Covered in bird netting, my potted semps are in flats that are sitting atop plastic crates situated on a balcony deck exposed to morning sun. Though there's not much sun and not much exposure to the cold elements, I still do a little work in helping my semps get through the varying seasons.
Winterizing 2020:
A few winters ago, after worrying about a few pots that had not survived the previous cold winter, I noticed very damp rotting leaves in some of my pots, After the growing season is over I get pots that begin to look like these and I start to think "ugly brown, dead leaves, soon-to-be soppy leaves, soon-to-be dead semp in the cold," etc.
It's not much work (though my legs and fingers tell me otherwise) to do a once-over with every pot and tweeze out the dead leaves, check soil level and/or add extra rock underneath the leaves to lift them up from possible wet/frozen soil.
Dead leaves removed; look how many were pulled!
With the dead leaves taken off (especially the big ones) part of the stem sits exposed above the soil line. Here's where I add more soil and then push rocks underneath the leaves.
One finished, approximately 175 more pots to go...
Where I work one flat at a time to check out the pots:
Different sized Tweezers for pulling off big leaves or little leaves.
Different size rocks to spread over exposed soil depending on size of pot and space between rosettes:
I do have to say our winters here have varied, the last one being milder than previous. The above steps are what I do to prepare my potted semps. I think it has helped as more semps have made it thru the last couple of winters.
Question: Are there things other people do to winterize their semps whether they are potted or in ground?
