when do you empty annual pots?

Mine still look okay, but they are getting kind of straggly looking. As soon as I see some fall mums, I will replace them.

We close the pool mid September and bring any of the plants down there up onto the deck where we'll continue to care for them until either we get sick of doing it or they start to die, whichever comes first.

My plants did well this year, especially my Bougainvillaea which is growing up and over the arbor like crazy. That's the only plant I'll hate to say goodbye to. If this winter isn't particularly harsh it might make it planted in the ground but it's in a pot so definitely not.

Maria

Yesterday I saw 4" mums at Fred Meyers. I have iris seeds, arctic pooies and forget me not seeds to plant. Never did that before, always used iris bulb.

I've already pitched a couple. Others are still OK, so I'll baby them along until they are spent, but Labor Day is about right. My hydrangeas are still producing flowers. I might have a couple of weeks without color, but then will get some mums to place around.

I've pitched a couple that looked pretty fried/scraggly already, but typically I dump them when the first frost hits.

I like to keep them as long as I can. When we lived in Pa year round I kept them til the frost got them. Now we will leave for Fl before then so I will toss them out while they are still alive which makes me sad.

Typically after the first hard frost.

If they are bad off and gone to seed or just dried out from the heat, I pull them, put the pot aside till fall mums come out and winter pansies. Petunias seem to get that way fast, and have had them as well gone on me already. Best thing for pots are the geraniums they seem to make it through the heat, have great color and need little care other than a dead head now and then. I try to get plants that will thrive through the Virginia heat, and can go with out watering a lot. But when they look bad, time to just take them out, better to have nothing than a bunch of ratty looking plants. Just think of what you can do for fall to fill those containers, that's what I do.