How to Overwinter Daisies in Pots

Grow perennial daisy plants in large pots that allow 3 to 5 inches of soil between the roots and the container. Plants growing in pots are more susceptible to freeze damage and kill because the roots are less insulated than plants in the ground. Growing your potted daisies in larger containers over the winter adds insulating soil between the roots and the freezing temperatures.

Trim the dead and dying foliage from your potted daisy plant, using hand pruners, after the first frost. Allow your daisy plant to dieback naturally to feed the roots, then cut it back to one inch from the base.

Water your potted daisies regularly until after the first frost, then only lightly water the pot when the soil is dry for several inches down. Drier soil in pots with daisies will protect and insulate the roots. Wet soil will freeze, as will the roots, then thaw, only to freeze again. This freeze-thaw-freeze action may trick your daisy roots into beginning the growing season too early.

Use a shovel to dig a hole as wide as your daisy pot and as deep. A good spot for this is where you had your vegetable garden or annual flower garden. Set the potted daisy into the hole. Now, your daisy roots are insulated and protected, just like a plant growing in the ground.

Cover the top of the pot in the hole with 3 to 5 inches of winter-type mulch, like chipped bark or dried leaves. This adds insulation and keep water from rain and snow from water-logging the pot soil.