As seasons change, so do the needs of your container garden. Once the cheery, early blooming plants that decorated your patio, porch and entryways in spring begin to die back, you start replacing them with more heat-loving annuals for a colorful summer show. As temperatures rise, so do your watering chores, and keeping a watchful eye for scorched leaves becomes ritual. By the end of summer, your heat-weary container garden is usually ready for a much-needed makeover, including more autumn-friendly plants to help welcome the new season. And even winter can prove container-garden-friendly, with the use of evergreens or other cool-season plants that offer nice forms and textures.
Protecting late-blooming annuals and perennials from frost by moving them to protected areas before nightfall allows you to prolong enjoyment of their blooms during the day.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Shading plants from the scorching sun is a step worth considering if your containers must remain outside a shady area. Use a porous screen shade cloth that reflects part of the heat away. The same approach, with solid fabric or clear plastic, can protect plants from early frosts in autumn.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
But the start of a new season doesn’t have to mark the end of a container plant’s life. In cold-winter climates, healthy tender plants can be taken indoors before the first frost hits and kept safe until temperatures rise again. You just have to know how to do it properly.
With the coming of autumn, sun-loving plants that will eventually be moved indoors before frost should be eased into their new environment by first placing them in filtered-shade locations outdoors. Repotting plants that will be brought inside for the winter into smaller containers (then returned to their original containers in spring) will help your plants go dormant. If you don’t have enough indoor space to accommodate all of your container plants, consider taking cuttings of new or recent growth from your perennials, then potting and overwintering them.
In mild-winter climates, most container trees and shrubs can be moved under roof eaves and covered with an insulating sheet for protection from frost. In cold-winter areas, seek shelter for your plants where temperatures remain above 38 degrees F for hardy plants, 45 degrees F for tropicals – lower temperatures may cause tissue damage. (Follow the steps in the accompanying photos and captions for tips on how to protect individual plants.)
When it comes to plant care, winter is a time of relative ease. Any container plants that you’ve brought indoors actually need rest during these short daylight days, so avoid fertilizing, and water them minimally. Keep any containerizedbulbs and tubers in a damp, room-temperature environment, and rotate dormant sun-loving plants from a southern to western window exposure as the sun moves.
If you’re bereft for tasks while your potted plants hibernate indoors, take the time to repair or upgrade your containers, watering systems and tools. Before you know it, that last frost will have passed, and the planting cycle will begin again. By taking the proper precautions in sheltering your potted plants from the cold, that beauty you enjoyed last summer can be successfully contained.
Protecting Container Plants - Step 1
Using care to avoid strain when lifting a heavy pot, place the container onto a roller support that can be easily moved between the garden and storage area.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Protecting Container Plants - Step 2
Drill corner holes into the support frame, using a ½-inch power-drill bit. Cut four pieces of ½-inch dowel to a length sufficient to extend 4 inches above the tallest foliage. Insert the dowels into the corner holes, creating a support for plastic film.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Protecting Container Plants - Step 3
Drape a sheet of plastic film (available at home improvement retailers) over the dowel frame, securing it with waterproof tape to form a mini-greenhouse. Cut holes to let air circulate to the plant. Avoid allowing the plastic to touch the plant’s foliage at any point.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Protecting Container Plants - Step 4
Secure the plastic film by loosely tying cord or stretching a rubber bungee cord around the container. Remember that the cover must be lifted for periodic watering.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
