't water the leaves seldom does it ever get colder than 28 but if it does then I will cover them with a cover cloth. Fruit and citrus trees that are in the ground I flood them if it's going to be a few nights of freezing weather I use a smudge pot some call them patio and this works for me
I’m in Edmonton zone 3. If I’m keeping my newly rooted rose in pots protected by side of house , do you water it still? Up to when to do you water? Til it gets dormant ? Also If you keep them in unheated garage. Do you water them still? Do roses need to be dormant? I’m also keeping some inside the house as im afraid those outside will not make it to spring, Thank you Jason
No, most roses don't require dormancy, so if you can manage them indoors that's totally fine. As mentioned in the video, watering is tricky. Plants are more vulnerable to rot if they're kept soaking over winter, so I tend to manage them a little on the dry side. That said, if they get hit by a deep cold with too little moisture in the pot or tissues, they'll take worse cold damage. So it's a balance. Yes, I'd still check the roses in an unheated garage for water every week or two, and top up of the soi becomes too dry.
Thanks all - very helpful. I have 25 or so 1st winter wild rose bushes in pots started from seed and I think I will move from our green house to the garage which has just enough heat on to keep above freezing. We go away for winter so will have someone check to add minimal moisture if needed.
I don't have many plants, so I can bring the few in my house. However, I have a potted plant combo of red mum and fountain grass. My mums are dry, and I water the pot. I'm so disappointed. I live in El Paso TX, zone 7?
I'm in zone 11 with 4C temperatures, What do I do?😂 We talked about this last year around this time when I moved up to this elevation. The huddling worked fantastic, the only plants I lost were cacao (chocolate) and papaya trees because the temperatures just get too cold for outdoor survival. I have about a 20% chance of getting the second half of my roof up, which I decided to build as an entry solarium type of space for sheltering the plants until I can actually break out the lava rock basins and fill them with soil (about a 3 year project for 300 trees). The biggest issue is that the temperatures are too warm for full dormancy and still cold enough to cause most of the plants to enter different stages. Fortunately the rainfall takes care of most of the watering needs with only occasional help from me. I have been modifying the soil with a heavier sand mix to retain more moisture during the dry and windy seasons, but also allow the heavy rains to drain through more efficiently. I tried a few pots with potting soil and perlite, but they were just to inconsistent, besides the sand is much cheaper. I will just use the peat/perlite mix for cuttings where it belongs.😉 The biggest challenge is the daytime temperatures rising to 16-20C and then sliding to 4C by sunrise the next morning. Those poor plants just don't know what in the world is going on. Once the solarium entry is done either this year or next, I will be keeping the tropical specific plants in there year round in pots and the rest will all eventually be outside in the ground. The roses are so much happier up here. Thrips only seem to be a problem for about 45 days during the dry time, once the misty air returns they seem to disappear, of course leaving their mark on the leaves and slight bit of stalk damage. I decided not to address them for now to see how the wasps, bees, and other predators would respond and I will probably continue with that program as well as multiplying the food sources for them year round. I did find a clump of bamboo orchid hiding in the shrubs and already started slowly dividing which will be a great source of food for the beneficials as well as color in this rough landscape. The greenhouse idea was eliminated when the 100+ mile an hour winds started blowing this spring.😬 Overwintering is definitely a region specific situation. Just because someone is in a particular zone rating does not mean that you can use general rules described for that zone. You must know your specific climate and adapt accordingly. Excellent video Jason!👌 These seasonal reminders are the perfect thing even if they seem a bit redundant because you can do the quick version each year and refer to the more in depth version in the description and link.🤙
Thanks - that'd be a beautiful temperature range for my plants, but I'm not trying to keep any tropicals alive outdoors! I didn't realize about your winds - I suppose you have to keep that in mind for all your building now.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm I was not expecting that high of winds, but tropical storms will do that sometimes. Yes, the overall climate is actually quite good for most plants in general with the exception of tropicals, so other than wind barriers until the trees get big enough for natural shelter, watering and soil are the main challenges. The aphids are a bit of inconvenience, but I think as the ecosystem as a whole gets established they too will diminish. The mangoes and avocados are struggling a bit, but I think they just need the deeper soil for a more consistent root climate and they will be fine. All the fun.😁🤙
When I was young my Uncle had a potato (and other things) farm. When the frost alarm went off, everyone would run around turning sprinklers on. I was too young to understand but that was obviously the going theory at the time. Also, I hate penguins. I've only ever met one in the wild and he was a jerk.
Covering with water is about the last thing I would have ever thought. I would have thought that freezing would expand the cells of the plant and they'd turn to mush when they thawed out. It can be sustained cold here to -20°~ -30°C and even a little colder, so I don't think that will work here. Really interesting and informative Jason, thank you!
