The seasons are changing. It’s time to figure out what to do with your outdoor pots in the winter.
(Good thinking!)
Before you start getting winter snow and freezing temps, it helps to:
1) Empty the dead flowers and dirt (or “soil” in garden lingo) from your outdoor pots.
2) Move your empty pots someplace dry. Ideally, you’d store them someplace that stays above freezing (like an attached garage). If that isn’t possible, you could put them on a covered porch or in a shed.
If your pots are too heavy to move…
3) Turn them upside down OR cover and wrap them with a thick plastic tarp to help keep the moisture out.
Why does it help to protect your outdoor pots?
If you leave the soil in your containers and moisture gets in the soil, the soil can freeze and expand, damaging your pots.
Even resin (plastic) pots can get freeze damage and crack open. I learned this the hard way when one of my resin flowerpots cracked down the side, like a man splitting his pants. Oops.
Some flowerpot surfaces can hold moisture too, like glazed ceramic and terracotta pots.
Here are examples of winter freeze damage on several of my neighbors’ flowerpots.
Do you have to do anything with your outdoor pots in the winter?
It’s a matter of your risk tolerance for your pots.
I used to leave my pots outside all winter with old soil and dead plants still in them. But after ruining several pots in winter freezes, I’m all for protecting my pots during the winter.
With that said, I have friends who don’t do anything with their outdoor pots in the winter. They’ve NEVER had issues with their pots breaking. And they have glazed ceramic pots that should be vulnerable.
It all depends on how much you want to risk it.
If you have pretty outdoor pots that you don’t want to lose, it’s a good idea to protect them from freezing winter conditions.
Related tips that may interest you:
- Flowerpot clean-up tips: What to do with your flowerpots when your flowers are dead
- What to do with old potting soil (the dirt from your pots)
- Flowers that can struggle when planted in the fall (in Colorado, Wyoming and similar western states)
