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Article: I found this short but informative article on Coldframes If you have followed my articles, you might note a few areas that need to be done a little differently. If one wishes to overwinter a perennial, the perennial must stay dormant. Most perennials do require a little rest and some require vernalization (a cold treatment long enough for the plant to at least think it has gone through winter). Now the ones you have planted in the ground are not the perennials I am discussing here. These would be perhaps perennials you seeded last summer, and grew on through the fall. They are in the greenhouse in a bed or in a pot. So, the mention of a warm, sunny day in a cold frame bothers me. I do not want my plants to wake up and then freeze on a daily basis. Also, if the plants are not dormant, I have to water them. I have tackled this problem in several ways. One is to leave the cold frame door open for the winter. That way it does not warm up too much. The bad thing is that if we get very cold weather, I am just scatterbrained enough to forget to close the door.LupinesRussell Mix Another way, which is much preferred, is to cover the plants with microfoam (a thick foam blanket) or some type of mulch, like wood chips. You lay any tall plants on their sides back in the fall, after they have gone to sleep. Cover all of them, and most will survive quite well till Spring. Now you can leave that door ajar, and all will be fine.Rudbekia Goldstrum But the newest most sensible thing I have learned about is opaque white plastic. You use this as the cold frame covering for the winter. Since it is opaque, no sun can get in. Since it is white, the heat will not collect either. No sun means the plants do not warm up enough to break their winter nap. You leave the house closed, and your plants stay at an even temperature until such time as you "turn the light back on". Easiest way to do this is to put two layers of plastic over the cold frame. The inside layer would be your clear plastic, the outside layer the white opaque plastic. On such and such a date, you roll up the white plastic layer or remove it. Then off you grow!Lobelia Cardinalis Yes, you say, this all sounds nice, but why the bother, just plant in the spring and do it all then. Remember, the major portion of perennials do not bloom until they are two years old. If you plant the seed in the summer or fall of this year, then let the plants overwinter and go dormant they will believe they are two years old in the spring. You save a whole year of waiting to see those flowers! It is so much fun to fool Mother Nature.
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