They do spray citrus with water if a bad freeze is happening. The ice on fruit/leaves, etc is actually an insulation from below freezing temps. My understanding is that this can help minimize the loss of crops .... at least that's what I had heard was done. Seems counter intuitive to a degree....😋
Thank you for sharing the tips. I'm in coastal WA and it works for me that huddling my potted roses in the covered porch and water them once a month. Because of our long raining winter, I wonder if the potted plants get rot easier when I leave them outside uncovered. And I'm curious what's the pink rose behind you while you're introducing your technique #5 (around 8:28). Is that Pomponella?
6b/7a... I huddle and pile chopped leaves on top and around the huddle of pots. And try to put the hardiest plants around the outside of the huddle. Winter here is variable and often rather wet. the chopped leaves on top of the pots is to help insulate from fluctuating temps and shedding some water from the post as well. Worked fairly well so far though there is some loss in years with either lots of rain or prolonged deep cold periods. I rather like cleaning up the pots in late winter/early spring and assessing the results. One other thing that seems to make a big difference for me is having well draining media in the pots. Moist, but not wet so it cannot turn into a solid block of ice... here we go into the cold season?
Thanks Eric. It's good that you point out the drainage of the potting soil. It's that age-old contradiction of gardening books: "moist but well-drained soil"
Hi Jason 👋 I live in zone 9b Texas Gulf Coast, and have many tropicals both in ground and potted. I wondered about wrapping pots with bubble wrap and burlap to protect the roots from freezing? And if so, can it just stay wrapped all winter? It is hard to tell when it will get below freezing here, and with the wind cloth we added to the chain link fence on the north side, would it be best to throw frost cloth over the foliage? This has been our 1st year in this home. Last year we had everything in pots (from the move) and put huddled on South side covered with a tarp raised over benches.
Hi Jennifer. Every growing situation is going to be so individual. The best I can do is to offer the general principles & strategies, but I'm in a poor position to make any decisions or recommendations on plants & a climate that you know far better than me. Wrapping the pots will certainly offer some level of protection, and I see no harm at all in leaving them wrapped all winter. This would be similar (though maybe less effective) to digging a plant into the ground. A frost cloth or remay can definitely help when faced with a short freeze, and if there's a way you can install it to be easily opened or closed (so as to not trap a lot of moisture or heat during milder stretches) that could be a way to go.
It depends on the hardiness of the rose, size of the container and your climate. In a large enough pot, I leave my potted hardy climbers outside for most of the winter and only bring them in when I expect a deep cold (below -5C/23F for an extended period). In a colder climate, smaller container or less hardy rose I'd probably be more cautious.
Purchased 10 mixed evergreens here in East Ayrshire. I have them grouped together under house eaves in a South facing position with wall protection from winds both East and West. Would this be sufficient as over winter protection, or, do have an unheated, bright and South facing Summer house which evergreens could be moved into. Please, what would you recommend?
Great information. Thank you! What about newly propogated hydrangea cuttings that are propbably still too young to spend the winter outside? They have all formed roots and been potted up into individual pots now. I currenty have them in a mudroom under florescent lights,that will stay around 60F all winter, but they are getting powdery mildew already, and have attracted a lot of little flies, so I'm not sure they with thrive there all winter. Niagara Region, Ontario Zone 6b
Thanks. You're running up against the reason why heated space is a my least favored option. It may be the best option for lightly rooted plants, but yes, lighting, air circulation, nutrition & pests all become more difficult to manage. A through spray-down with insecticidal soap can be helpful to knock down pests, and to a less degree the mildew. The flies could also be fungus gnats, which I have a video on: ua-cam.com/video/XVh4RmKmscs/v-deo.html Indoor growing is no joke!
I was just there this weekend for the first time. I fell in love with that area and will be back. I wondered what your zone was. I went to the botanical garden but the rain had started & couldn't walk around. I am directly east of you on the coast in the states.
Jason, I notice that all your pots are plastic. Does it make any difference if the pots are clay? I potted all my cuttings, including the ones from you in clay pots. Also, I go away for the whole winter, so my cuttings are going to have to manage without any intervention from me - by the sound of it in that situation, digging them in seems like the safest option. Do you agree?
Do you cut back and defoliate all your roses for winter? If so when do you do this?I live in 5b so we will be getting our first frost soon and I am wondering if I should do it now or wait.
Thanks. Yes, we do. I'll target a cut-back and defoliate a little bit *after* the first few heavy frosts if I can. The plants are fine coming through temps a little below freezing, and it helps to encourage dormancy and leaf drop. Later is better if you can manage it. The last thing I want is to trim them too early and then have the plants respond to an unseasonably warm week or two with fresh vulnerable shoots.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm that helps me so much! I’m a newbie rose lover and I’m trying to ensure the best outcome for over wintering and having them come back healthy. Thank you so much!
