Marilyn, loved your article and your collection of containers. Your hyper-tufa collection is wonderful. Your really do have some weather swings in your area. I'm in a much warmer area zone 7 and almost all my containers of semps are plastic. I just can't move those heavy containers anymore. Looking forward to hear what survived your winter this year.

Thanks Julia, Will be checking it out in a few more weeks.

Wow, Marilyn your growing conditions really are extreme. I can see where the hypertufa containers would be the most effective containers for you.
How did the styrofoam do?
I loved the photos show the different types of containers.

Thanks, Lynn

The styrofoam did not work for me. I poked a lot of holes in the bottom but don't think I got good drainage.
I gave them up.

I have one large styrofoam container that I put very large holes in the bottom. I didn't plant semps in it, but planted a small Japanese maple (Geisha Gone Wild), Sedum hispanicum 'Aureum' and Silene uniflora 'Druett's Variegated'. They have been very happy in that container.

Marilyn, as you were chronicling which containers were "more better" did you notice which semps survived your erratic winters best? Those would be the ones that I would concentrate on buying or taking offsets off of survivors to spread across all your containers to increase your bounty. I'm finding even here in CA that not all the varieties love it here. Some semps do better than others. So I am concentrating on keeping those to make me happy...

Oh, and I loved your article with all the research that went with it!!!

When I can get to the ones who are wintering now I will have a better idea. I do know Blue boy and Kalinda survived last winter. Sparkle survived two winters and then died last spring. One or two more survived in the rock garden area. I need to see how they are doing.

I am concerned about not moving anything until our cold has passed. That caused a lot of losses last year as we got a cold snap after I moved everything to "better" spots.

Thanks to all for acorns and thumbs. The article was an inspiration when I was lamenting my lack of ability to contribute to the Semp week. (to myself) I realized I did have something I knew something about. Pots

Safe that you used the plural for that "word" that you use for containers...

Yep just in case the word police are watching.

Oh Marilyn, you are funny!

With your weather challenges you are really finding the semps that are truly tough in your part of the world. You might even go over to the Denver Botanical Gardens and see what they do to keep theirs healthy.