Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Winter protection for outdoor containers
We all know it’s coming, the s-word. And I ain’t talkin’ stew and sweatshirts! As I noted yesterday, it can happen early! HA!
It’s time to start thinking about winter prep/storage of those ceramic/glazed containers that held your lovely plant arrangements all season.
I do leave out my large, heavy ceramic container to plant for the Christmas season.
I also have two other glazed pots, which handle the least amount of wet conditions and freezing temperatures, that I will use for Christmas but it’s “mostly” protected from the elements.
After YEARS of leaving these 2 large containers out I finally had to admit it was time to let them go… there were cracks everywhere.
The best thing to do for glazed pots is to remove the soil, turn them over and place them in a protected area away from the elements.
The most important thing is that your pots are dry as we enter winter and stay as dry as possible.
If there’s an opportunity for water to get under those cracks, then you’ll likely see damage in the spring. Moisture in the soil will freeze and thaw multiple times, expanding and contracting. It’s the same thing that happens to our plants, we call that “heaving” and it can lift the plants right out of the ground.
If you keep containers dry, you shouldn’t have a problem. If you have expensive glazed containers, you’ll definitely want to protect them. This year I purchased 2 large plastic containers.
Over the years, those containers have evolved so much they don’t LOOK plastic. I’m at a point now where I want lightweight.
Terra cotta pots can also suffer from winter damage. I usually put these in my garage. The main reason is to keep them dry. The cold isn’t really the issue. Also, my terra cotta pots are smaller and stack well.