An interesting video. I suspect that we need to be a little bit careful about the idea of "insulation". If one is at a steady -10C or less for weeks and the ground is frozen solid, none of these techniques offer "insulation" as there is no heat being trapped. The "penguin" analogy is a bit misleading as penguins are generating heat themselves - unlike plants. Fleece and other cover fabrics offer zero insulation if the ground is frozen. What it can offer is protection from wind, but there is no heat differential. A cold frame or plastic unheated greenhouse would offer zero heat differential either at cold temps. They can be useful in spring or autumn or when you do have significant daily temp swings night to day. I think fleece, for example, is oversold as an "insulation". Also - snow is often touted as an "insulator" but I read that this trapped air protection only kicks in if the snow is 30cm+ deep. So again, this might be a bit of a myth around lighter snow fall.
Depends on what you bare growing/trying to overwinter.
Many plants survive long periods of extreme cold with some or all of their roots making it through winter in solidly frozen ground.
Freeze can kill lots of plants, but lots of others are able to withstand it.
Thanks. If insulation meant something related to only internally generated heat, you'd be right. It doesn't. Insulation is something that slows the transfer of heat regardless of the source. The walls of your house would have the exact same R value if you turned off the thermostat. Granted, once the house reaches the same temperature as the environment (if there's no thermal gain from sun through the windows) the flow of energy would cease, but the insulation remains insulation. I'm not sure how it could qualify as a myth if it's quite literally true. Even as regards snowfall, it's true that a thicker layer of trapped air will insulate better than a thinner layer (just as a thinner jacket or thicker batt of insulation will offer lower R value than thicker) but it's all insulative. The real question is "does buffering the temperature changes by such small amounts of insulation make any difference to the outcome for plants?" After all, the goal is to maintain the conditions of the plants with the minimum of extra inputs.
Of course there's a lot of "it depends" built in, but yes, I can say with zero doubt that crops I've managed have exhibited more damage around the edges of the crop than in the center when grouped together. I can also say that when we trialed side-by-side crops covered or not (usually not on purpose, but because something was missed or blew off) the crops with fleece applied came through in better condition.
Just to address your point on the penguin analogy: obviously, I throw it in there as shorthand for viewers to see that there's insulative value in grouping tightly together. No, plants aren't endothermic in the way we're talking about, so any heat we're trapping is only from the thermal mass in their tissues, pots and anything being transferred from the ground. But we're not trying to keep plants at room temperature or (human) body temperature. We're trying to maintain a more stable temperature in the range they're built to tolerate - ie, more like what they'd experience if well-established in the garden just a few inches below! If these small measures are enough to keep them from dramatic swings in temperature while also cutting down on damaging wind, then something like fleece has done its job perfectly well as an insulation.
One final point of discussion (and I did feel a little constrained for time when producing this video - wanting to target a 10 minute discussion that can be recommended to a wider audience): You're right that after a solid week of -15C temps with no appreciable sun, the temperature inside the greenhouse and "under the blanket" will have little if any differential to the top inches of soil in the outdoor landscape. For that scenario, you just have to live with the fact that you offered as best protection as you could, and rely on the natural hardiness of the plants. However, in my climate, a completely blacked out deep cold like that is uncommon. Usually, we're dealing with some level of solar gain during the day. In a greenhouse & under the blanket (which does indeed trap more heat, one of the reasons remay can be useful for pushing early spring crops) I can often measure a 10 to 15 gain at the level of the crops. That means they're getting up to nearly freezing temps - not enough to thaw them out, but a buffer nonetheless. A long while back I read a book by Eliot Coleman "The Winter Harvest Handbook" where he used exactly this setup (polytunnel with crop fabric) to keep his veggie crops alive and productive over winter. Turns out those in-ground beds with the double layer is a great way to trap heat and beat the winter (in Maine, I think, so not a super mild climate)
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm
💯% on the insulation factor.
Irregardless of the temperature rise or fall the insulation factor will help control the effect in a less dramatic way.
When a severe sharp freeze is expected that insulation will help regulate the temperature drop within the insulated zone no matter how severe that drop is, the same applies to heat waves, the insulation will absolutely buffer the temperature rise and allow the plants to adjust more slowly as well as allow you a bit of time to provide additional protection if needed.
Sustained temperatures will determine the hardiness of the plants, if they survive they are appropriate for the conditions, if not then not.
All of the measures are preventative and effective within their range of reason.
If a person is trying to guarantee survival of all their plants then they need to build the appropriate structures to do so.
