Re: RE : Potting new arrivals

I agree with Arnold, you have to protect the overwintered pots by burying them to the level of the soil in the pot. And, I used to bury the pots in the ground also, and it works very well. But recently, for several reasons, I have also begun lining out the pots and surrounding them with a mulch of some sort....i use wood chip mulch primarily, but have also used grass clippings packed around the pots with good success. The nice thing about the wood chip mulch is that the pots are much easier to remove from it than from the soil and the pots are clean when you pull them out. And, If you have a somewhat protected area, you can create a holding area (with timbers or railroad ties), just set the pots on top of the ground (i set them on a thin layer of mulch), and pack the mulch around them, and a lite mulch over them. I rarely lose anything, and if I do, I figure it was from some other reason, since the vast majority comes through the winter fine. I have used this method with all sorts of perennials, including bearded and beardless irises, daylilies, hostas, clematis, and some shrubs and small trees. Its the way garden centers overwinter their trees and shrubs, surrounding the root balls with mulch. I garden in Lincoln, Nebraska, boundary of zone 4/5

Anne-Lise Kyling wrote:

Hello

Since the main subject is potting actually, I have a question concerning how
do you protect them during the winter ?

For colder climates like me (ZONE 4), do you have to prepare extra
protection for pots ? I've heard in the past from a local grower, that she
turned the pots upside down during winter. But I am scared that the iris
would be damaged by doing so ? How do you proceed ?

I was wondering if I had to cover them with leaves or give them extra
protection since they are in pots during winter ?

Thanks a lot for your help

Anne-lise Kyling
St-Armand Qc Canada

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