If you’re growing in a basement or garage… Let them do what they will do in the garage. The saucers under the figs ended up being flooded after watering. Just don’t know how I’m going to get it all done and plant tulips in this cold weather already in Milwaukee Wi ! I live in NW Arkansas. It! And I get Wisconsin weather…I’m from Stevens Point. In front of the window will be great – put trays under so you can water them well when dry. I keep the plants in their pots, move the pots into the garage and cut back the foliage once it browns. Since they are dormant in the winter and don’t need light, you could put them in the garage but unless they start to break dormancy in February or March, leave the lights off. I have an attached unheated garage with 1 small window …how can I make sure it survives in a Chicago winter, I have a very large potted hibiscus tree that is way too heavy and tall to bring in the house over winter. I’m worried that even if it’s unheated during the day when the sun shines in the space will go well above 50 and then the plants will start to grow. So my hydrangeas leaf out in March, as do the figs. Today, I pulled my plants into the garage because of a forecast of frost. thank you. The reality is that most plants will start to come out of dormancy in late February or early March anyway, because they sense longer days from any light that comes into a garage or shed, and because of the temperature swings. One key is to not put them down there too early however – let them cool off outside as long as possible without freezing. Thanks. Models such as the Fahrenheat FUH724 240-volt garage heater can be easily mounted any where and it has the power to keep your garage nice and warm. Use a double layer of plastic for the “windows” Insulation helps, but most insulation blocks the light. Greenhouse makes another good spot for overwintering the veggies. Certain plants, such as roses and strawberries, may be overwintered by covering them completely with a clean mulch. (I kid. The Hydrangeas should lose their foliage and be dormant, so they don’t need lights until they break dormancy in late February or March. Others, like the huge bay, are semi-dormant and do well enough by a small, eastern-facing window. Remove any dead leaves and stalks – assuming these are not “woody” plants such as lavender or shrubs. It's possible to keep many plants semi-dormant in an unheated garage all winter...some tips for success. I’m fairly new to gardening and am just looking for advice! Bucky’s Mom, What about an Inclosed patio that gets a good amount of light? The trick is simple, just place some buckets near the plants you want to keep warm, and fill them with warm water. I do have a garage but I cant put the plants near the windows because of other things are there. I suppose you could get the seed starting heat mats and plug them in, and keep the pots on them…which would be safe since they are made to be waterproof, but they are small so you’d need a few, and I don’t know what that would do to your electric bill. That room would only be good if it goes to well below 40 and stays there. I interested in putting plants in my garage, but our temperature in winter varies greatly. If you have potted plants, then the easiest way to keep these guys warm is to bring them indoors. One thing that you can do to control this is to keep your windows cracked and avoid parking your car in areas that get a lot of sun. They need temps above 50 and sun. Watering is needed, but not too much or too often. Part of that resistance comes from the fact that their roots don’t experience big temperature fluctuations. My predicament: I have 4 cinnamon ferns and two clematis on the way. Thank you for this helpful article and the many comments/answers! But they can’t be where it’s below 32. Prima Donna theme by Georgia Lou Studios. I personally don’t usually over-winter the original geraniums but take cuttings, again, rooting six or more in one wide pot in the house and then separating them into new pots in April. Step 2: Carefully place the plant in a pot, large enough to accommodate the entire root ball with some extra space for compost to surround it. Do I water them and prune them now too? Another trick to keep plants warm is to locate a few barrels (or Rubbermaid-like plastic trash cans) filled with water inside your greenhouse during the winter months. Too much water is likely to rot the roots, however. I’ve found that if these plants are watered every three to four weeks, depending on the temperatures and the size of the container, that this is perfect for keeping the roots from drying up. So what about wrapping plants in winter? or is it ok to keep them uncovered in the garage during the winter? I have an attached unheated garage with 1 small window …how can I make sure it survive in a Chicago winter. I’ve got tropical hibiscus, bougainvillea, hydrangeas and others. Vadim, I have a bunch of perennials that I have over wintered in my garage. Improve The Flooring. Once you put them out, put them in the shade at first, and move gradually to more light so the leaves that opened in the garage don’t get burned. The coils are laid down, … Lights would encourage them to grow at the time they should be resting. I might do this for only fifteen minutes in late-March and moving to longer periods in April. After plants are dormant (meaning herbaceous plants have died back and woody deciduous plants have dropped their leaves), water them one last time and place the pots in