Help w/ outdoor containers (pics)

13 years ago

Hello kind folks! I am in need of some help!

Okay so i understand that usually whatever pots you leave outside w/ plants inside them should be 2 zones hardier...but my pots are huge and there is no way to move them! The vines are also growing up the house...

Here is the weather for the next 5 days...It hasn't dipped below 32 yet, but it has reached the thirties!!(as you can tell from the loss of leaves!)

My question is whether or not I could keep them in the pots by heating the pot/rootball? (with lights/soil heating cable) Or would it be best to just cut down all the growth, dig them up, and put them in the garage? (then they wouldn't get any bigger next year right?)

I don't really have the option the plant them in the ground anywhere, but if that's the only way to save them..

Thanks!

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Comments (9)

kayjones
13 years ago
Your plants appear to be Jasmine vines. If so, they will be fine. If you have doubts that they will handle the cold, throw some blankets over the pots, then remove them after the cold front passes and it warms up during the day.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
13 years ago
Just make sure they aren't soggy. Cold + dry = sometimes survivable. Cold + wet = death.
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kayjones
13 years ago
You don't tell us which zone 8 you live in, but in Florida, where it's humid year around, you don't need to water much during the cold weather. If you are in a dry atmosphere, that's another matter.
karyn1
13 years ago
I don't know what the plants are but agree with the water restriction. I've heard of people wrapping Christmas lights around their pots to help keep them warm but that's been plastic nursery pots. Not sure if it would work with ceramic containers. If you are going to use blankets to insulate I'd raise the pots off the deck and make sure you have insulation underneath as well because of the cold airspace beneath the deck. Good luck.
flora_uk
13 years ago
I'm not quite sure if you are concerned about the pots or the plants. We don't know what your lowest winter temps are likely to be. But those pots would be fine in my garden with no protection at all most years. It needs to get below freezing for a few days before ceramic pots start to suffer, and then only if there is moisture within the material. The plants don't look like Jasmine to me, more like Trachelospermum which will suffer below 14f. Do you get that cold?
palmcitrusbananava
Original Author
13 years ago
Sorry for the left out info..

I am worried about the plants not the pots..which are confederate jasmine plants

I am in zone 8a according to this USDA Hardiness Map:

(The most southeast point of Virginia with the pale green)
karyn1
13 years ago
You definitely get some below freezing temps. I'm in 7a (just outside of DC) and Feb is usually the coldest month. Last year was an exception and was unusually warm. Confederate jasmine should be fine to zone 7a but with them being above ground in planters I would mulch the soil and insulate the pots. I might be more concerned with the pots cracking if we have a lot of freezes and thaws then the plants dying.
palmcitrusbananava
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the help guys! The pots will be fine, we have had them for years!

For some reason I forgot we had one last year in the green pot and it did fine. So all should be good!
Thanks
Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
13 years ago
I really like the looks of the pots you have. What bright and flashy colors.