This topic was spit from the Alpine Shows and Events 2012. It deserves its own thread.
--- Moderator
Trond, there is cold winter weather, and then there is cold winter weather ;) In the middle of our coldest weather (mine is a little worse than Lori's, on average) its hard to believe that any plant or animal can survive! But I think the question here is not about cold alone, but about exposure-- for example, plants that are hardy here can still not usually be left in pots on the surface of the soil over winter, though okay if sunk.. so, does a trough with plantings that extend high above the soil behave like a rock garden (connected to the soil, and so hopefully safe..) or would it be too small and isolated like a pot?
I wouldn't try anything valuable in that sort of planting unless I had extras ;D