Thank you for your detailed reply. "Some thoughts... "Even as regards snowfall... it's all insulative." But surely there is trade off to snow for plants that won't like ice all around them? " Insulation is something that slows the transfer of heat regardless of the source." So fleece is potentially insulative, but not if there is no heat difference inside it and outside it. " I can say with zero doubt that crops I've managed.... " But that isn't necessarily to do with heat. And you are in quite mild conditions. I would guess that most of the time there is a big winter day and night temp differential where you are, so there is daytime heat gain to hang on to. "Turns out those in-ground beds with the double layer of fabric is a great way to trap heat and beat the winter in Maine". What heat would it be trapping at minus 20C for example? ---- All very appreciated, Jason. It's easy enough to measure air temp under fleece and over fleece, as Dowding has videos on (UK). He concludes outdoor fleece is most useful for reducing wind damage. I am genuinely interested in this questions. Many thanks @@FraserValleyRoseFarm
Thanks @FireflyOnTheMoon. I'm trying to sync up with your thinking to see where your concerns are and which hairs we're splitting. Do nudge me the right direction here.
When you say "surely there's a trade-off... plants won't like the ice all around them" I suspect you're not projecting a human idea of comfort when touching ice, but rather a plant's ability to withstand a certain temperature. We're talking about hardy perennials and shrubs here, which by definition will survive periods of below freezing temperatures. Between the option of being exposed to snow, ice or trapped air at just below freezing temperatures or being directly exposed to much lower temperatures, they'll be better off with the snow and ice around them. Yes, it also protects against the desiccating effects of cold wind, which I'll never underestimate, but I'm not sure the two issues are cleanly separable.
On the issue of "potential insulative" vs. actual insulation, I'm not with you at all. Insulation is insulation, and your qualifier is meaningless. If it slows the transfer of energy (and there's just about always some sort of differential and transfer happening in nature) then it's insulation. That's just physics. We could quibble over R value, and yes, there's a difference between the light crop cover fabric that can make a difference in my climate, and the 2ft of leaves that another viewer commented they use in zone 5, but then that gets down to the practical question of which level of insulation is helpful in which climate - not redefining the science behind it.
When I say that there's a observed difference between the edge of a crop and the more insulated plants in the center, and also an observed difference between covered an uncovered crops, to what else but insulative protection do you attribute the differences? BTW, I won't be an outlier in observing the extra damage to the edges of crops. It's something I've seen well documented. That I'm in relatively milder conditions makes not a lot of difference to the mechanism of injury. It got colder, quicker and the temperatures fluctuated more on the edges of the crop. Yes, my area sees more temperature fluctuation than some others, but each climate will have its own challenges. Someone in a more consistently cold climate will use a different level of protection successfully, as you'll be able to note in the viewer comments section. But the principles remain the same. An otherwise hardy plant is more vulnerable in a pot than it would be in the ground. Digging the plant into the ground can get closer to evening up the score. Why? Because the crown and the roots in the pot won't be subject to repeated fast swings to deep cold temperatures. Plants in the ground may get close to the same temperatures over an extended cold period, but they're build handle it. My goal, as it would be in any climate, is to offer just so much protection as it takes to dampen that effect and reduce that extra vulnerability.
In the Eliot Coleman example I used, the temperature fluctuation he's trapping is solar. The earth acts as a heat sink inside the greenhouse and under the crop cover. It can be -20C outside and -1 or -2C in the in-ground beds under the blankets. That's a significant difference. Those two layers of insulation hold the temperature steadier, longer between sunny periods. This isn't too different than what happens on the floor of my greenhouse on a sunny day, where I can find plants starting to thaw when it hits 10C inside the greenhouse at -5C outside. I actually open doors and vents when this happens because I don't want the rapid fluctuations. If you're postulating a simplified scenario where there's long stretches of -20C temps and no solar gain, yes, that would be super challenging to protect against. I guess I'd be specializing in plants native to Siberia!
I am in zone 4. I do the huddle and cover method. Cutting back foliage and when pots freeze cover with a tarp and then a foot of leaves. Have 98% success. In spring just peal off tarp and leaves when weather starts to warm. Have done it this way for years.
Thanks for sharing your method and success Joan. Good to know huddle & cover works so well down to zone 4.
Yes, huddling and covering are such helpful companions.
I put the largest pots to the outside as the most effective insulation for all the others.
Jason, the extra soil method is definitely worth the effort because it prevents much of the wind from cutting through, but air movement is still able to move between the pots.
@FraserValleyRoseFarm The comment section was not available, so I will post my question here. I have terrible time getting potted mums to overwinter. I'm zone 4. I usually mulch around the base with 2-3 inches of leaves but don't cover over the top. I've tried several places in the garden but they never come back.