an insulated garage or cool basement. Otherwise, move them up against the side of the house or garage, preferably beneath an overhang. Is it safe to winter these in my garage if I am unable to get them in the ground before it freezes up here? I purchased one this summer that was a replacement for something unavailable and it arrived late due to the pandemic gardening frenzy. It doesn’t have to be a lot of sun, but you do need it in light and this plant doesn’t want temps lower than 50. Then they’d go through the normal dormant period perennials do and can be transplanted next spring. We have only one window in the garage and moving the plants to a garage door is not feasible. The more heat, the more light and water the plant needs. If your garage goes much below 50 degrees in the winter you’re better off keeping the Hibiscus in the house. The spider plants and geraniums are best over-wintered in the house in front of a sunny window if you have the space. At this time of year my garage is packed to the rafters. I’m putting them in large plastic storage bins,no lids, with a drainage device underneath each group ?putting in the garage and basement. If I were you I would hang a thermometer in the grow box. This keeps the plant dormant but the plants never freeze. Two-for-one! Cathy, Move the container to a location sheltered from cold winds and frost, such as a garage, shed or inside your home. I end up with plants like these in my bathroom, laundry room and guest room. It does however reduce moisture loss due to wind. If you want to keep it, yes, put it in your garage (coreopsis too – another short-lived perennial) – DO NOT CUT THEM BACK – Do not put a tarp over plants – prevents water from getting to the roots and doesn’t protect them at the end of the day. It went into a cold shed and she never took it out of the pot. In many cases, the original concrete flooring in garages is normally left as it is … At the end of the winter , they usually are on their last legs. The wrapping does not keep the plants warm. Betsy, I’m just trying to avoid temporarily transplanting. I live in SW VA and the winters can be very cold. Spread the loose straw around the plants or … Thinking of moving her to a metal framed shed, Still no heat & here in GA. it gets below 50, winter’s run 40 – 20 degrees. Yes, you can use lights for those tropicals that will keep their leaves. Hurst relies on hoop houses to keep plants warm in winter weather. Now you’re ready to install your new garage heater. Also, in February when the sun gets warmer the plants can cook under the tarp…just like your car heats up from the sun in February even when it’s cold outside. Pick a place where it butts against an existing structure: your home, garage, outbuilding, or solid fence will do nicely. I have large pots of Clematis. Does all of this sound okay? If you want to plant basil, plant about 6 seeds in a ~4″ deep aluminum sheet. You want a place where the temperatures are below 50 but above 32 f. If your patio goes below freezing the roots of your plants will freeze and the more tender plants will die. Our basement has a very small north facing window. To use straw in the garden start with a bale or a portion of the bale and begin by pulling the batts apart. since they had no light. Can a potted gardenia tree survive winter in the garage? That's no problem when I was in the vegetative stage, because both of the CFL's (85 watt and 100 watt) kept the little pre-fab grow room warm enough. How difficult will it be to warm your garage in the heart of winter? Dark isn’t needed. … I think I’m good on the temperature and light scenarios. Water when soil is dry. Maybe you could buy a space heater and put it in a corner away from your plants to keep the garage warm. A plant growing outdoors is often more resistant to cold than indoor plants. At home or in the garage the the plants are safe from the frost. A south-facing wall works the best. LAST STEPS. On an especially mild, sunny day we open one of the garage doors so they get some light. I have 6 plain green hostas,9 hybrid lillies and many more perennials to dig to get ready for foundation work and deck removal and expansion.. In order to protect the plants, you will need some sort of additional heat during frost and freeze events. Since Aloe is evergreen and only rests, but doesn’t go dormant, you’ll need it in some light. You can either use grow lights or plain fluorescent lights – tube lights in a shop fixture should go fairly close to the plants (six inches to a couple of feet). Plus, it also allows for year-round nurturing and growth, irrespective of what the climate may be like outside the greenhouse. Also, if kept in the same pot you’d need to periodically add some new soil to top and fertilize. I may be imagining that I can see a potted gaura in one of your photos, because that’s my current dilemma. Isn’t there another place outside where you could dig a trench and park them in the ground? Weatherstripping and insulation will help to protect your garage from extreme winter weather, but on their own, they're not going to keep the garage toasty warm for you. Give it a try – no harm, right? Move them out now so they can break dormancy outdoors. If it’s a sunny room the temps might swing drastically between very warm in the day and cold at night – and that can be hard on many plants. Hello, I live in Canada north of Quebec in very cold area -40 in winter and very windy” I bought the summer 50 roses David Austin . I don’t think you