Winter protection planning

Im aware its early but the sooner i get a plan in place the better for me

So I have a few plants that will need some winter protection but want to pick your brains on what protection is best

My Brugmansia will be coming to live in the kitchen over winter as this is the only option i really have.

I plan to fleece wrap my two evergreen agapanthus. The first year i had them I didn't protect them and they died back over winter and didn't flower greatly the next year. The year after i fleece wrapped them and they thrived. This year was a bit in between but Im putting that down to the wet warm winter we had anyway. I will also put fleece over the pot that my deciduous agapanthus is in, again it just did better last time i did this.

Then there is my australian bottle brush bush. Last year which is the first year i had it, i stuck it in my unheated greenhouse with fleece over the top. It survived but never flowered this year so is it better to stick it in the greenhouse or just leave it where it is a cover it with fleece?

Then I have some sugar plum foxgloves which are apparently half hardy (heres the link http://www.vanmeuwen.com/flowers/flower-plants/cottage-garden-plants/foxglove-sugar-plum/V59778VM) These are all in pots so would these be fine in an unheated greenhouse?

Any pots that i put in the greenhouse i will be raising off the floor as water can get in in one end so they wouldn't be sitting in freezing water and the other end is completely dry anyway but will do this regardless.

The last plant i have is the lovely lobelia that i found growing in the lavender beds. I potted it into a pot and its doubled in size but is still quite small. Would i be better moving this into the house on the window sill over winter?

Ideally i want as few plants in the greenhouse as possible so that I don't have to worry about watering. If i have a bad health patch over the winter i don't want to have to be going down to the end of the garden several times with a watering can to water them all.

what do you guys reckon?

 

Id be leaving all plant pots on the ground so heat can radiate up . Any cold air getting under the pot may help keep it dry but it will help freeze it too.

Id go down the straw insulation route wrapped in fleece ( then added plastic only when wet weather is forecast ) .

Maybe make sure the greenhouse is well ventilated also when sunny .

Ive still got to get some straw in myself as i think it will be a bad winter despite recent theories about it being mild.

 

I was under the impression that u raise pots up on pot feet in winter to prevent freezing and frost damage to the pots

Thats what most things online say

 

Yeh thats what i thought too. But in severe cold it turns out that "heat" in the soil / stone etc radiates back up into the pot at night when theres a freeze on. I tried the lifting pot method and sure enough it froze solid on a bad freeze.
I think its the same priciple as putting your pots up against the house wall when cold and of course it will shelter it from getting a soaking too.
In a ideal world id be able to put any pots under some corrugated plastic over winter so as to minimise soakings, but all i have is a couple of trees that shelter them from the rain and severe frosts too.

 

Must admit I've never liked the idea of lifting pots off the ground to avoid frost getting to the roots, it does exactly the opposite.
One of those old fallacies, spouted by one gardening guru and repeated time and time again in every gardening book.
It does however improve drainage, which can be a help in wet years.

Never can advise on what is best to do as you dont know what kind of winter we are likely to get, its best to play it by ear.

Bottle brush, depending on species, can be pretty hardy if planted out.
Only have deciduous Agapanthus, planted in the ground, no problems with hardiness there.

Cant help on the other plants I'm afraid.

 

Im pretty sure my bottle brush is half hardy.

Thank you tho pete

The agapanthus i will do as i have done previous years as they have done better with a bit if protection