they will not be killed by freezing solid ...

the only concern is that the soil turns into ice cubes ... the roots need air ...

tip them on their sides after they are frozen .. you can even stack them [being frozen] on the north side of a structure ... OUT OF THE SUN ....

they will be just fine... as long as water doesn't pool on the frozen surface ...

good luck

ken

Or water them once, before it freezes, and put them in an unheated garage or shed until the weather breaks next spring, then start putting them out on nice days. Don't water during the winter.

I've done it this way for several years, never had a problem. The only ones that ever struggle are ones in little pots, like 4" pots. The nursery sized gallon pots work great.

I dig a hole or trenches and put my pots in them and fill up around w/dirt - key is that there's drainage in the pots. Then cover with pine branches. Last year had 60 overwinter that way. Luckily I got everything but one giant Sagae done this year - and that one will be in the ground this weekend.

I agree with Ken.....I have even left 4" pots out in the worst of weather in the open and they have come back just fine, We are maybe milder out on the west Coast than where you are tho. I put my large choice pots under the house eaves and they stay dry that way.I have never lost one.

What about minis? This is the first year for me with minis, from what I have read I get the idea they are not as hardy as the big guys. I have a planter with 6 different mini hosta still sitting on my front porch that I need to do something with soon. I am afraid of losing them since they are still so small. Can I just put the planter against the house on the North side and bury it in leaves? Or would it be best to put the planter in the garage and forget about it until spring?

Thanks,
Gillian

the problem with a structure/garage .. is that it will be a zone or 2 warmer than outside ...

i had about 1000 potted hosta in a barn when i moved 1500 to the new house ...

the ones in the barn came out of dormancy about a month ahead of time .... AND STARTED GROWING .... so i had to unstack them .. then ran out of room in the pole barn .. and then it snowed a few more times.. then it frosted a couple times.. and you can imagine why 90 of them died in spring .... oh i forgot... rain on top of a frozen pot with a freeze that night.. as noted.. hosta do NOT thrive in an ice cube ... of course.. scale was the issue... a few pots .. a few dozen .. can be dealt with much more easily than 1000 ...

the bottom line: get it dormant.. keep it dormant ... figure that out.. and you will be all set ....

and don't let it get totally dry ... one trick up here in the great white north ... is an ice cube on top of every pot in the dead of winter ... if it warms a bit.. the ice will melt and give a little water.. without drowning the thing ... or a snowball if such is available ...i have no clue about that in zones higher than 5 ...

good luck .. ken

Gillian, I have minis planted in the garden as well as in pots and have not lost any. My biggest problem is squirrels from digging both in the garden and in the pots. I keep the pots in an unheated shed, and check and give a TINY amount of water to them mid winter if they are in a small pot. The other pots I let go. When the temp in the shed seems like it is getting too warm, I take them out of the shed and put them in a protected area on the north side of the house. I am in zone 6.

Okay, now I'm confused, as usual. I'm trying the pot thing with eight or ten that just didn't grow AT ALL in the few years they were in the garden. They were put in the (unheated) garage two weeks ago. The little 4-inchers are now pretty dry, but I'm afraid if I water them, and it freezes hard (it's gone to 20 below in Nov in Illinois -- you never know what you're gonna get), then the water will turn to ice and Ken, you say they won't survive in an ice cube. Should I just not water, water slightly, or keep the darn things in the dark part of the (heated) basement?

I can't dig any more holes outside, so burying them ain't an option - I planted fifteen today in 40 degrees and I'm DONE. (He's in Florida playing golf.)

Westy1941

Westy, I keep all my pots outside until they are totally dormant and frozen, like late November. I'd be still watering them too if we weren't getting all this rain. After they go dormant, I never add moisture, they don't need it when they're not growing.

Westy, I haven't moved any of my pots into the garage yet either. Like maryann, I usually wait until they are completely dormant. We really haven't gotten any freezes yet, just frost, so they are still ok outside.

So, mine are still being watered by nature (and watered, and watered and watered). They probably won't go in to the garage for another 2 or 3 weeks.

Thanks, Maryann (your in my city - cool) and Lynem (same zone). I shoulda left them outside. Hope I didn't screw up and made the roots dry out -- I'm moving them back out to the patio till they freeze.

Thank again!

Westy1941

The whole secret is not to allow the crown to freeze and thaw which usually happens in the spring.

You don't want water to settle in the pot where it will freeze and thaw on the surface which can happen in an unheated garage.

PS do not water in the winter period.