Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 34
Member
OP Offline
Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 34
Hello, winter is coming. I know it's not here yet, but I'm a student and once school starts next week it might as well be winter already - time will just vanish under my finger tips. I don't know which (if any) plants I can leave outdoors. Any I can would be a big help, as I live in a small apartment and "outdoors" is my small porch.

Even cold tolerant plants have me worried, as they are all in tiny pots, and I doubt the shelter of my porch will be enough to let them survive.

I am not sure what zone my area is, according to some zone maps, it's zone 4. According to "Western Garden Book" it is zone 2A (winter temps between 10 and 20 F at night, and down to -30 every few years).

Off the top of my head, the ones I have to ask about are my mini-rose and my seed grown purple coneflowers.

The mini-rose hasn't bloomed this year. It recovered from losing every last leaf. My understanding is that it should be kept outside (like a larger rose), but I'm not sure if it's ok to leave it out there since it is potted and not in the ground.

The coneflowers I started earlier this year, and they are growing in plastic drinking cups, and have 4-5 leaves each. I think they would've been bigger if I'd given them a larger "pot" and more direct sun (which I don't have).

There are probably some others I'll want to ask about, but these are of the most concern to me. Any plants I bring inside will be kept on a deep window sill (faces south or south-east). It will be chilly there, but not nearly as cold as outside. This is the only place I can possibly put these plants, as it's the only window (ok, there is a bedroom window too, but the cat would knock over anything I tried to grow there.)

I'll be moving before next spring, and I'm going to try and find a place with more garden-friendly spaces.

Sorry for the long read, any help or thoughts would be great.

Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
Hot Rod
20k Posts
Offline
Hot Rod
20k Posts
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
teach

Post the names of the plants on here....Some one can give advice.. Like tulips and lilys can be kept in a cool spot till you move .. Like a garage.



[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
PS... My horse isn't here, this is my Nitemare..
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 731
500 Posts
Offline
500 Posts
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 731
I know nothing about mini roses (or any other kind of rose) but I grow lots of cone flowers. My zone is 5 with every 4-7 winters dipping down to zone 4. All mine are in the ground and they don't even blink at -25F. Probably wouldn't care about -30F. In cups/pots is different because the roots don't go deep and the cold gets all around and under. I bet they'll survive even outside if they're dry. With only one sunny, cat safe window, I'd put the more tender things there and save the cone flowers for last, if there's room. If they have to stay out, keep them right up next to the house, mulch around the cups, water in Nov before the deep cold sets in, again on a sunny day in Jan (do you get a Jan thaw? if so, water then) and then not again until March when deep freezes start to let up. These waterings should be light, not deep soakers, and try to keep the mulch dry(ish). I expect they will all pull through.


May God bless the WHOLE world!
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
Hot Rod
20k Posts
Offline
Hot Rod
20k Posts
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
thumbup

I have pink cone flower, and white......One is out in the full sun and the other one isnt.. The part shade one is nicest........Maybe I will move it .......

We are zone 5 or 6 depending whom is speaking..ha ha
Your winters are about the same as ours......Western pa., is always colder than eastern Pennsylvania.............
b


[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
PS... My horse isn't here, this is my Nitemare..
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 102
Member
Offline
Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 102
So should they be moved inside during the winter? I was also wondering about that. This was part of the reason I planted prennials in my pots, so I wouldn't have to re-plant them every year. I have actually been thinking about just transplanting the coneflowers that are in my pot into the ground for next year, then keeping the pots outside because I have no clue where I will put them if they need to be inside all winter!

I'm in zone 5a, but we don't get really cold in the winters anymore. It gets cold, but we don't even get snow that stays put during the day anymore. It's usally all melted by noon the next day.

Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
Hot Rod
20k Posts
Offline
Hot Rod
20k Posts
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
manderlyh;

you dont have to bring in any of the Perennials.........I would suggest putting them all in to the ground right now, to get the roots going for winter.
Your area is much milder then mine.

If we get snow in december , deep, it last till end of march at least.
Last winter we didnt have any till January......

Yes put all the perennials outside.......You can stack the pots on top of each other and put a garbage baggy over them to keep water from from freezing them and cracking.......

Just tie the baggie in more than one place and it wont blow away.
I put that on my concrete planters......

Good luck


[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
PS... My horse isn't here, this is my Nitemare..

Link Copied to Clipboard
Seasonal Ticker
Gardening Links
Gardening in February
Gardening in March
Gardening in April


Shop at Amazon and Support AGF
Are you shopping online? Click this link first and A Gardeners Forum will receive a commission for your referral at Amazon.com (shopping through this link to Amazon will not have any impact on your prices at Amazon).
Like Us on Facebook
Forum Statistics
Forums65
Topics14,312
Posts240,812
Average Daily Posts3
Members16,004
Most Online10,356
Nov 2nd, 2019
Top Posters(30 Days)
Random Gallery Image
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5