Thanks Tess. It's tough in a place like zone 4, as most commercially available mums are estimated hardy to higher zones. I say estimated because with newer breeding, hardiness is never the focus and I doubt they test for it with any regularity.
Jason, I too am adding my "Thanks" for the information you share in your videos. They"ve helped me a lot.
In this video you talked about many different ways to Winter protect our plants.
My yearly struggle is with my container grown strawberries (now growing inside a milk crate in a fabric grow bag and growing on the top and one side, through an enlarge hole in the crate).
Last Fall my husband created a trench in his veggie garden and we put the back of the crate's flush up against the solid edge of the trench and we huddled the crates together and then covered the top and growing side with the shredded leaves we collected in our yard. The top plants survived but the side growing plants rotted.
A few years ago I grew the plants in a tall laundry basket (it was beautiful and prolific). To over Winter that basket we put the basket inside a cardboard box inside our unheated garage and I put a couple shovel fulls of snow each month over the top. Again the tops survived but not the sides.
Growing in the ground is not a solution as our ground can freeze and the rain/melting snow creates deep puddles.
Any suggestions on how best to over Winter the crates will be appreciated.
I'm in z6 ,CT
TIA
That's really a tough one, as you've tried some variations on mounding around the sides already - and they still took a beating on the sides. I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway. The question I think you need ask about the strawberries on the side of the crate: "did they take more cold than they could handle, die, and then rot *or* did they take more moisture than they could handle, and rot independent of the cold". Depending on the thickness and the moisture level of the mulch, I could imagine either scenario being true. If you think it could have been the moisture, the trick would be to tweak down the amount and moisture level of the mulch along the sides to better match the access to air circulation on the top.
Thanks Jason for answering.
I think in the case of the cardboard box the plants suffocated and what little moisture trickled down from the top kept the tops alive but not enough moisture combined with the lack of air circulating killed the front plants especially as we got lower on the laundry basket.
Last year our weather was weird.
I lost my 3 year-old Chicago Peace Rose; my newly planted Jurassic Gold Wood Fern, Dryopteris wallichiana, a 4 year old tri-colored, (3 separate budleia) planted together, an Echinacea 'Mellow Yellow' and a few others.
We had minimal snow fall and no snow cover to insulate from the cold that we did receive. I did layer mulched leaves over the beds on top of the wood chip mulch I had spread earlier in the year but it wasn't the same.
I have bags of leaf mold I made this past year and will add that as a protective layer to the beds once they go dormant.
Once the strawberry plants go dormant (they still are flowering) I will move the crates off the shelf my husband made for me and and put them closer to the ground, not on the ground directly as again the water puddles and freezes (my garlic pot had a 4" thick ice block across the top before I realized the ground underneath had frozen along with the pot .. no garlic again last year) and top them with straw and closer to the house. I might make a burlap wind break but leave enough room for them to breath and get moisture.
Thank you again for your videos they are a great help.
Thanks so much Jason. Slowly starting to button up the garden and have several pots with tender perennials. You’ve answered a lot of my questions as always. You have helped me be a more confident gardener.
Very much my pleasure!
Thank you so much for this video and your generous and straightforward tips to help us home gardeners. Much appreciated.
Jason, thank you for addressing this topic. Perfect timing. As you said, all 5 methods of overwintering plants in containers have pros and cons. In zone 6 I store containers (mostly 1 gallon and some 4" containers) in my unheated garage. The containers do freeze, but they don't have to contend with drying winter winds, deer, etc. The unheated garage keeps them slightly warmer than keeping them outdoors. Occasionally I bring some snow into the garage and place a light layer of snow on the containers. This offers a bit of insulation for roots as well as the melting snow watering the containers should temperatures approach freezing. Thanks again Jason for discussing this subject.
My pleasure. Thanks for sharing your own experience and success!
Hey Jason, We have a hoop house,open on both ends. Zone 7 b ,so not as cold for long periods of time. Just need to remember to water a couple times during winter. Some plants get left outside as not enough room. Like forsythia, crype myrtles,ect,they can handle the cold. And were still planting, putting a layer of mulch around all our plants,and preparing areas for next spring. Always something to do. Like your thought process on what to consider for winter prepping. Have a good week.
Thanks Dean. We're definitely not too different in our climates & the way we manage the greenhouses for winter. Wide open on the ends as much as I can (except in heavy wind) and walk for water every week or two.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarmThere's a blackbird going ballistic in the background😂
I really appreciated this video. Everywhere I look I see plants still in pots. I've used all these protection methods in some way or another, The most valued or most vulnerable plants get the most protection. Here in NC we have an abundance of pine straw. It's amazing how many needles a single tree can produce. I don't like it as mulch, but I save it as a winter cover. An advantage is it doesn't crush the plants.
lm in 7 B , l huddle and mulch around the outside with leaves and pine tags , it saved me from digging holes , as we rent and eventually l want to take them with me , also move closer to the house , and on the full sun side . l did lose a few during some very cold snaps ,5- 10 F nights . been growing for 45 years , still learning . thank you for the additional tips
Thanks for sharing your results!