need to do the shed for a Hibiscus moscheutos. Not sure what the garage temperatures are in winter. That said, the best way to overwinter geraniums is in a sunny window in the house. I have a full eastern and a full southern-facing window in my unheated garage. You may wish to rake it back away from the plants as spring starts to warm up. I have a 3-season room attached to my detached garage. Plants to Overwinter. We spent two days cleaning the garage before the plants could come in! When will I know when it’s warm enough to move them outside for the summer? Collin – if this is truly a hardy hibiscus, not a tropical hibiscus, why not just plant it in the ground outside? I usually trim them down about 1/3 when I bring them back outside. Soil Mats. Enjoy! So it’s a dance, but not a very complicated one. Louis, I don’t know your weather so hard to advise…call your local garden center. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Since I wasn’t sure where it should reside permanently, I potted it in a large metal pot with a green patina that I forgot I had and set it in the sunny border of a garden space, and it’s gorgeous there! I have over – wintered them in the unheated garage for years but I’m always weary that the 9 year old mandevilla, the ferns, geraniums and spider plants will not make it. Place them as close to the window as possible and know that they will lose leaves. If I left this much water the figs’ roots would suffer. I’m afraid the lack of circulation under a heavy tarp will cause mold or rot, and I’m afraid uncovering it occasionally during breaks in freezes and snows will cause more harm than good. If these were mine, I’d find a place outdoors to heal them in. It’s the only perennial in the planter, and we would like to tarp the planter for protection. Heated Floors: Another great way to add heat to your garage is in-floor heat. Keep Your Greenhouse Warm If you are a serious gardener or want to become a gardener, you may know the importance of a greenhouse. An artificial light is always on. The garage never goes below 32 degrees but tends to hover in the 40’s and low 50’s all winter. I use an inheated room off my garage. Can it be stored in the garage? Or, would it be best to take them to a friend’s deck and winterize them? Check them every couple of weeks to see if they need water – the soil should be moist but not wet. Either that or cluster them together and mound mulch on all the edges so that it’s 16″ thick, then top with a couple of inches over the group. If they’re in sun the soil will dry out faster than if not in sun. I live in Southeastern NH about 30 minutes from the coast. I want to winter over geraniums and two hibiscus plants, potted. While weather stripping and insulation can help to keep the cold air from entering the garage, it won’t help to warm it up. I can’t remwmber how she did. Any ideas for a heat source that would be safe and minimal – enough warmth to just keep there from getting so bedraggled ? But better in the slight protection of the garage than outside. We have days in January and February that can reach 75 degrees and two days later it will be 5 degrees. Does anyone use a grow light? Would our unheated sunroom be a good place to winterize them? ... How to keep containers warm in winter? Hello What is best to do for the winter? Determine Your Heating Needs. The Agapanthus stay green all winter. I was away all winter and stored some potted plants in my unheated garage……..It is early May and my potted Hostas have emerged!! I wish I could put them in the ground so they could grow better because I know they’re very root bound having been in the same pots for several years. Can I save them if I put them out in heavy shade?? So keep it a little cooler—within the range of the plants—if you are short on light. I live in Chicago suburbs and am wanting to hold plants while I intentionally kill off and prepare a bed for next spring. Then you start with a new one in a pot that is smaller…at least at first! And, what would be the instructions on watering in sunroom and outside on deck? I have a Little Miss Figgy dwarf plant. When plants are dormant they are not absorbing much water, so if the pots sit in saucers that are filled with the overflow this can lead to root rot. Some plants do fine in the 35 to 50 range of the typical unheated garage, but tropicals don’t do well below 50. I know that most people don’t like throwing plants away, but it’s always an option when a plant gets too large to leave it outside (maybe planted in the ground) and if it makes it that’s fantastic and if it doesn’t, oh well. I have a key lime bush and a tangerine bush I’m not sure what to do with. Mildred, I have a very large potted hibiscus tree that is way too heavy and tall to bring in the house over winter. Note that I have many plants that break dormancy in February, March, and April in my garage and are in very little light (one side window 12′ away from all plants) but when I introduce them gradually into real sunlight in May, they do just fine. Put houseplants in the sunniest spot you have; move them to follow the sun if necessary. I live in Northern MinneSNOWta and as of today (10/19/20) we have 4″ of snow on the ground and more coming. But in early April this would be unusual, so get them out soon. When the ground is frozen, plant roots absorb very little water, so a drying wind can be very harmful to the plants. Some, like the fig trees (somehow we ended up with three large pots of Brown Turkey figs), lose