Questions tagged [overwintering]

Questions about how to ensure that plants survive winter, including mulching for protection, or digging them up and storing them indoors while dormant.

Use this tag for questions about overwintering plants, i.e. what should be done to a plant so that it survives winter in the best condition.

Some plants might be covered for winter, whilst others (e.g. some tubers and bulbs) may be dug up, stored in a cool place, and then planted out again in spring.

External references:

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What is the best way to over-winter bananas?

The new house also has a couple of banana trees! What is the best way of over-wintering them? I am in USDA Zone 8a and we've just started to get frosts. From the research/asking around that I've done, it sounds like there are two main approaches:…
winwaed
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Should I bury my blackberry/raspberry canes in mulch over winter?

I have some blackberries and red raspberries, and I'm not sure how to winter-prep them. After pruning (which I'm skipping this year, since the primocane raspberries are only in their first year), how should I mulch them? Should I take them down from…
Jamin Grey
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Can portulacas be overwintered indoors?

My portulaca is growing a clump of short stems at the base of the plant like a sedum. The sedums use this to grow the next years growth. Could I dig my portulaca up and overwinter it indoors? Update: The plant did overwinter and grew well the entire…
J. Musser
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Overwintering pepper plants

(Zone 7, Memphis, TN) A friend and I are starting an organic community garden in a nearby neighborhood and are currently building up the soil and laying out plots for next spring. This season, I grew several varieties of peppers in my home garden,…
AndrewG
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What edible plants can be grown in cold climates?

I live in Minnesota (U.S.). It starts to get cold from September (sometimes snows as early as October) until about mid-April (I’ve seen it snow as late as May some years), but I want to do year-round gardening. The daylight hours drop below 10…
MCsuchNsuch
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What's a good alternative to Incandescent Christmas lights for frost protection?

I understand that gardeners used to wrap trees in Christmas lights to provide frost protection as incandescent lights gave off quite a bit of heat. Try as I might, I've been unable to find any outdoor rated incandescent Christmas lights (that will…
davidgo
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Does wind chill affect plants?

Aside from breakage, does wind in freezing weather damage plants? In hot weather, wind causes faster evaporation and can kill a plant by drying it out that way. How can air movement damage plant tissue at below freezing temperatures?
J. Musser
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Keep conifers green in winter

I live in zone 3, central Alberta. Temperatures are well below freezing for 4-6 months of the year, with cold snaps lasting weeks between -20 and -35 C. I have noticed that some conifers go quite yellow in winter. One cause of this: Once water…
Sherwood Botsford
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Concerned about wintering a potted banana tree

I have been growing this Musa Basjoo plant from a small pup for about three years. It is now 6 feet. This was the first year that I will not be able to bring it inside the house for the winter. It is just too large. I have been told that these…
ychirea1
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Can I overwinter runner bean seedlings for cropping the next season?

Clearing up my vegetable plot this autumn I have found several young runner beans have self seeded and have put up new plants currently 10-15cm high. I've not seen this before but we have had a very mild autumn. Are these viable seedlings and would…
Tea Drinker
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How to grow Rosemary indoors over the winter?

I live in northern Colorado on the plains and the rosemary that thrives in the summer never makes it through the winter in a pot. It slowly dries up and dies even though I water it and keep it in a sunny place. What should I do to keep it alive?
user1993
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Should I prune Rudbeckia for winter?

My Rudbeckias have had a great 2nd summer, have now grown up to 60cm ish in height and have flowered like mad for at least a couple of months. I'm just wondering how best to care for them over the winter? (in the UK midlands) This RHS article…
Ted
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Will onion sets overwinter in USDA zone 4?

I have garlic, and ornamental onions and chives planted. They overwinter, how about those bargain onion sets I bought? I planted the bag of twenty or thirty but it was a dry summer and those I harvested were not much bigger than when I put them…
kevinskio
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What's the best way to overwinter carnivorous plants?

The flies, fruit flies, mosquitoes, and moths are getting really annoying and the spiders in the house aren’t helping much, so we want to get some carnivorous plants to put around the house. Our main concern is how to maintain them during the…
Synetech
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How to overwinter potted rose-cuttings?

Similar this question I potted rose-cuttings using the described in BBC's Gardener's World (cutting August-shoots in 20cm long "sticks" and place them into drained soil). I did this in the end of August and two of the stems started to build…
Patrick B.
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