Fantastic video, great advice provided in a clear easy to follow guide. My first true winter coming up where I have a number of plants to overwinter, your knowledge will hopefully see me through successfully! Thank you very much!!
Hi Jason. Thank you for the thorough explanation of each. I'm in zone 5b New Hampshire. I dig and huddle my plants in the ground. That method worked very well for me last year with very little loss. My pots are small (typically 4 inches) so the small plants need a lot of protection.
Hi Vita - smaller pots can be difficult, with not much soil volume to buffer temperatures. Thanks for sharing your method and results!
Hi Jason, always find your videos informative. I am in zone 5B, in northwest Illinois. I have several pots like had in your video & I think I have a game plan for those. I also have several flats and 4 inch pots where I have hostas that I split and cuttings that I took this past season. For those, I was thinking of keeping in my outdoor shed which does have windows. Thoughts on that method as the pots are much smaller than say a trade gallon pot . Thank you for your time, Eric.
Thanks. I'm not in zone 5, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. It'd be a toss-up for me between the shed and a modified "dig in" method, with the flats pressed into good contact with soil in a sheltered location and soil mounded up over the edges. Since it's hostas maybe I'd pick the shed (they're pretty resilient if kept fairly dry).
Hi Jason, thank you for a very informative video. Looks like shelter is not a bad solution for my mature (-ish) young roses and lavender. However, I am still a bit unsure about less mature plants. I happened to take rose cuttings in the end of July. I understand that it is rather late in the season, but this is how it happened. So now I have a bunch of very young roses, some of them with just a few white roots and almost no new growth. One alternative that I considered was to take them in the house to a small room with a big east-facing window and no heating. Just for the sake of clarity, I have almost the same climate as you do living in the west coast of Norway.
Thanks. That sounds like a pretty good solution. Good light, low but controlled temperatures, and a good place for you to keep an eye on their watering needs, etc.
Most plants have no problem overwintering in my area, since they are from the area.
But the ones that do die or get damaged, are because of too much rain and snow (and then rot away), not the cold.
So I just need to cover those plants/give them some shelter from the rain and snow.
We have 3 tables outside and I put them under those tables (this way they still get some sunlight and wind).
Thanks - great points. This video was more focused on cold protection, but it's definitely not just the cold (or even primarily!) that can damage plants over winter. Thanks for sharing your results!
I have dug in pots as well as grouped them on the ground and surrounded with mulch. Typically the pots are one gallon or larger.
I've done this two years in a row and so far no loss.
I will water a couple of times until a hard freeze then leave them alone all winter. Am in zone 5B.
Nicely done - and thanks for sharing your results!
we put our leafless fuchsia plants into our old unused underground septic tank between roughly mid november and beginning of april, no light, no watering, no nothing. works like a charm! they come out with brittle palish-white fresh growth, some mouldy, and dripping wet and start growing immdiately. we lose about two or three out of 60-70 plants every winter.
Thanks Peter - great example of finding what works!
I live in zone 9B in Arizona there will be a few nights then it gets down to 28 degrees I just watered the soil in my pots I don't water the leaves seldom does it ever get colder than 28 but if it does then I will cover them with a cover cloth. Fruit and citrus trees that are in the ground I flood them if it's going to be a few nights of freezing weather I use a smudge pot some call them patio and this works for me
Thanks Pamela!
Great video. Thank u so much for these ideas and tips!
My pleasure. Thanks for watching
I’m in Edmonton zone 3. If I’m keeping my newly rooted rose in pots protected by side of house , do you water it still? Up to when to do you water? Til it gets dormant ?
Also If you keep them in unheated garage. Do you water them still?
Do roses need to be dormant? I’m also keeping some inside the house as im afraid those outside will not make it to spring,
Thank you Jason
No, most roses don't require dormancy, so if you can manage them indoors that's totally fine. As mentioned in the video, watering is tricky. Plants are more vulnerable to rot if they're kept soaking over winter, so I tend to manage them a little on the dry side. That said, if they get hit by a deep cold with too little moisture in the pot or tissues, they'll take worse cold damage. So it's a balance. Yes, I'd still check the roses in an unheated garage for water every week or two, and top up of the soi becomes too dry.
Thanks all - very helpful. I have 25 or so 1st winter wild rose bushes in pots started from seed and I think I will move from our green house to the garage which has just enough heat on to keep above freezing. We go away for winter so will have someone check to add minimal moisture if needed.
