Leaving Your POTTED Fruiting Plants Outside all Winter?!

[@v.j.l.4073]

I live in zone 7 and garden in large tubs like these. When I first started I tried covering everything for the winter. When that got old, I stopped, and I never lost anything. I am in the ozarks, where temperatures fluctuate a lot. We have seen some short bursts of below zero and last winter, -18! Nothing lost. But I think the key is, we get that for a day or two, then the temps warm up a bit more like normal winter. A week or two of those temps would probably kill some things. So far that has never happened here. Very cold temps for a very long time is what kills. So now I just pile a lot of mulch on the top 2 inches of the pots, at least, more if I have the space. Also, I used very large tubs, 25 gallon, so the large amount of soil, I believe, helps to insulate the roots also. Having said all that, I just added figs to my collection, and I will be trying to protect those a bit more this winter, mainly to avoid dieback of the wood. I had first year Chicago hardy last winter when we had -18 one night and several days of below zero. Those trees were just 18-inch sticks, well lignified, and they survived to grow branches and produce fruit this year. I may have gotten lucky last year because they were so small.

[@maxramsey7860]

Thank you thank you, thank you so much for a video as I online everywhere for something like this .you are right not much of this online for plants in container . I have a small terrace and went searching for a bale of straw in NYC 😬 hard to find in the middle of December but you showed what to do with it and I will be doing just that tomorrow. AMAZING info and practical

[@BuckeyeBoyz]

I watched a video of a guy who piled up compost against his greenhouse ... stayed over 80 Fahrenheit all through the winter.

[@furiahispanica3823]

Pretty cool, I had a Natchez Blackberry, Caroline Raspberry, BlueCrop and Jersey Blueberry all survive last year winter. Didnt worry too much since the temperature would warm up quick but on below 0 temperatures I would haul all my plants to the Garage where it was always 20 degrees warmer. This year my bushes are much bigger I will try straw and burlap and set them against a wall, then if need be keep them close to my garage where I can haul them in.

[@isaacchristensen659]

Thank you! Very helpful for this upcoming winter!

[@maddog8148]

Ross your boy Maddog here. The one thing I can tell you is if you plant a a fig tree 3 to 3 and half feet deep you will never worry about losing a tree. I don’t even cover my trees at all and I get fruit every year. I live in 6A North Jersey. Good see you brother. Keep these videos going. Love them. Oh and I keep my citrus trees in terra-cotta pots only and they range from 12 to 18 inch pots. 👍

[@RossRaddi]

I totally agree about the figs. Protecting them roots is all you need. What varieties you growing?

[@VictorNewman201]

Do you recommend digging a trench that is about 3 ft deep and planting the fig tree in the bottom?

[@stelas9307]

You are right - it is very difficult finding info on this online. Thank you!

[@paulshizzledizzle6180]

I have a Bloodgood and Autumn moon Japanese Maple. Those 2 trees dont drop there dead leaves. They hold on to them like the straw method. I notice my neighbors removing all the leaves on Japanese maple to keep there front yard clean in the fall/winter. I let the tree hold on to dead leaves to keep itself warm. I dont remove the dead leaves either. The new spring growth grows on top of dead leaves. This year though, I am going to remove the dead leaves when I notice them break dormancy. To observe what happens. Those trees dont give back like a fig tree but i really love them. They look cool

[@SHERETTA123]

Thank you thank you thank you gave me a wonderful idea what to do with my container garlic

[@davem5308]

October 2020, good video Ross. Informative.

[@ryanvance5554]

I live in northern indiana, have two blackberry budgeting containers going to try this hopefully it works 🤞🏻

[@tripplebeards3427]

I’ve buried my 5 gallon pail’s completely flush in the ground in Wisconsin. I’ve done this for 10 years straight with apple trees I started from seeds and haven’t lost one. I made the mistake of digging them up last spring and never buried them come winter and lost everyone accept for two.

[@helliebellielove373]

How awful. I hope you've had success in new growth.

[@trill000]

Thanks... I have an additional problem: I am on a second floor balcony with no access to the ground. I will try my best but try and bring what I can inside.

[@nehaparmar3544]

You are so correct .. it is a topic not covered much ! My question is if I plan to leave my potted strawberry plant in covered porch covered in mulch .. should I water in winters at all ? I live in Toronto and temp hits below zero for a long time .. Btw thank you for the video ... very helpful indeed

[@Earthmadegarden]

Thanks dude this is great!

[@cqammaz53]

I live in Bethlehem Pa and I was told I'm in zone 6b. You must be up near Canada or upper NY to be in zone 7.

[@RossRaddi]

The higher the number, the warmer., Carolyn. I'm by Philly.

[@larawines4875]

Thanks!

[@olddave4833]

our frost here is down 5.5 ft, that means if we don't want our water pipes to freeze in the winter, they better be that deep.. but there are a lot of trees that have roots that are only down a couple few or even almost on top of the ground and they survive.

[@angelcaspian]

What hardiness is your area if you don’t mind?

[@TreeGuyTy1]

I’m zone 4 and I have 10 Japanese maples and 10 dawn redwoods and a bunch of other trees. In wi the ground freezes hard.

[@michaellaporte3348]

Keep them wet and protect them from the wind is all you need to do we grow 25k trees about the ground in VA zone 7

[@AneShiroo]

Hi Ross, i give you Thumb's UP! For your gardening program. I live in Zone 6B and had 2 Brown Turkey Fig Trees planted in my garden. For the first 2 years they fruited and did well, but last year they died on me. Every winter i would mulch the trees heavily with straw and shredded newspapers and cover the tree in burlap. But we had a weird weather last winter 2016 - 17 and they died. Can you tell me what i did wrong? This year I've ordered Chicago Fig Trees, hopefully they'll do better, if i learn what I've done wrong before.

