09/28/2026
We look forward to hosting another plant giveaway in just a few weeks! Gratitude to all the plant growers that work hard to share plants with our community!
Save the date! October 24 starting at 10:30am until gone.
The SustainFloyd Native Pollinator Plant Giveaway on Saturday, October 24, 2026 has been pushed back to 10:30 am to give us time to set up at the Floyd Farmers Market. We know it's late in the year to adopt baby plants, but you can overwinter them in their pots if you need more time to prepare places for them. Scroll down for tips for success.
Plants in this giveaway include: Asclepias incarnata (Swamp/Rose Milkweed), Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf Coreopsis), Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower), Helenium autumnale (Helen's Flower, Sneezeweed), Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot), and Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (Aromatic Aster).
Overwinter perennial pots outdoors, in a sheltered location that nonetheless receives natural precipitation, watering until temps drop toward freezing then refraining from any watering whatsoever until temps climb out of freezing range. Mounding mulch around the pots and making sure it's damp when temps drop almost guarantees your potted perennials will sail through the winter.
You might think snow and ice would hurt the plants, but when it's cold snow and ice provide insulation. When warm enough to melt, it waters the pots, melting and draining in sync with the temps, unlike water that you might pour in them (which can freeze to a solid block of ice before draining and suffocate the roots). Perennials need a period of cold senescence and some moisture, which is why a cool basement will kill them. They also shouldn't be dried out or triggered to break dormancy during the winter, which is why a sunny south-facing location is bad for potted perennials. North facing locations, part shade, sheltered from the wind, mounded with mulch, exposed to natural preciptation has worked year after year for me.
