Frost-resistant plants for spring planting in pots
There are some well-chosen fighters who can handle a few degrees below zero.
- Think
- Winter berries / Skimmia
- Christmas rose
- Bulbs (Including hyacinths, daffodils, crocuses)
- Ivy, holly, boxwood (evergreen perennials)
- Conifers
Without exception, I tear open the doors to the flower shop already at the beginning of March. And with a violent determination, completely starved for anything that is green, I throw plants in the shopping cart and skid to the checkout.
After almost six months of cold and compact darkness, it is impossible to give up. The need to keep something alive and green. To put your hands in loose soil. To tear out the shovel and the water hose. It must happen now, an absolute necessity.
Same thing, every year. It does not matter that there are several weeks left until the last frost. For there is no turning back when those first warm rays of the sun warm one's face and the birds sing the spring sonata so the palate sails in every bush, the snow has thawed away and the gravel crackles under the shoes. Here we go!
Two hours later the sun has set and is it not unusually cold? What does SMHI really say? What, can that be true? Minus degrees and risk of snow next weekend? Oops.
THINK
My respect and admiration for this unassuming little "wear and tear" grows with each passing year. It really is a survivor with infinitely long flowering time! They survive the first cold spring days with frost, throughout the summer and well into the autumn with a little care. Then they will multiply and probably bloom in both the compost and the gravel path.
A real little survivor, as if they are sustainably grown, can cope down to -5 degrees and a little more. A little snow in addition and cold for several days? No problem. Sure, they look really sad and carried away after a cold night, but they recover when the temperature rises.
WINTER BERRIES / SKIMMIA
Winterberry is a compact evergreen ornamental shrub with dark green leaves and decorative flower buds in red or lime green depending on the variety. Planted in a pot, it stays green and nice all winter, even if it gets really cold.
According to the growers, it is only winter-hardy in zone 1, so do not expect it to pick up speed again in the spring if it has been looking good in the pot since last autumn and the winter has been cold. But feel free to put it under a roof and let it have a chance to surprise, I have read about one or two who have winter berries planted in the garden and succeeded well up to Zone 3.
When planting in the spring, it can at least withstand a couple of minus degrees, but if it gets really cold, then maybe it is to recommend a little non-woven fabric and a little care for safety.
To think of:
- Choose pots that are frost-resistant and do not water too much. If you fill the pots with water which then freezes, it becomes tough for the root system of the plant, and the pot can crack as the water expands. Bulbs or spring flowers do not need a large amount of water when it is cold outside.
- When you buy flowers from a grower or flower shop, they are "awakened and in progress". They are used to the temperature partly where the plant is grown and then used to the temperature and environment in the store where it has been on the shelf for a while. If it is really gloomy, windy and cold when you plant them out in a pot, it can be tough with the change and if you are unlucky, they will be ironed.