[@RossRaddi]

I would suggest planting them 2-3 feet deep. Do not water other than at planting. Cover with lots of mulch. Plant them in a nice micro climate that can benefit from geothermal heating like that wall I have in this video.

[@BrutalToucan]

This was really helpful, thank you

[@felma539]

Very informative! Was looking to see if I can grow a fruit tree in a container (18" W x 14" H - guess about a 10-15 gallon wooden bucket) to be left outdoors year-round (zone 7 - NE Philly). What's a good fruit tree to start with? Looking at your list, I like Pluots & am curious about Pawpaw. Any sugestions? Possibly a productive & easy maintenance tree to begin with? TIA!

[@ksero1000]

I'm SW PA zone 6 (probably bordering 5) I lost all my container roses, container smoke trees, container sky pencil Holly, but gues what survived? Tropical colocasia whose corms were stuck in between and under two cement pavers of my back patio. They are yuge right now. Even though there may have been a fantastic microclimate that kept them from becoming too cold...they should have rotted our since it is a low point and co Stanly wet whether from rain or snow that melts and snows again for months. Now I am emotionally involved and feel the need to make a conscious effort to figure out how t9 keep them dry over this coming winter. Will effort help or be the kiss of death?

[@tabbyshirley7808]

I hope this isnt a silly question, I'm new at planting, but can you use this method for all plants that you leave in a container outside during the winter?

[@rogerscheuermann4409]

How low of temp can rabbiteye blueberries handle? What about blackberries? Thanks

[@dannygarden464]

Just think about blueberries or any other plants or threes in the wild (same area or location) , reproduce the same environment and it will be fine, been doing that for years and never had a problem, lol no I had 1 I dig a hole and cover it with dead leafs but the hole fill with water from underground not rain so make sure after you dig to check it for couple of days if you see water, you can make like a little wood pallet or cut 1 in case little water gets in, here in upper Canada it's very cold in winter and everything survive, good luck.

[@dansimmons1462]

I have a multi graphed pluot tree in a container out side in a hole in the ground for Winter. This is the Second year I did this with no problems the tree grows great.im from Pittsburgh by the way not the coolest area to overwinter plants in containers I would like to see someone from a Zone 3 or 4 do this in containers to see how well it goes

[@RossRaddi]

Very nice. That's another great way to overwinter them. So would I, Dan. I wonder how hardy roots really are because everything I've seen so far, they're actually quite hardy.

[@dabig77]

You couldve put little mittens on all the branches thats what we do in NDakota

[@Jlui83]

I’m going to grow Asian pear tree in a pot. I’m zone 7a... it does fine here if planted in ground. Should I put the tree in my in heated garage? Or just put the straw/mulch mix?

[@chazborn7654]

Hi Ross I had my Figs in the shed last year where the temperature is not that bad .I don't know how it is going to be for them this year because it was really cold . I'm in upper Bucks County Pa. Zone6B only brown turkey very slow to leaf out.

[@RossRaddi]

They'll do fine in a shed if they're kept above 20F. Any idea how cold it was in there when we went down to 0 in January? Are they awake now?

[@drogers270]

Pennsylvania is in zone 7? I am in the mid south and we are in zone 7.

[@in.der.welt.sein.]

It depends on where you're at. Pennsylvania zones include 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a and a very small section of 7b.

[@julianachandler2975]

Do you have problems with deer or mice eating your trees?

[@MissTPepe]

Hey, I live in a little suburb called Bensalem outside of Philly. Is there anywhere you recommend getting cuttings from? I like growing from seed but, I know I'm never guaranteed fruit starting from seed..thanks!..

[@RossRaddi]

Small world. I used to live in Bensalem. There's no local source for cuttings if that's what you're asking. You'd have to get them online. If you're not willing to do that, go to Home Depot. I was at one yesterday and they've got Hardy Chicago there for super cheap. Well worth it and it does well in our area.

[@MissTPepe]

Haha thats great, definitely a small world. Do you have any reliable sources for online? Or should I just kinda search around. I did see those Hardy Chicago at Home Depot as well but wasn't sure how great they'd be if they were left outside after this storm we just had come through.

[@RossRaddi]

Just Fruits & Exotics and Raintree nursery have some good stuff. EdibleLandscaping too. No need to be concerned about the storm. The wood is hardy to 0 and the roots are hardy to about 15-20. We haven't been down there since early Feb. In fact I'm gonna pick a few up for extra rootstock today or tomorrow.

[@RossRaddi]

This is a pretty good deal for cuttings & from a reputable seller that I'm friends with: www.ebay.com/itm/RdB-MBVS-Fig-Tree-Cuttings-fresh/232692883183?hash=item362d939eef:g:b6sAAOSwtIxaiiwT

[@MissTPepe]

Okie!,. Thanks for your help & also for getting back to me so quickly.

[@ncsojourner200]

Nope, ain't none of those hardwood trees up there got roots 6' -9' deep... bet 75% are 18" or less... gum trees, possible elm may have taproots. Rest are horizontal...

[@GalacticGlowPutt3]

why not plant them in the ground?

[@cgh353]

that would be a lot of work having to dig for several dozen pots.

[@carmensammarco3906]

SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE BACK PROBLEMS , ESPECIALLY, THE ELDERLY....

[@ixcuinaserpent]

this is great when trying to get good garden deals in winter and can't plant anything since the ground is frozen .

[@bgirl08]

I rent so I’m glad to come across advice for potted plants. Not everyone owns a home.

[@maxramsey7860]

@@bgirl08 that is so true, people act as if every does own a home