I planted some Hostas in pots this summer. Will they be okay to leave them in the pots and put the pots in my garden shed over the winter? Will they come back in the spring? I am in zone 5a.

I have a friend here in 5b who keeps lots of plants overwinter in pots outside. He tries to keep them in areas where they will not freeze/ thaw and waters a little if weather is mild. Established plants in medium or larger pots will probably do better.

Your zone is similar to mine. I've had about 50/50 success with trying to overwinter hostas in pots. I have an enclosed porch which I usually use, but still lose about half. Do ensure that they aren't too wet as the freeze-thaw cycle is what is fatal to the plants. But if the plant is valuable to you, it's better to sink it into your veggie garden if you can, of cover it with something that will insulate it. I have many pots buried in my veggie garden and more that are sitting on top but covered with unscreened compost that was emptied from a bin this autumn.

I overwinter more than 200 potted hostas every winter. Annually I wait until Thanksgiving and I tip over every pot to assure that water does not sit on the pots when thawing and freezing occurs in early spring. Over 90% survive.

This winter I have over 1,000 potted hostas, and after consistent freezing temperatures, I am going to place many in heavy plastic bags to avoid the rain in the spring.

A few winters ago I had some in larger pots that I removed from the pots and placed them in plastic bags, and placed them in an unheated garage. All survived.

Thank you all for your comments. I have them in my garden shed. Some were pretty wet when I brought them in so I am going to go out and tip them all over so that any excess water can drain out. I will keep my fingers crossed all winter that they survive. I moved this shed to its new position and did not get these Hostas planted. Hopefully, they will be alive so I can plant them in the spring.

Thank you all again.

I've overwintered potted hosta here in Central Illinois for the past 5 years and have only lost those which were not growing good before winter came. I kept them in an unheated garage and would water them lightly so the soil doesn't dry out & cause them to die that way. This winter I've put most of them on the front porch which is covered but not enclosed. My DH suggested putting a tarp over them but am concerned about mice getting into them if I did that, so they are sitting there on the porch. I'll keep an eye on them & if they get too much moisture when it rains or snows, I'll move those inside the garage.

I just planted my first hosta this summer from roots. I live in 9 a/b...it's still in the pot with good drain holes.. Can't believe it is blooming.. I just wrap it with a lap blanket

Sharon in your climate you do not have to worry as long as it has god drainage. You may have problems with survival because Hostas need a cold rest period. Some people in your climate have trouble with survival because they do not get a long enough cold rest.

Hi - I envy you all for your zones alone. I live in zone 3a and 3b - Edmonton Canada. Pretty damn cold winters. Currently have my Hostas in a planter pot. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

I remember Roger Ramjet :https://youtu.be/E7SqSNQeAFM

@rogerramjet1 I no longer have my Hosta in pots but they are pretty hardy. I think if you left them in pots and put the pots in a protected area out of the wind, I would think they would be fine. I hope this helps you. I hope to see you around the other forums. Very nice people here and very helpful.

Roger - I live in Ottawa and my experience has been about 50% survival rate if I don't bury the pots. But having said that, last year I had a lot of 'Blue Cadet' that had to be dug in October (we put stones where a small, useless garden was while having all our other stonework redone). I laid them on their sides at the back of my veggie garden and they all came through OK. But my preference is to bury them in my veggie garden.