their leaves and are dormant. At that point I need to gradually reintroduce them to the real world so that the leaves don’t get sunburned. Some plants, though, need heat to grow properly, such as peppers, tomatoes, and squash. It's an excellent space for keeping your plants and flowers safe from harm and harsh environments. It would be bud hardy in most winters on Cape Cod but I’m growing it, and a few other hydrangeas,  in containers to show what those in colder regions can do. Note that because Gaura blooms for so long, it behaves more like an annual. The key to success with garage storage is that this area is attached to the house but not heated. This acts like insulation, keeping warm air from the ground around the plant. I live in Chicago and will not be able to replant them on my roof deck until late spring. Sounds like you’re doing things well, but I understand about bigger, root bound plants. These air pockets act as insulation and keep the plants warmer longer and can help your plants to thrive until the days are consistently warmer. People who live where it’s too cold to grow blue hydrangeas outside can use this method of over-wintering them in containers. Overwinter as houseplants in a warm, sunny place (like a sunroom or heated greenhouse): cordyline, phormium, palms, croton, bamboo, jasmine, allamanda, bougainvillea, hibiscus, citrus; Take and root cuttings and pot them up so you have new plants in the spring: plectranthus, coleus and geraniums ; Keep plant dormant in a cool, dark place: brugmansia, banana, … I opened and closed the doors a few times to make sure everything was well coated and resisted the urge to show Mr. MMP how the garage door button works. Yesterday I had to use a broom to sweep excess water onto the garage floor and then out the door, since these pots are too large to easily move them out of the saucers so that they could be emptied. Hibiscus is one that does better indoors where the temps are warmer. Try to insulate the grow box itself instead of the garage. Gradually introduce more sun. You can either leave it where you plant it, or dig it up in the spring and put it back in the planter. Now it’s in a pot on our deck and doing great. LOL. A Cracked Pot. 5-7. im afraid the plants will start to come out of dormancy during these warm spells. At the End of October when the nights start to be below freezing point I have put them in my heated garage which I keep close to freezing point 32F ( 0C) all winter. Thank you for your wonderful article. But keeping this plant in the cool temperatures of the garage is what helps them to flower well in the summer. Put begonias, geraniums and a pot of marigolds with seeds sprinkled on dirt. Will it go dormant such that I can bring it in my unheated central Illinois garage with no natural light? Some plants are grouped near one of the eastern-facing windows. They are pretty tall but have no color ( white!!) You may need to bring your plants indoors or choose a plant that will survive the colder conditions. How to Protect Tropical Plants in the Winter Even in a climate as warm as Florida, the nights may get cold enough to damage tropical plants. I live in Amarillo, TX which is in zone 7A. Can I leave the coreopsis in the potting soil under a vinyl tarp over winter or should I tranplant it to the ground and mulch it for winter? Jim, Finally, once the weather is mild enough, but hopefully on a cloudy day, I move the plants outside for the season. they might not make it. Photograph by India Hobson via The Garden Edit. I thought of burying the whole pot where it is. Usually yes – as long as the garage doesn’t go below freezing. Keeping plants safe in winter freezes Winter frost can damage and even kill your plants. A shady spot won't produce enough sun to keep plants warm, so choose a spot that receives an ample amount of sunlight each day. They should be fine. Do you think this environment would be well suited to harbor plants over winter? I’m feeling bedraggled tonight after the plant move turned into a partial garage cleaning! Until now ( Nov 28) my rose look very fine all canes are still green. Many people save geraniums in cool places where they go pretty much dormant during the winter, and then they leaf out again in the spring. Don’t overwater and don’t give any fertilizer. Group all the plants together in the spot protected from the wind and close to the wall. If possible, keep the plants in an area with access to sunlight. It can prevent the soil from cooling off too quickly, but it can also prevent it from warming up promptly when the time comes. But if you can’t, put them in potting soil in pots that are about 8 to 10″ in diameter with fresh potting soil, water them well and keep them in an unheated garage. Went out in the garage and have a small hydrangea and the leaves are starting to sprout out on them. We’ve had a few freezes, but it appears healthy for now. i will put my hibscus in garage for winter. Insulation works both ways. Look for a spot that will stay in the range of 32 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. No, there wasn’t a Gaura in my photos. keeping marginally hardy plants alive through winter, keeping potted plants through winter, overwintering fig trees, keeping figs through winter, keeping agapanthus through winter, potted hydrangeas, winter storage of plants, do plants need light in the