What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

sarr overwintering question

chibae

An orchid fancier with a CP problem
Okay guys quick background, my normal routine is the barrel bog gets mulched over with dead leaves, topped with mesh and survives fine here in zone 7A. The smaller pots, six inchers and deep or 10-12 inchers and shallow get buried in shallow graves that are lined with the mulch (bottom and sides), their tops left 1" or so above the ground level and topped with leaf mulch once it gets cold.

This year I have a tall 12" pot. I can't decide if I should:
1. Bury it like the smaller pots or

2. Just place it in an empty 20" pot and fill in the space between them on the bottom and sides with mulch, leaves, etc to provide some insulation and then mulch and cover it the way i do the barrel.

Any suggestions? It's a collection of alata, rubra, minor, leuko and some hybrids I picked up this summer.
 
Insulation is the key to keeping them from freezing to death during a cold snap, that will likely happen some time during the winter. We have a forum hobbyist (Wildbill), who lives in Connecticut. He heavily mulches his temperates and does well by them. I'm further north and a colder climate. So when we were living in an apartment with an upper & lowe, with an attic, the cold attic got the job. That worked out well. Basically, just to throw round numbers out, 30-50 F is what you're shooting for, without extra insulation.
 
I would opt for getting the pot in the ground as the ground temps stay around 50 below the frost. But that is just me. Not saying the larger container with mulch won't work though. I live in Zone 5 and have to put my plants in the garage so I have no valid experience to speak of for outside dormancy methods in your environment.
 
I'm leaning towards in the ground as well, that's how I overwinter the potted hibiscus and banana
 
Back
Top