Overwintering the Babies

I had great success with winter sowing last year. During the growing season, I planted out as many seedlings as I could, but some were too small to put into the ground. Others were large enough, but their new home will not be ready until next spring. So, my deck and rose bed became nurseries for most of the summer. As the season ended, though, I knew that I needed to find a more sheltered home for them to overwinter.

I initially planned to set the dozens of little pots in disposable roasting pans in the garage. I overwintered potted trees in this manner last year. I was worried, though, that I wouldn’t give them adequate water and that the garage may get too cold for such tiny pots. The ideal solution would be to sink the pots in some unused garden space and mulch with leaves, but I didn’t have any empty space.

When I decided to rip out all the plantings in the garage bed in order to grow vegetables next year, I not only freed up garden space, I freed up garden space with well worked topsoil. (A previous owner removed the native clay and filled it with a loamy mix.) It was a piece of cake to “plant” my little pots in the earth. Believe it or not, I ran out of room before I finished! My less desirable plants will be overwintering in the pit of despair.

With at least one hundred little perennials awaiting a home, you would think that I wouldn’t have dozens of new seeds to sow this winter, but I do. What can I say? I’m a plantaholic. At least I’m in good company.