I don't have many plants, so I can bring the few in my house. However, I have a potted plant combo of red mum and fountain grass. My mums are dry, and I water the pot. I'm so disappointed. I live in El Paso TX, zone 7?
I'm in zone 11 with 4C temperatures, What do I do?😂
We talked about this last year around this time when I moved up to this elevation.
The huddling worked fantastic, the only plants I lost were cacao (chocolate) and papaya trees because the temperatures just get too cold for outdoor survival.
I have about a 20% chance of getting the second half of my roof up, which I decided to build as an entry solarium type of space for sheltering the plants until I can actually break out the lava rock basins and fill them with soil (about a 3 year project for 300 trees).
The biggest issue is that the temperatures are too warm for full dormancy and still cold enough to cause most of the plants to enter different stages.
Fortunately the rainfall takes care of most of the watering needs with only occasional help from me.
I have been modifying the soil with a heavier sand mix to retain more moisture during the dry and windy seasons, but also allow the heavy rains to drain through more efficiently.
I tried a few pots with potting soil and perlite, but they were just to inconsistent, besides the sand is much cheaper.
I will just use the peat/perlite mix for cuttings where it belongs.😉
The biggest challenge is the daytime temperatures rising to 16-20C and then sliding to 4C by sunrise the next morning.
Those poor plants just don't know what in the world is going on.
Once the solarium entry is done either this year or next, I will be keeping the tropical specific plants in there year round in pots and the rest will all eventually be outside in the ground.
The roses are so much happier up here. Thrips only seem to be a problem for about 45 days during the dry time, once the misty air returns they seem to disappear, of course leaving their mark on the leaves and slight bit of stalk damage. I decided not to address them for now to see how the wasps, bees, and other predators would respond and I will probably continue with that program as well as multiplying the food sources for them year round. I did find a clump of bamboo orchid hiding in the shrubs and already started slowly dividing which will be a great source of food for the beneficials as well as color in this rough landscape.
The greenhouse idea was eliminated when the 100+ mile an hour winds started blowing this spring.😬
Overwintering is definitely a region specific situation. Just because someone is in a particular zone rating does not mean that you can use general rules described for that zone. You must know your specific climate and adapt accordingly.
Excellent video Jason!👌
These seasonal reminders are the perfect thing even if they seem a bit redundant because you can do the quick version each year and refer to the more in depth version in the description and link.🤙
Thanks - that'd be a beautiful temperature range for my plants, but I'm not trying to keep any tropicals alive outdoors! I didn't realize about your winds - I suppose you have to keep that in mind for all your building now.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm
I was not expecting that high of winds, but tropical storms will do that sometimes.
Yes, the overall climate is actually quite good for most plants in general with the exception of tropicals, so other than wind barriers until the trees get big enough for natural shelter, watering and soil are the main challenges.
The aphids are a bit of inconvenience, but I think as the ecosystem as a whole gets established they too will diminish.
The mangoes and avocados are struggling a bit, but I think they just need the deeper soil for a more consistent root climate and they will be fine.
All the fun.😁🤙
When I was young my Uncle had a potato (and other things) farm. When the frost alarm went off, everyone would run around turning sprinklers on. I was too young to understand but that was obviously the going theory at the time.
Also, I hate penguins. I've only ever met one in the wild and he was a jerk.
Lol. Thanks Brad. The penguins in my video were AI generated, so they didn't give me any attitude.
Interested in the water method- when you say “blast” does that mean it must be a forceful gush of water or is it more about quantity of water?
Thanks. I was imprecise in my language - and it really just is about putting a large amount into the pots quickly right before the freeze.
Covering with water is about the last thing I would have ever thought. I would have thought that freezing would expand the cells of the plant and they'd turn to mush when they thawed out. It can be sustained cold here to -20°~ -30°C and even a little colder, so I don't think that will work here. Really interesting and informative Jason, thank you!
They do spray citrus with water if a bad freeze is happening. The ice on fruit/leaves, etc is actually an insulation from below freezing temps. My understanding is that this can help minimize the loss of crops .... at least that's what I had heard was done. Seems counter intuitive to a degree....😋
Thank you for sharing the tips. I'm in coastal WA and it works for me that huddling my potted roses in the covered porch and water them once a month. Because of our long raining winter, I wonder if the potted plants get rot easier when I leave them outside uncovered.
And I'm curious what's the pink rose behind you while you're introducing your technique #5 (around 8:28). Is that Pomponella?
Yes, it's Pomponella - it seems to always put on a heavy bloom at the very end of the season here.
