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When gardeners overwinter their plant , they are providing special charge for tender plants that would otherwise not be able to withstand the cold season . Keep your vulnerable plants good from freeze temperatures with these smart storage tips .

For a helpful guide , get theFall Gardening Checklist here .

Backyard garden in winter after snowfall.

What is Overwintering?

Some garden plants survive winter consideration OK on their own while others need help with “ overwintering . ”

When weoverwintera industrial plant , we render conditions such as insulation or shelter that enable it to survive the cold months .

repeated trees , shrub , flowers , and vines suited to our mood overwinter by nature . It ’s the long - living tender plant that benefit from our help .

Backyard garden in winter after snowfall.

Contents

Overwintering Tips

Know Your Hardiness Zone

Do you know your plant hardiness geographical zone ?

Lookup : United States Plant Hardiness Zones|Canada Plant Hardiness Zones

This is a measure of the average low temperatures for your country . Garden plants and seed are sell with shred indicating what zones they are beseem for . This is just temperature - wise , though — not other spring up condition .

Red Pelargonium flowers

Anything long - living plant not fit to your winters could be a nominee for overwintering .

Long-living Annuals and Tender Perennials

A popular example of a works we overwinter is geranium ( Pelargoniums ) . These are long - living industrial plant sold as yearly because , without protection from freezing temperature , they can not survive .

To overwinter geranium , we can move them indoors to develop as houseplantsor supply cool reposition where they go inactive ( rest ) until natural spring .

Any tropic or subtropic houseplants along with many annual and legal tender perennials are also campaigner for spend the winter indoors .

Potted fig tree

Tips : How To land Plants Indoors For The wintertime

Potted Trees

Trees growing in containers may also want redundant help to get through the winter . Tropical tree diagram must come indoors to lovesome and humid consideration while semi - hardy and dauntless trees do well with dormant overwintering in cool storage .

While the same hardy Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree might make it the winter when plant in the priming , a container does not have the same insulation land andmulchprovide and the source ballock may freeze . If the water within the works cells freeze , it ’s biz over .

To overwinter a potted tree suited a geographical zone affectionate than our own , we can either isolate the container in place , partly bury the container in the flat coat ( also known as “ heeling in ” ) , or move the tree to a sheltered location like an insulated shed or garage orunheated greenhouseand bundle it up so temperature remain above freeze .

Garden image with examples of garden jargon words like bolting and deadheading.

Tips : How to Overwinter Potted Trees in a Cold Climate

Related : Garden Speak : Odd terminal figure That Confuse & Amuse New Gardeners

Vegetables

aplomb - tolerant veg like scratch , broccoli , spinach , carrots , and leaf gelt can also be overwintered . These guys can survive whatever wintertime has to offer when tucked in with rime cloths , polytunnels , get across parent beds ( “ dusty frame ” ) , or greenhouses , also sleep together as ‘ time of year extenders ‘ .

Again , it ’s all about preventing the water system within their tissues from freezing . Growth is stalled when temperatures and light levels dim , but the plants will resume growth when lovingness and lightsome paying back .

Tips : How To develop Vegetables Outdoors in The wintertime

Broccoli growing in garden.

Bulbs & Tubers

Flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils are hardy and can stay in the ground throughout the winter months .

Tuberous tooth root like dahlias are not that hardy and ask extra protection to exist the coldness .

The most coarse method of overwintering dahlia is to dig them up and keep them dormant in insensate storage for the winter .

Dahlia tuberous roots

Tips : How to Store Dahlia Tubers ( Overwintering )

~Melissathe Empress of Dirt ♛