winter, post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-18854,single-format-standard,bridge-core-2.5.5,et_monarch,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-theme-ver-24.0,qode-theme-bridge,disabled_footer_top,qode_header_in_grid,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.4.1,vc_responsive, Garden Groups – In Person or Virtual, Zoom Presentations, Horticultural and Green Industry Trade Talks. Lisa – you still might be able to plant them – 4″ of snow in no way means frozen ground. Placing them on a sun porch, in a greenhouse, or in a reasonably warm barn or the garage is a good solution for wintering the plants. Then there are the potted Hydrangea and Agapanthus: these are placed wherever there is a space, allowing that the cars do need to be able to pull in before a snowstorm. Calijuana Well-Known Member. Nikki – short of building a heated greenhouse around this plant, there is no way it will survive outside in a Chicago winter. For onions you can just plant in a big, ~2-3″ deep baking sheet. The BloomStruck hydrangea in the foreground is spending the winter snuggled up to one of the fig trees. Zone 5. Thank You! Step 3: If your plant is already potted, then you can skip steps 1 and 2. Sounds like you’ve got a good plan! Vivian, One of the first options available for heating your growroom is focusing on heating the … But keeping this plant in the cool temperatures of the garage is what helps them to flower well in the summer. The repetitious cycle of freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw is not just hard on your plants, it’s … M, I have two large citronella plants and a garage with no windows. I don’t know what type of Clematis you have, but if I had them in pots I would not keep them in a sunroom where day temps are high. If she kept it from year to year her shed didn’t go below freezing. They might start to break dormancy in the garage in March – just let them do what they do (don’t bring them into the house) and then put outside in April or when the temps are above 50 degrees. I also have a moonbeam coreopsis in a large wooden deck planter. Above: If you want to make a DIY tunnel or hoop house, you can make a metal or wooden frame and cover it with Frost Protection Cloth; a 250-foot roll is $90 from poly-Tex. Keep in mind that the higher the USDA Zone number, the warmer the climate. Or so I tell myself. Jemara – it all depends on how cold it gets. Don’t move the hydrangeas out until you see the ones outside opening their leaves – once the plants that are growing outside have leaves the size of a quarter, you can put them out. Thank you! If not directly next to the window, how far away> The garage is attached to the house at the basement level which does not god below 60 degrees. Thank You Soo Much!! During summer months, your car can get too hot. Thanks!! Plants can’t do this in winter when the soil is frozen. I have install an artificial light system with a timer, which I plan to start not before mid march to give them a daily little light period when my garage will start to warm up by itself in spring and that it will be still to early yo bring my roses outside because the outside nights will still be to cold . I have a huge aloe Vera plant that I cannot put in the house. When it starts warming up in the spring I’ll open the garage for a bit and then bring them back outside. Could you help? Sep 7, 2008 #4 How big is your garage? Don’t fertilize until the plants have greened up on their own. So keep track of temps in the winter and you’ll have better information. Putting something like bubble wrap around the fabric pots might help…. Keep roots warm and up off the cold floor. A broom quickly pushed the excess out and as a bonus, the surrounding garage floor got cleaned as I used a push-broom to move the water outside. I guess “grouped” is a nicer term than “piled,” but the stacking doesn’t seem to bother the ones that are dormant and the top pot drains into the bottom one, making watering a bit more efficient. How big is your grow box? For added protection when you protect plants in a freeze, you can place plastic over the sheets or blankets to help keep warmth in. . My Aunt lived in Maine and had a huge pot of geraniums that she overwintered for 25 years. Absolutely, Stephanie – a cool basement with even a little light can be a good place for dormant plants. If the weather is fairy mild I can pull varieties such as roses and hydrangea outside to slow them down. If you see that the temperatures are going to fall into the 20’s overnight, or that daytime temperatures will be below freezing, put them back in the garage. The pink Gaura is not hardy for us and I don’t even try to keep it as it’s widely available in the spring at the garden centers. Hi All, My plants are in a pre-fab grow room in an attic, and now it's getting cold. I feel your pain. And they do just fine. Mary, Use this to keep the garage just above freezing, if needed. Having enough room in your house can be the biggest challenge with this ordeal. Likewise, your car can get too cold during the winter. I’ve got a Hardy hibiscus appx 3ft tall in a planter, too big for house & unheated garage w/broken pull down door. Any chance they’ll make it through the winter in the basement? Step 1: Dig up your plant at the of the summer before the first frost is expected. Keeping outdoor plants alive in the winter can be hard, especially if those plants are tropical or subtropical and you live in an area that has occasional freezes. In my warm Zone 6 garden white Gaura is hardy, although I consider it a short-lived perennial. Wilda – only if your garage has a