With our last house I bought some shrubs for the front of our home at a local greenhouse. The greenhouse guaranteed that the plants would not die for a year. So summer comes and with it a drout, heat, no rain. All of the plants in my yard are struggling except for these two cute little shrubs that I bought at the warehouse with the "guarantee". No matter the weather they look great! We have a very cold autumn and still these little shrubs keep on kicking, looking green and happy as ever! Everything else has gone dormant except for the evergreens, but not these cute little shrubs.
40 below, a blanket of snow.... white as far as the eye can see.... except for.. still.... these cute little green shrubs! At this point hubby is joking about the bushes with the "guarantee" that won't die because they are plastic! lol
We sold our home and the cute little "ever" green shrubs went to the new home owners. Now that I'm landscaping again, I found the little green shrubs again at homedepot today. It wasn't until now that I realise it's a boxwood cedar and an evergreen! It doesn't look like an evergreen! :p :p No wonder it was green all winter lol
Okay now that you all know how blond I am, I can ask my question. The boxwoods that I've bought are going in black metal pots for the deck. I've read that they can be left out all winter as long as I water them. Should I insulate the pot somehow? Should they be in a larger pot with more dirt for the winter cold? Has anybody tried this with success?
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I had some neighbours who buy new cedars every year for their pots. For basically about $20 each per year they are more striking and cheaper than buying hanging baskets and just too delicate to worry about over wintering anyway. The good plastic ones start at $100 each so it can be more economical to go real and just regard them as annuals.
DBD, it's funny that you mention it about the boxwoods not surviving the winters. I was at another greenhouse today and they said that they aren't selling them this year. They said that they have some that they are doing a trial with but that they aren't selling them to the public.
I've already bought these two little ones. They were only $5, so I will pot them in ALOT of soil and if they don't make it then I won't be too sad... and maybe buy some of those fake ones that last forever:) I thought these would look cute trimmed into little balls in the planters like you see the designers do.
As far as I know, not in Alberta you don't.... so make sure you ask at a reputable garden centre. the problem seems to be our chinooks and I assume you get them often enough in RD to be a problem in that regard. Apparently our cold/warm/cold/warm kills the roots. I had heard you could bury potted plants and keep them alive but they have to be in enough ground to stay frozen once they are dormant. I'm not sure you could supply enough insulation above ground to make that happen.
Back to your story though... I have a couple of potted cedars that are in pots, stay green all year and never die. They are plastic and you can't tell until you are up really close. No worries, no hassles.