6b/7a... I huddle and pile chopped leaves on top and around the huddle of pots. And try to put the hardiest plants around the outside of the huddle. Winter here is variable and often rather wet. the chopped leaves on top of the pots is to help insulate from fluctuating temps and shedding some water from the post as well.
Worked fairly well so far though there is some loss in years with either lots of rain or prolonged deep cold periods.
I rather like cleaning up the pots in late winter/early spring and assessing the results.
One other thing that seems to make a big difference for me is having well draining media in the pots. Moist, but not wet so it cannot turn into a solid block of ice... here we go into the cold season?
Thanks Eric. It's good that you point out the drainage of the potting soil. It's that age-old contradiction of gardening books: "moist but well-drained soil"
Hi Jason 👋 I live in zone 9b Texas Gulf Coast, and have many tropicals both in ground and potted. I wondered about wrapping pots with bubble wrap and burlap to protect the roots from freezing? And if so, can it just stay wrapped all winter? It is hard to tell when it will get below freezing here, and with the wind cloth we added to the chain link fence on the north side, would it be best to throw frost cloth over the foliage? This has been our 1st year in this home. Last year we had everything in pots (from the move) and put huddled on South side covered with a tarp raised over benches.
Thank you in advance, for any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jennifer. Every growing situation is going to be so individual. The best I can do is to offer the general principles & strategies, but I'm in a poor position to make any decisions or recommendations on plants & a climate that you know far better than me. Wrapping the pots will certainly offer some level of protection, and I see no harm at all in leaving them wrapped all winter. This would be similar (though maybe less effective) to digging a plant into the ground. A frost cloth or remay can definitely help when faced with a short freeze, and if there's a way you can install it to be easily opened or closed (so as to not trap a lot of moisture or heat during milder stretches) that could be a way to go.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thank you Jason
What about potted roses, Climbers to be specific? This will be the first winter for me with them.
It depends on the hardiness of the rose, size of the container and your climate. In a large enough pot, I leave my potted hardy climbers outside for most of the winter and only bring them in when I expect a deep cold (below -5C/23F for an extended period). In a colder climate, smaller container or less hardy rose I'd probably be more cautious.
Purchased 10 mixed evergreens here in East Ayrshire. I have them grouped together under house eaves in a South facing position with wall protection from winds both East and West. Would this be sufficient as over winter protection, or, do have an unheated, bright and South facing Summer house which evergreens could be moved into. Please, what would you recommend?
Your climate is mild enough that the shelter against the house may be all they need.
Thank you so very much.@@FraserValleyRoseFarm
Great information. Thank you! What about newly propogated hydrangea cuttings that are propbably still too young to spend the winter outside? They have all formed roots and been potted up into individual pots now. I currenty have them in a mudroom under florescent lights,that will stay around 60F all winter, but they are getting powdery mildew already, and have attracted a lot of little flies, so I'm not sure they with thrive there all winter. Niagara Region, Ontario Zone 6b
Thanks. You're running up against the reason why heated space is a my least favored option. It may be the best option for lightly rooted plants, but yes, lighting, air circulation, nutrition & pests all become more difficult to manage. A through spray-down with insecticidal soap can be helpful to knock down pests, and to a less degree the mildew. The flies could also be fungus gnats, which I have a video on: ua-cam.com/video/XVh4RmKmscs/v-deo.html Indoor growing is no joke!
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm oh wow, good to know. Thanks so much for the response!
I was just there this weekend for the first time. I fell in love with that area and will be back. I wondered what your zone was. I went to the botanical garden but the rain had started & couldn't walk around. I am directly east of you on the coast in the states.
and...just noticed I am on my sons youtube account. ooops.
Jason, I notice that all your pots are plastic. Does it make any difference if the pots are clay? I potted all my cuttings, including the ones from you in clay pots. Also, I go away for the whole winter, so my cuttings are going to have to manage without any intervention from me - by the sound of it in that situation, digging them in seems like the safest option. Do you agree?
Yes, that sounds about right to me. Plastic or clay doesn't make a lot of difference.
Do you cut back and defoliate all your roses for winter? If so when do you do this?I live in 5b so we will be getting our first frost soon and I am wondering if I should do it now or wait.
Thanks. Yes, we do. I'll target a cut-back and defoliate a little bit *after* the first few heavy frosts if I can. The plants are fine coming through temps a little below freezing, and it helps to encourage dormancy and leaf drop. Later is better if you can manage it. The last thing I want is to trim them too early and then have the plants respond to an unseasonably warm week or two with fresh vulnerable shoots.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm that helps me so much! I’m a newbie rose lover and I’m trying to ensure the best outcome for over wintering and having them come back healthy. Thank you so much!
I need a geothermal heated greenhouse
That would be the perfect solution for us too!