Outdoors plants - Ask Extension
I have a blueberry, blackberry and a few strawberries plants; should I leave the plants outside for the Winter? If so, do I need to protect the p...
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Outdoors plants #426926
Asked September 15, 2017, 11:42 AM EDT
I have a blueberry, blackberry and a few strawberries plants; should I leave the plants outside for the Winter? If so, do I need to protect the plants from elements?
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
These plants all need to be outside for the winter, but ideally, especially for the raspberry and blueberry, they should be in the ground.
Do you have the ability to plant them in the yard?
Both the blueberry and the raspberry will want to grow pretty large and are not great candidates for growing in pots.
If you leave them in the pots for the winter, you will need to try and protect their root systems by grouping the pots together, and then placing straw bales around them, or bags of raked leaves...anything that offers some winter protection.
Take a look at this link to all of our information on growing small fruits, that will help you care for these plants in the future: http://extension.umd.edu/growit/fruit-profiles/getting-started-small-fruit
cm
Do you have the ability to plant them in the yard?
Both the blueberry and the raspberry will want to grow pretty large and are not great candidates for growing in pots.
If you leave them in the pots for the winter, you will need to try and protect their root systems by grouping the pots together, and then placing straw bales around them, or bags of raked leaves...anything that offers some winter protection.
Take a look at this link to all of our information on growing small fruits, that will help you care for these plants in the future: http://extension.umd.edu/growit/fruit-profiles/getting-started-small-fruit
cm
