I think tonight is going to be iffy. I wouldn't take any chances with anything that has a lot of water in its system especially...throw something over it or put it under cover.

First off - sinking a pot into the ground all the way to the rim is the same thing as planting the plant as far as frost protection. So sink away with most of them. If they were my babies I would shelter them their first winter. Find a sunny wind free area and sink the pots there. If the weatherman calls for hard freeze I would then cover the whole mess of them with a deep layer of dry leaves.

Amarcrinums left on their own tend to ride a little high - like with half the bulb exposed. Kinda scares me. So I would plant it just over half way and cover it in a deep layer of leaves.

The way I talk you would think that all my plants are tucked safely into their winter quarters. Ha! Now is when I really get to see who's tough or not. Besides this way I will always have room for more next spring.

john, i like the way you think :)
i'm doing a toughness test myself this evening.

Ha me too...and now Claire has me thinking about those rose-like cabbages. I could use a couple empty pots I think. Neeehhaahaha. Adele

I planted out my rooted buddleia cuttings and crape myrtle- the only danger is stepping on them as they are covered with fallen leaves and before they leaf out again, so I ring them with rocks. I don't have great luck with overwintering in pots, but when I've suceeded, it's been sinking them into the ground right up against the brick foundation and then covering with light leaf mulch.

I mulched the cannas (new from the swap thank you very much) deeply yesterday. Do I need to cut off all the new leafy growth or can I just leave it till it freezes? Same for gingers?

Protection from wind is hard to come by in my yard. I can sink the Loropetalum against the foundation since I don't think it's roots need to be disturbed yet. I can plant the buddleia in it's permanent spot this weekend and the crepe myrtles in a temporary spot. The jury is still out on the Yucca but aren't they supposed to be tough?

John, I planted the Amarcrinum a couple of weeks back at about the level you describe. I'm using shredded hardwood mulch this year- do you think leaves or pine straw would be better?

Thanks for the responses,
Shari

shari
there's some huge yuccas in my neighborhood - they must be tough.

it's the morning after the predicted frost: everything here looks fine.

marsha

Didn't somebody mention that cutting off the canna leaves is better so they don't overwinter leaf rollers? I'm about to chop my cannas (though one had the audacity to throw out a late bloom so that one may stay for another week). I mainly cut them because they get pretty yucky looking and they fall over when they die. Same with the gingers. I use the leaf blower to suck up leaves and pinestraw together and shred it all up. I don't know if one is better than the other, but if you are using leaves shredding them first might be best so they don't smother the plants and they break down nicely. Seems to make a good winter mulch and anything leftover goes into the compost. In fact, that's my chore for today. The only hard part is getting out all the prickly pears (gumballs) and pinecones. -Ais.

Brenda - once the canna leaf gets damaged it isn't gonna make much food so it would be ok to wait til its suffering before you chop it off. But on the other hand, it isn't gonna make enough food between now and then to make much of a difference - so it would be ok to chop it now. Certain types of pest do overwinter in the foliage (there are many types of pest that do the damage attributed to leaf rollers, some overwinter, others migrate in from the south each summer) so it is best to remove iris and canna leaves completely.

Shari - Yucca are generally tough but the variegated ones (especially the ones with lots of pale streaks) can get a sunburn during the winter after the shade tree leaves fall. Cold is usually not their problem. But there are certain cultivars derived from more tender species so they are not all as tough as each other. I've kept them in pots over the winter unprotected and they've done fine.

Lots of bulbs will move to the height they need to be. It takes about a year but they have special roots that will pull them up or down in the soil level depending on the drainage and the temps. Kinda weird since they don't have muscles. You can set the baby bulbs on the surface of a pot and come back a year later and the bulb will be on the bottom buried in the soil.

The more tender things in my yard that get buried in leaves, get buried under like 4 feet of leaves! So I usually don't step or damage them while they are sleeping. I bury Gingers, cannas, begonias and some ferns in about a foot of leaves. For the brugs, philodendrons and sago palm (a cycad) I bury them in a pile about 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

Should potted Canna's be put in a protected spot, like under house or in the garage? Or plant the pot?

Planting the pot has worked better for me than storing them under the house (which works almost as well). The all time best is to plant them and leave them alone, unpotted and about mid summer at the latest. So its too late for that. No matter how cold the winter gets - the ones left in the ground do better than the ones that I touch.

Ok, what do I do with the hedychiums I got at the swap? They're still in pots right now.
Dana

I'd go ahead and plant them if you have time - or just sink the pots deep into the soil. Soil temps are somewhat stable and the soil here in Raleigh hardly ever freezes solid so it is like putting them into cool storage. you can also bring them inside as a houseplant but mine always looked worse for wear by spring time.