October is the month that decides how your containers come through winter. Work through this list on a dry weekend.
- Move frost-tender pots (citrus, olives, pelargoniums) inside before the first night below 3°C.
- Wrap terracotta or move it against the house wall. Wet terracotta cracks when it freezes.
- Plant spring bulbs in layers: tulips deepest, then daffodils, then crocus on top.
- Stop feeding perennials so they harden off.
- Raise pots on feet so they do not sit in water all winter.
- Leave seed heads on grasses and coneflowers for birds and structure.
Evergreens in pots still need water in winter on mild, dry days. More of them die of drought in February than of cold.