Do as I say, not as I do. You’ve heard that one before, right? I’ve warned not to leave clay pots filled over the winter. They should always be emptied, cleaned and stored dry over the winter. Here is a video on how to clean clay pots to get rid of those annoying white mineral deposits, Click Here to watch. I unfortunately let that rule fall through the CRACK this fall and now I’m paying the proverbial price.
This past fall I did a simple seasonal planter of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Evergreen Azalea and an Ornamental Kale. It looked great and held up so well- until recently when Woody, the dog, decided to pull out the kale and snack on it. (Gross!)
Today I decided to stick some Forsythia branches in to fill in the void of the Kale but while filling in one void I found a bigger one. The freezing and thawing of the winter cracked the clay pot right down the side. You see, clay is very porous and absorbs water. When the water in the clay freezes, it expands and causes clay to break apart.
I highly recommend sticking with wooden or plastic/fiberglass type planters rather than clay for your winter plantings. Clay just can’t handle a freezing winter like we can.
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