window and doesn’t go below 50 degrees. Frost Protection Cloth. And if the ferns are Boston Ferns, warmer temps are better for them as well. In short, the plants are more stored in the garage than they are grown here. Sure, I have the usual assortment of snow shovels, ladders, fertilizers and other garden products. Should I place them right next to the window for direct sun or further away for just light? i would appreciate your opinion. Note that I have remove all leaves to force them to go dormant faster and avoid sickness transmission ( Black spot etc) . The type of plant will determine the amount of heat. For example, if you're in USDA Zone 8 and would like to grow a Camellia plant in a container, you want to choose from Camellia varieties that are listed as cold hardy to USDA Zone 7, which has a colder climate than yours. As the days lengthen the plants start to break dormancy, even though there really isn’t enough light to sustain this growth. Jan, I’d keep them outside, or even bury the pots in the ground for the winter instead of blankets. Just put them outside. I can’t repot them because if the pots are any bigger I can’t move them by myself. Sort of.) There are some plants that may not survive in containers outdoors, yet they don’t need to be in the house either. Perhaps a cool basement with several windows would do as well?..Im going to try it..Good ideas here…. People who live where it’s too cold to grow blue hydrangeas outside can use this method of over-wintering them in containers. I do have a mud room with three windows but it gets too warm there because the furnace is in there . Do potted fig trees in containers need to be covered in total darkness ( inside box enclosure) in the garage during the winter? There is the other option to designate an area of the garage or basement for potted plants … You can harvest the leaves under the grow light a few times. Sunshine. I live in Batlmore, and recent winters have been mild. They will look pretty sad by spring, but you can cut them back and fertilize when you put them outside in the spring. But if it’s too cold they must remain in semi-darkness until the weather improves. Once the temperatures drop below 32 it will die, no matter how much mulch/protection you might put around it. Most tropical hibiscus are true zone 9 plants, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to grow them outside through the winter. How I handle it is that if I’m home on a hot day I’ll open the doors and let the plants get some real sunshine. My garage has no windows so I keep a couple of lights shining on them through the winter and water them less often. Put them out in a fully shaded area at first – if it’s still below 45 at night where you are, you might want to put them out in the day and in the garage at night for 4 to 7 days, then move out into shade for good. 3 sides are windows with eastern, south & western exposures. … No watering till April when they get to go outside as long as not too cold. It was gorgeous. I water the plants when they are dry, and later I’ll put them out into part-shade first so that the foliage that broke dormancy early isn’t sunburned by the “real world” conditions. and is the eastern or the southern window better. (Three to five years.) Once I move her to Shed, THEN WHAT? I can’t remembe how she did it. Will they be ok stored in an unheated, attached garage with no natural light. Do I Wrap her, give another top soil cover?? Of course, if you have a “Polar Vortex” period like last year (I was in Chicago for that!) Just cool temps that are above freezing. Or would it be better to place them outside on deck by the wall of the house—with blankets? If the temps are cold I keep the doors shut. I cross my finger and wishes myself success. Your key lime should go in front of a sunny window or slider in the house. There is a rack of boots, some brooms and the garbage cans…normal garage stuff. then it is not too uncommon for the daily high to be in the mid-sixties for several days, i.e. View all posts by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener, MASTER CLASS ON WINTER CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION. I would take a few of the “offspring” off your spider plants and put them in one pot for the winter, then separate and grow larger come spring when they are outside. Mine is in the kitchen by the sliding glass door! 1. Edge of a vegetable garden, for example. How to Prepare Your Plants for Wintering in Your Garden Shed. So far I’d like to host day lilies, hostas, peonies, Japanese lanterns, lemon drops and an assortment of ground covers. When do you move them back outside. The warmth may be enough to keep a plant from freezing during a short cold snap. I have a few tiger eyes sumac dwarf trees that I recently had to transplant from planter boxes on my roof deck into large Aeration fabric bags. Anni, The presence of water in this quantity keeps the interior notably warmer than without, and lowers the temperature needed for the air inside to freeze. Your email address will not be published. But from December through April, my garage is also packed with plants. Other than watering, the only tricky part of garage plant storage is what happens in February and March. Just remember to let some fresh air inside during the sunny days. I do this by grouping them near the garage door and opening it for short periods so that the sun can come in. I live in zone 8A and have 3 tropical hibiscus plants in pots that I bring in each winter. …