Winterizing Container Plants: Tips to Help Your Pots Survive the Cold

Container gardening is fun at any time of year, but it is particularly satisfying during the gray winter months. A pot or planter filled with cheerful colors will lift your spirits on the gloomiest winter days.

However, with a tease of early snow and steadily dropping temperatures, it's time to winterize outdoor containers and prepare them for cold weather. The winter season brings fluctuating temperatures that can challenge even the hardiest garden. If you grow fruits, vegetables, or gorgeous flowers in containers or planters, there are steps you should take to prolong their lifespan when the weather changes.

From terracotta pots to smart fabric containers, our gardening experts show you how to care for your garden containers so they stay in top shape for seasons to come.

How to Care for Potted Plants in Winter

Here is how to care for containers in cool temperatures and safely bring them from freezing conditions into a cozier indoor area.

1. Group Pots Together

The best way to ensure your small containers don't break or get damaged in the winter is to move them together, wrap them in burlap, and place a frost cover over them. Keeping the small container plants together will make it easier for you to cover them all at once.

Most importantly, grouping containers closely together creates a shared microclimate that retains heat and protects plants from wind exposure. These containers should be elevated above the ground on plant stands to prevent moisture from building up at the base of each pot.

2. Protect your Containers

When it comes to winterizing container gardens, most gardeners have two goals: keeping their containers and plants alive through the cold. If you also want to protect your pots and planters, separate your containers into two categories:

Frost-sensitive Containers

Containers made of porcelain, terra cotta, and other pottery-style pots are susceptible to frost. They need to be emptied when the temperature drops, because they often crack when it freezes.

If you're growing in these pots, transfer the soil and spent plants from these pots to a compost pile. Put dormant perennials in the ground or in another frost-proof container. They'll need a protected place to survive the cold season. Before winter arrives, rinse these pots inside and out, turn them upside down, and store them in a dry place, preferably in a garage or shed.

Frost-proof Containers

Containers made of wood, metal, stone, fiberglass, or concrete can withstand the freezing and thawing that occurs with the changing seasons. These pots can be filled all year if needed.

Learn more about overwintering plants in containers.

3. Bring Tender Plants Indoors

If you have plants that want to keep growing over the winter without any damage, now is the time to bring them indoors for the season. This is an easy way to protect your pots and container-grown plants from winter damage. This might include tender herbs like lemon verbena, potted citrus plants, or any perennial plant growing beyond its ideal zone.

You can store the containers in an unheated garage, basement, or shed and check the soil's moisture frequently throughout the winter. Reduce watering to once a week and spray leaves occasionally to prevent spider mites.

4. Use Mulch

Another way to insulate pots and plants is to apply mulch to the soil, up to the rims of the pots. This will help insulate the soil in cold weather and protect the roots. In autumn, fallen leaves and twigs provide an abundant organic, insulating mulch.

5. Winterize Outdoor Pots

If you are growing cold-weather plants in containers or raised beds throughout the winter and want to leave them outside, wrap the containers in a frost blanket, bubble wrap, row cover, or burlap to insulate the plant's root system and pot and protect them from wind or frost damage. Secure the burlap with pins. You can even tie a string bow around the burlap to secure it around the pots and make it look appealing throughout the winter season.

6. Cover Edibles to Extend Harvest

Containers filled with hardy winter greens such as kale, Swiss chard, oregano, or radicchio will last longer if covered and protected. Frost protection for containers will extend your harvest for several weeks. You can use protective structures such as greenhouses, tunnels, cold frames, or insulating row covers.

7. Keep Watering until the Soil Freezes

During fall, energy continues to flow from the tops of your plants to their actively growing roots. Therefore, keep watering your plants until the soil freezes or longer if temperatures rise above freezing and the soil dries out.

This is highly crucial for evergreen trees and shrubs, which slow down their growth in the winter but can still produce new roots. Monitor the soil moisture levels for these plants regularly and water them when the soil feels dry.

Read More: 5 Hacks for Watering Container and Potted Plants

8. For Empty Pots and Containers

When your pots and containers are empty of plants and potting mixture, any of these methods will work to protect them.

Move them to a Dry Place

Bring your containers inside and keep them in a place that stays above freezing, like a garage. You can also store them in a shed or covered porch. Just keep them away from moisture.

Store them Upside Down

If your pots are too heavy to move, turn them upside down, lift them off the ground, and cover them with a thick tarp to keep the moisture out.

Winter Container Gardening Tips

Here are some extra expert tips to help your containers survive winter and welcome spring in good condition.

Choose Cold-Weather Plants for Container Growing

Potted plants experience larger temperature fluctuations and extremes that can challenge their survival, so it's a common practice to plant two zones higher than your growing zone. If you're not sure about your growing zone, choose winter-hardy plants in your region. They come in both annual and perennial types, with a wide range of edible and ornamental options.

Check Your Potted Plants for Pests

Inspect every leaf, soil, and drainage hole for any signs of pests before moving the plants indoors. Tackle any pest problems before moving, and even if your plant appears pest-free, it's a good idea to gently wash the leaves and stems. Allow your plant to dry, spray it with insecticidal soap, and bring it indoors.

Provide Extra Protection

Gardeners in zones below 8 should provide extra protection for their potted plants. Many perennial plants appear dormant all winter, but their roots remain alive and need protection.

Choose thicker pots and group them together to protect your plants from the cold. For extra frost-sensitive plants, consider potting them up into larger containers, wrapping the containers with burlap and mulch, covering with row covers, or placing them in a pre-dug hole in the ground when temperatures drop.

Don't Fertilize

Although container-grown plants may need extra feeding in the growing season, winter is not the ideal time to fertilize. Save the fertilizer until early spring when new growth starts.

Clean Your Pots Before Storing

Wash all your empty planters with a bleach-based solution to kill any disease and fungal infections. Clean larger pots where they are, and if they are empty, cover their openings with a plastic sheet to prevent water from pooling inside and freezing. In addition, store your potting soil in an airtight tub in a dry location.

The Bottom Line

Container planting is a beautiful way to display your plants, and these pots can last for years with proper care. One way to extend the life of your pots and containers is to keep them protected during winter, because the freezing temperatures can cause them to crack. If you have lovely outdoor pots that you don't want to lose, you must protect them from frigid winter conditions. Whether you let container plants go dormant in winter or place them on a sunny windowsill, winterizing potted plants is easy and rewarding.

Our smart pots, containers, and raised beds are beautifully made to grow fruits, veggies, flowers, and herbs successfully, and they can be reused for multiple years. We also offer high-quality garden tools for an effortless gardening experience, as well as frost protection row covers to protect your plants and soil from snow, ice, and freezing temperatures.