Horned Violets - Question

[Kalhoun]

I bought some horned violets that are similar to this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001K6DAHS?tag=httpteensunet-20 but all yellow. The tag said they’re perennial but can also be used in containers.

I popped them into a medium-to-large sized ceramic pot. I want them to come back next year (zone 4-5) but I’m not sure how to ensure they don’t croak over the winter.

I have a cellar that is somewhat heated. I’d say it probably maintains a temperature of around 40-45F during our harsh winter. Can I just stick the pot down there and expect it to come back when I pull it out next spring?

[twickster]

If they’re hardy enough to stay in the ground all winter, they’re hardy enough to stay outside in a pot all winter, as long as the pot is substantial enough. (IOW, same answer as to your recent geranium question.) People plant in containers because they either don’t have beds, or the beds don’t have the right sun exposure – it’s not about bringing the pots in. (Except for annuals or tender perennials, see my answer to your recent geranium question.)

[Kalhoun]

@twickster

If they’re hardy enough to stay in the ground all winter, they’re hardy enough to stay outside in a pot all winter, as long as the pot is substantial enough. (IOW, same answer as to your recent geranium question.) People plant in containers because they either don’t have beds, or the beds don’t have the right sun exposure – it’s not about bringing the pots in. (Except for annuals or tender perennials, see my answer to your recent geranium question.)

Thanks, Twicks. I’m not sure if it’s tender, but the label didn’t say it is, so I assume it’s not. I’ll give it a shot.

[lissener]

Careful, it depends on the climate. In Seattle, you can keep almost any perennial in a pot, uh, perennially. In Chicago, very very few.

Generally, if the roots freeze, the plant will die. Generally. So it depends on your location.

As far as the linked info giving you permission to put them in containers, well you don’t actually need anyone’s permission to put anything in containers. When my clients could afford it, I put $700 Japanese Maples in containers, on Chicago rooftops–and discarded them as annuals the following year.

So put whatever you want in a pot; what will overwinter there is a different matter altogether.

[Kalhoun]

@lissener

Careful, it depends on the climate. In Seattle, you can keep almost any perennial in a pot, uh, perennially. In Chicago, very very few.

Generally, if the roots freeze, the plant will die. Generally. So it depends on your location.

As far as the linked info giving you permission to put them in containers, well you don’t actually need anyone’s permission to put anything in containers. When my clients could afford it, I put $700 Japanese Maples in containers, on Chicago rooftops–and discarded them as annuals the following year.

So put whatever you want in a pot; what will overwinter there is a different matter altogether.

I assume all roots freeze in Chicago. That’s the part I don’t understand. Why would they survive in the dirt but not in a pot?

[Kimstu]

@Kalhoun

That’s the part I don’t understand. Why would they survive in the dirt but not in a pot?

The dirt stays warmer. The underground temperature in most places is approximately constant, whereas the air temperature in zones with severe winters can get well below freezing. So the dirt near the surface of the ground during the winter will stay warmer on average than a lump of dirt in a container.

Yes, even plants in the ground can have the dirt around their roots freeze hard enough and long enough to kill them, if the winter is severe enough and they don’t have the hardiness for it. But they’ll be much more susceptible to fatal root freeze in an outdoor container.