I do cover with tarp, loosely.

Off and on with the tarp in wet weather is a good idea. Once it stays freezing they will be fine.

what is your soil???

even when frozen solid ... my sand drains ...albeit slower than when not frozen ....

imo ... it all boils down to whether the buried pot allows drainage out of it ...

if it were me... and it all thaws ... pull out the pots... remove the plant.. and just jam it back in the pot formed hole ...

ken

Sounds like I had better find a tarp!

My soil is clay. My parents had sand. What a difference!

I think pulling off the pot (and reburying) would give the hosta a better chance of winter survival. The only thing is I cannot be sure that those hostas I heeled in are virus free. I have seen what I believe to be hosta virus in six different garden centers near me. Since I have only had these hostas for one or two years, I am afraid of having broken roots possibly contaminating my soil. So I am just going to have to find a tarp and put it on for a period of time. Container growing can be a lot of work! And mother nature is not making things easy!

When my husband puts on a tarp, well----he doesn't kid around!

My heeled in potted hostas don't even take up a quarter of the size of this tarp!

Anyways, the tarp was on for two days; off for one day, back on again this afternoon. I hope my hostas appreciate all that I am doing for them---well, actually, I'm doing it for myself! It would make me happy to see them survive and do well next season.