I tried overwintering those in pots that were half sunk into the ground last year, they did NOT come back, I was really bummed. I’m in Indianapolis, I’ve seen it said that I’m in zone 6, but I have better luck if I consider myself in zone 5. Not sure how much that helps you, but that was my experience.

I've never tried Hens and chicks myself BUT I had seen them planted in ground in zone 6a, are they okay in the ground but NOT in pots in zone 6a? Just wondering.

skmom

it is possible that the drainage was poor. They should have survived otherwise. I grow many outdoors, but will not sink pots in ground to assure good drainage - soil is hard clay here. I have few casualties at times - usually if we have freezing rain that lasts longer than a day. That is a killer for many plants. Semps are very hardy - many to z3 and most to z4. There are few that are listed as hardy to z6.

Linda

I has been recommended to overwinter plants in pots that are rated at least 1 or 2 zones hardier than your zone. That said, I have many plants hardy to z5 that overwinter in containers. Your wheelbarrow is likely quite deep, so there should be enough 'insulation', because of its depth. I would make sure that mix is very well draining, and keep the wheelbarow out of path of prevailing winds. Semps are very hardy. I had to look up ephedra regeliana and it is listed z5 (not familiar with that plant). If you pile lots of leaves under the wheelbarrow, that shoud insulate it. I would also position it so one end is little higher than other, to improve drainage even more. Slanting toward end with most drainage holes. It doesn't have to be too much, maybe 1" (?)

I know that some ppl insulate some containers with styrofoam insulation - I never tried, and do not know how well it works (probably, it does). If you do that, make sure there is plenty of drainage holes in it.

Perhaps it was drainage... I had thought that was ok, there’s a thick layer of pea gravel in the area I sunk the pots into, and my potting mix was for succulents... I was really bummed they didn’t make it.

Pea gravel around/under the pot should have helped. I use lots of gravel and sifted perlite, with very little (if any) soil in containers to make sure drainage is good. Did you loose them all? - hope you got some offsets left.

Yeah... I lost them all... I was soooo bummed. I’m really not sure what happened. They SHOULD have survived. But this past winter must’ve been harsher than I recall, I do know spring seemed later. I also lost a good number of my established mums that had been in the ground for quite some time. Some I lost completely, others I lost about half of the plant, plus they were just really late to send out green. Normally, I shear them back by half the first week of June, but this year the first week of June I had hardly any growth yet. I also lost two potted grasses that had always come back in spring, as well as some grasses I had divided and transplanted in the ground in the early fall the season prior... I’ve never had these types of grasses not survive to the next year so it must’ve been something atypical with the winter or early spring.