its not a houseplant..

plant it..

see link for how ... do you have clay soil????

you are bordering on trying to love it to death ... treat it like the SHRUB it is ... presuming your ID is proper ....

there is a shrub forum.. so in a few years from now.. you want info on pruning ... no need to duplicate this post there ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

If it's kalmia latifolia, that is hardy to Z4. Should be OK in a container for you through winter. It is evergreen here in Z5 for me.

Do make sure you are planting in an ericaceous soil mix - this acid-loving plant will not grow anywhere in my alkaline soil. It is not, in my experience, overly happy in a container (unlike some of the smaller rhodies and azaleas). I wonder.....are you absolutely wedded to the idea of kalmia or might you consider some of the more adaptable evergreens?

Thanks all. I do not have a garden to plant it. That is why I bought it in a container. My plan is to plant it in a larger ( Barrel size ) container the coming Spring in front of my home that has lots of sun. It is the Kalmia Latifolia,,,,"tiddlywinks". Right now its in the store bought 10-13" container with that exposure. I know it could withstand the winter here if it were in the ground. The gist of my question was the container situation.

This post was edited by boothbay on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 9:42

Being an evergreen in a container, some winter shade would be helpful. If the container's soil is frozen and it's in sun, the leaves are more likely to dry out or winter burn.

OK, a large pot then....but do ensure you use a mix which is, at the very least, neutral - it is a lime-hater and will get severely chlorotic....and although this is frowned upon (at least in the UK), if you can add a fair amount of peat to the mix, it will stand you in good stead

Thanks, NHBABS...never considered that possibility about the container soil could freeze..so correct me someone, wouldn't it be wise just to treat it as a house plant in a sunny room during the Winter till I am ready to plant it in the barrel container?

No, it isn't a house plant. The indoor heat and dryness would not be good. That will pretty much guarantee its death.

I don't know if there is danger of the pot freezing in a container in your area or not. It would where I am. The issue is partly that the soil freezing would keep the plant from uptaking water, and partly that alternating freeze-thaw cycles are hard on plants. It would be better to insulate the pot (such a putting large plastic bags of leaves around it) rather than bring the plant inside.

Do you not have any shade and you can't create any by placing an outdoor chair (or something similar) between it and the sun for the winter months?
Is there a reason you can't put it in the larger container now?
Either would be a better alternative, and even outside as-is would be better than bringing it indoors.

I heard somewhere that if you plan on keeping something in a container outside, it should be able to survive at least one full zone North of you. I know dwarf Albert Spruce survive the winter in outdoor pots here, but Rose of Sharon don't.

I tend to think porches or decks are good spots. Just a little shade.

This post was edited by edlincoln on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 11:42

Yes, I have plenty of cool, shaded places to store it. I have an empty basement where the boiler is and next to that I have a laundry room, all unheated. If I do that, should I water it and when? As for putting it in the wine barrel, I could do that but I have a dwarf burning bush there now and am waiting for the gorgeous Fall color before removing it.

I also would not be moving it (potwise) at this time. I tend to do any radical stuff (for evergreens) during the summer months when the plant is growing vigorously. I have found that, transplanting of evergreens can be trickier during autumn/winter than spring/summer (but I am, of course, referring to gardening in the UK)...even so, it will not be making significant growth over winter and could feasibly stay in present pot. I would, in your case, take some trouble to lag your current container with burlap, hessian or even building insulating material....only the pot though, not covering the top-growth in any way- and placing the pot in a shadier aspect, possibly against a brick wall, if you can. Make sure container does not rest directly onto flooring surface but can drain freely....winter wet can be a kille rEven in England, containers can freeze solid...and for a few days, this is often perfectly OK for many plants, but longer than a few days can be problematic.

If you are a Z7 - Don't put it in your basement or your laundry room - both are indoors. You don't want this plant indoors. If your laundry room is warm enough it functions (meaning the lubricating parts of the washer are not so cold it struggles to agitate), its too warm there for your shrub. If you are very concerned about a particular storm of a few days, drop an old tablecloth or beach towel over it outside, push it up close to the house for protection.

Agree with morz8. In your climate, this plant is fine in a container and should remain outdoors all winter. Unless you get a serious cold snap, your soil - even container soil - should not freeze significantly. If a severe cold snap is expected, push up close to the house as suggested and you can wrap the pot in bubble wrap as well - it's a great insulator!!

(this from someone who gardens almost exclusively in containers with virtually no winter damage issues on any hardy plants :-))

So much good advice here. Listen to gg48; she KNOWS.

p.s. your moniker confuses me. i'm near boston and there is a very famous New England town called Boothbay in Maine. But I'm pretty positive that maine doesn't have any z.7 spots! Where are you?
mindy

Boothbay Harbor is one of my favorite places to visit in Maine, so want for a better username, it came to mind. LOL My laundry room rarely hits 60 and down to 30's during a real cold spell. Don't use Laundry room that much, so heat is no concern. I thank all for their suggestions, and hope to plant it next Spring...( if it survives ) and I am pretty sure it will. Till my next problem.....LOL

Since this is an evergreen plant, indoors won't be good since it won't get proper light, so no basement or laundry room. Please have pity on this poor plant! It really will be happier and far more likely to survive outdoors.

Plants that do well wintered over in a cool basement are ones that can't tolerate cold (since Kalmia/mountain laurel grows fine outdoors for me that isn't a problem) and die back for the winter like non-hardy sages, gladiolas, and dahlias.

There are 4 young Kalmia/mountain laurels scattered across this photo, the short plants that still have green leaves. They have about 6-8" of snow over them, topped by frozen rain, and the winter got worse from here. They survived the winter without injury and bloomed just fine this spring.

There are 4 young Kalmia/mountain laurels scattered across this photo, the short plants that still have green leaves. They have about 6-8" of snow over them, topped by frozen rain, and the winter got worse from here. They survived the winter without injury and bloomed just fine this spring.>>>

Yes, those that you show are planted in the ground...there was no question about them surviving that way...again, mine is in a container.

In a container, the rule of thumb is 2 zones hardier than where you are. I am 2 1/2 zones colder than you. I have wintered over small rhododendrons (same family as Mt. Laurels, also evergreen and with similar hardiness) in quart pots. I put them in mostly shade and surrounded the pot with a heap of mulch. No problems.

It's your plant, however, and if you want to ignore all the folks who said not inside, go for it. Just don't expect it to survive your laundry room.

This post was edited by nhbabs on Sun, Oct 12, 14 at 19:33

I decided to remove my Hydrangea "Bombshell" from the barrel and plant the "Laurel: in its place. But before i do, I would like some suggestions on how to fill that half barrel to a weight that would make it easier to move, if and when necessary. Now, the Hydrangea was filled with potting soil, covered with small stones and then mulched. I'm halfway emptying it now. I was thinking at least a quarter fill of small pellets of foam and the rest of dirt.

Could you consider using castors or some other mobile platform to sit the pot on? One of the reasons for using a larger pot is to have a deeper rooting space and moisture reservoir. Filling too ,much space with inert but light material can defeat the purpose of going for a bigger pot. You ,might find mixing perlite or vermiculite throughout the potting mix, creates a less dense (and therefore lighter mix) while maintaining consistency throughout....which is always better for roots....and having sufficient drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.
There are also various pros and cons regarding the material of the pot itself (I prefer terracotta over plastic but there arguments for both, while timber planters, lined and treated ticks all the boxes. Maybe ask over on container gardening.....where they employ all sorts of cunning ruses such as wicking, special mixes, capillary tubes and so forth.