Well,I don't really grow in pots,but if you consider seedlings that come up near the parent plant,they survive very well,in my garden,every year. I have had maybe one,or two plants in 4 inch pots make it through the winter,but they got covered up with leaves in the garden. This is about all I have to offer on the subject. Phil,in zone 6.

I've wintered over successfully miniatures in 4 inch pots. I know of people who winter over seedlings in 16oz cups.

The one thing you don't want is a small plant to be in a large pot. The enemy in winter is moisture. During dormancy a Hosta needs no water. No water, as in none. A small plant in a large pot is liable to get over watered in the fall or gather moisture if uncovered (even if it's tipped on its side) in winter and then rot. It's better to leave plants somewhat root bound now and then repot them to larger containers in the Spring. Don't repot now. And don't overthink this thing.

Steve

This post was edited by steve_mass on Sat, Oct 12, 13 at 12:34

No, wasn't planning to repot at all. Just deciding if some of my smaller pots should be nestled into a bigger pot together (still in their small pot) to help to insulate them. I'm not keeping mine outside, but in a closed shed for the winter, so no worries about moisture.

The enemy isn't the cold, especially in zone 7B. It's moisture and the freeze and thaw during the winter. You want them to get dormant and then remain that way until you are past your last frost date. Be aware that in a shed you may need to take them outside in early Spring during the daylight hours. You are actually increasing their zone by keeping them in an enclosed space. So they will likely start growing earlier than Hostas in the ground.

Steve

My hosta freeze and thaw all the time. It, in and of itself, is not a problem. (They thaw completely, so don't hold water.) The only time it hurts anything is in the early spring when the pips start to emerge.

bk

So--what about my plan to plant 3 mini-hostas and the mini-heuchie in my new 16" pot? Should I pot them in there and then wrap it in bubble wrap for the winter? The pot will be within 6' of my building on the eastern side.

Tomorrow is the day I intend to dig out the 18" of sod to make the new hosta-planting strip. The dead tree and the ravaged garden beneath have still not been removed. I am quite sure the co-op manager and the street bum they call a "landscape worker" are laughing themselves silly about me frantically removing my hostas and heuchies due to supposedly imminent removal of the dead tree and plowing under of the garden and then them not doing a thing to remove the dead tree. I only hope the dead tree blows into something and causes damages in the meanwhile. Then let's see who's laughing.

Esther,

I would just cover that pot of minis so that it doesn't get wet and that it stays shaded. You won't need bubblewrap because cold isn't the problem. It's moisture and freeze and thaw. You want the pot to stay shaded and dry.

Steve

Steve, you're right though. My hosta in pots come up before those in the ground would. I don't usually have to protect them, but will be prepared after last year.

bk

i will yell ...

THIS IS VERY ZONE DEPENDENT ...

i have lived my whole life in z5 MICHIGAN ...

and that is NOT NC ...

read ... learn.. contemplate ...

but then figure out how it works in your climate ...

for me.. small pots ... can go in and out of dormancy.. if we get that typical 3 to 5 day period in february ... where we hit 60 degrees for the period ... and then return to near zero until mid march ....

a hosta that goes in and out of dormancy.. in winter .. IN MI ... will eventually rot/die .. ESPECIALLY ... if it come in and out of dormancy ...

the mild winter we had 2 winters ago was a nightmare ...

anyway ...

take 10 little quart pots... which would thaw in 20 minutes.. and instead .. pot and all pot. them into a short 5 or 10 gallon pot... and all of a sudden you have a large wad of soil.. that will stay frozen until the ground starts to thaw ...

so what i was talking about.. FOR MI ... anywhere north of the MI-OH border ... is to create a mass of potting media.. that will retain the cold ...

though i enjoy being the be all.. and end all .... of THEORY ... i want you to insure that you then think about how.. where you are.. is different than where i am.. and fine tune the IDEAS i provide ...

one other IDEA ... with small pots.. is how to water a dormant hosta.. in a small pot ... in MI ... if i watered with a watering can ... i could freeze the whole root mass.. into an ice cube.. because it would freeze.. before it drained ... so the suggestion is to put some snow.. or an ice cube on the media.. and if a warm day rolls around.. a day where the media might thaw a bit... the frozen material.. will keep the soil cooler.. but more importantly ... will melt according to the warmth ... providing water.. when the media can use the water ...

so no matter where you are.. watering in winter is something you need think about ....

but the bottom line.. no matter where you are is : GET THEM DORMANT; AND KEEP THEM DORMANT ... and you will win ...

i thought i had another suggestion .... but the coffee buzz just kicked in ..... and my hair is sweating .. lol ... i will come back when i think of it ...

ken

So Steve--if I put plastic over the Georgia Peach heuchie 12" pot and the mini hosta/heuchie 16" pot, put them against the building in the corner by the porch (under my downstairs neighbor's big air conditioner), they should get through the winter OK? I was planning to put a layer of shredded bark mulch over the dried up plants once frost hits and then the plastic. Or should I just skip the mulch?

Esther,

The mulch and plastic idea is perfect. The mulch will help them to stay cold and dormant. In your zone 7b, cold won't be the problem. They just need to be shaded and covered.

Steve

Awwww, Ken, I hate it when you yell. Of course it's zone dependent, isn't everything?! I still thought it was a great idea, though. I'm playing the better safe than sorry song this year, I don't want to look back with "if onlys" and lose 85 hostas b/c I was lazy/didn't bother to think it through. I am an over thinker, that's not likely to change in this lifetime. Its part of the fun, working out your plan of attack (or defense, in this case).

What you are saying makes perfect sense to me and I would say we in zone 7b are more likely to have trouble with freeze and thaw than even you would. Our winters can be riddled with warm days.

I always find it interesting, having read back into the threads about overwintering, that everyone is so different on adding water or not to a dormant plant. Some say never ever ever add water, some say they add a little, some say they have and lost all of their hosta. I find it interesting that Mother Nature can add water to the ground and not kill a hosta but apparently adding a little to a dormant hosta in a pot will kill it right off. I think the verdict is still out on this one. Zone may make a difference with this as well.

Either way, thanks for all the feedback. I like to contemplate these things as I come up with my plans. As always very valuable information is found here.