Option #1 should work fine...as long as they are sheltered from getting wet. You could cover with a tarp and add a layer of mulch or straw for extra protection...AFTER the pots freeze. Cover them before they freeze up and the rodents will get them.

A refrigerator would be safer than a freezer, if you want to go that route.

I've also buried pot and all with good results or heal pot and all into a pile of mulch or the compost pile.

I would resist the temptation to bring them indoors too early. Forced hostas often need an extra year to recover after being forced. It is stressful for them. They end up with such a long growing season that they look like fall...in June. Keep them cool and give them as much light as possible.

Hi Jen - I live in Minnesota - the Minneapolis area. You don't say how big the pots are. Are they 6"-8" that they came in? Or are they planters? In another thread titled "A Really Mild Winter" I wrote:

"I always find myself buying at year end and over wintering in large planters that get moved to the garage. I place them on the wall that is attached to the house. Although the garage is not heated I have found that when the temp hits 45 or more outside, I have hostas coming up in the pots in the garage. Which is not a bad thing because I will pot them up and put them in my sunroom. One year I had a Blue Mouse Ears in full bloom for Easter!"

The last few winters have been wacky here that's for sure. I think it was 2003 that we hit 72 one Saturday in mid-February and I was tanning on my deck.

If they are in larger planters I think you could leave them out covered - and then bring them inside the garage in February for some early green!

Good luck and keep us posted on what you do.

Teresa

after frozen.. outdoors.. on the north side ... tip on the side so the water doesnt pool and cause an ice cube to form starving the root for oxygen ....

otherwise.. try what you want.. they are hosta.. worse you can do is kill them .. good luck

ken

The roots are the most vunerable part of the plant when stored in a pot. Make sure they are well insulated, leafs, mulch something to help protect them. See school is good for something!!
Paws

For what it's worth department,Jen. I live in a much warmer climate than you,and I assure you that I've never had a hosta come out of dormancy,once it went dormant. I only have a few plants in pots,and they sit under my roof overhang,where they don't get any direct rain in the winter. They always make it through the winter fine. If you want to see some green,go to Wal-Mart in January. Down here,they put bare-root hostas in bags out in January in their stores. Not any rare types,but if you only want to see some green.....? Phil

The majority of my hostas are in pots, from 1 gallon to 10 gallons' pots. They are left alone without any extra winter protection at all under the shade of a London Plane Tree. I have yet to lose any hosta through a winter.

I'll way in on this issue as soon as winter gets here.