Oooooohhhh I want to do this as well... I’m unable to answer the question but am following this thread so I can find out :D

Pot will break sooner or later unless it is freeze-proof/resistant. AND, it depends on your location. It isn't easy to give good suggestion unless you tell us what general location/zone you are in...pls. add that info next to your name, it is much easier for you to do than any of us, wanting to help, constantly asking...

Semps should be overwintered outside; they are hardy to z4-5 and many to as cold as z3. Keeping them inside doesn't give them winter rest they normally get. They will not die, but will be much better off if they are kept cold...even indoors, during winter.

I’m zone 6 and winters can be terrible. I think I may rethink this and find something else to use.

I am in z5 and winters are as bad, if not worse. Most Semps make it; occasionally, I loose some. It happened to me with some very young pups that I separated and potted up very late in Fall, and they died after bad ice storm that lasted for about 3 days. There was about 1.5" thick crust of ice - I removed it from many pots (not even with semps) and those plants were all OK. Few I left, didn't make it (including couple of hostas). No problem with plants in ground.

Most often ones that don't make it are in water-retaining soil.

Btw, those strawberry jars look usually very good...

Winters here in z4a are long, cold, and utterly disgusting. I guess I’d worry about our chinooks/freeze-thaw cycles and semps in pots. I really love the look of those strawberry pots though, sigh.

If you can keep them cold inside - in unheated garage or shed, you can try. They still should have light and perhaps just a little water, maybe 1x / 6 weeks? I am not sure about that since I never really tried (except once, and not sure if I water it or not...). Your pot shouldn't crack if temps are around freezing or just bit under.

Maybe Harry (hablu) will chime in; I am not sure, but maybe he overwinters some in his shed...

I did keep 1 pot of Semp. Oddity indoors because many sites suggested it is hardy to only z6 and I wanted to make sure I have at least 1 left :). It was in unheated space, with good light, and temps down to approx. -3*C. I don't remember if I watered it or not...I left rest of them outside, and almost all survived. Few tiny offsets I separated didn't. I made sure plants outside didn't get that ice covering I mentioned in previous post. Plants indoors were OK, but paler in color and slightly etiolated than outside ones, even if I thought it didn't grow at all. They look all same to me now...

Those are SO COOL, Rina!!!

I have a large west-facing window in my unheated garage. Maybe I could try overwintering them in there. I’ve lost stuff In there before but usually the plants had been stuffed off to the side with no light or water at all for months :/

I asked Harry about his overwintering pots of semps - he does it in a shelter mainly for the roof, I understand. Otherwise, his shed is open on 2 sides. While I really think they are better outside year-long (and he is in much warmer zone than me), I think what he does is just fine. They are still dormant, but protected from any rain or thaw during winter. I usually discourage ppl from keeping them indoors but main reason for hat is they keep them too warm - and they are better off with some winter dormancy.

I think you can do it in any cold spot, protecting pots and to some extent, plants, from freezing rain and such. Harry's method has another big advantage - his pots do not deteriorate...Better, read Harry's reply (almost at the end of thread):

HOW TO PROTECT SEMPS FROM WET WINTERS

If I have either clay or plastic pots, would one of those work outdoors all year long in zone 5? I could also put them in the ground in some rather bad soil. I have other semps in the ground there that came with the house, but they're on just a little higher ground.

Jeff

What is 'bad soil'?

I keep many in plastic pots in same zone. Clay will eventually crack unless it is freeze proof.

Bad soil I'm referring to is typical garden/yard soil that's been baked in the sun (south facing) and hasn't been amended. So it doesn't retain a whole lot of water and it's not all that 'nutritious'. I would think they'd like that better than really rich water retaining soil. But I've never planted hardy succulents in the ground except for the sedums mentioned which were already there. They're in soil that just as bad, but a bit higher up for a little less water, I would suppose.

Somehow I couldn't remember if it was plastic or clay that broke when frozen.

Plastic pots get eventually brittle, but that usually takes number of years (I am talking about common plastic pots). I recycle many plastic pots and they last quite some time. But some start breaking after being used for number of years. OTH, I have larger, bit sturdier plastic pots (from large perennials or even trees) for more than 10 years. I also see many newer plastic pots getting flimsier (these are mostly small, 4" or so pots).

Lean soil is just fine for succulents. I would not amend it with anything to make it 'rich', I do that for many perennials. I have grown hardy succulents always in rather poor soil, as long as there is good drainage. If you worry about drainage, plant them on mounds. I don't fertilize them either. JMO :)

OK, thanks. No I wouldn't amend. I would use that spot because of the bad soil and the almost all day sun it gets. I forgot about the mounding thing. That's a good idea. That would put them at the same height as the other Semps are that have done well for many years with no care at all.