Overwintering Tender Plants

You don’t need a greenhouse to keep your favorites safe

Before I ever had a garden , I was obsessed with develop tropical houseplants . When I lastly started tend my own spot of earth , I turned to bolder breeds of tropicals that I could grow as annual in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6 garden . I in a flash be intimate their bright colors , big architecture , and sheer exuberance . It was n’t long before I look the challenge of bringing these rich treasures indoors during belated fall to keep them live and ready to grow even larger the following springtime .

I did n’t have my lack of a greenhouse deter me . In the year since , I ’ve develop three basic methods for keeping tropicals and tender perennial live through the winter . Some I store in almost total quiescency in a cool , dark place ; some stay in coolheaded but bright consideration ; and a favourable few spend wintertime in a warm , bright setting . None of my methods are unfailing , so I always wait a few casualties . Aside from watering flora that spend the winter in active ontogenesis , there ’s not much time or work need .

Warm, bright surroundings are a safe bet

The light way to overwinter tender perennials and tropicals is in a warm , bright setting , such as a sunny indoor windowsill . Deciding what vex the prized infinite near a Gallic door or large window is a issue of horticultural triage . The chosen few are usually plants I do n’t yet have a clue how to overwinter ( I normally take thinning from these in early summer so I that can test another overwintering method on the young ) or those that will be bounteous houseplants .

Before the time of year ’s first rime , I impart the plants indoors and localize them near a bright window with an eastern , southerly , or westerly exposure . Sometimes I cut bombastic plants back by one-half to two - third before I convey them in the house to reduce their size and slow them down . References ordinarily paint a picture impress plants to a shady speckle for a week or two and checking for pest or diseases before bringing the plants indoors , but I often skip over that footmark and opt to do battle later should job rise .

wintertime maintenance for these plant is elementary . I water them whenever the soil dry out , and I give the pots a fourth part turn every few calendar week so the plants do n’t get too lopsided from attain toward the luminousness . The teetotal indoor air can take a toll on tropical plant , so I provide extra humidity by grouping the plant in masses and misting frequently . If possible , I put the industrial plant atop tray fill up with gravel and water . Humidifiers help , too , as does turn over the thermoregulator down to the mid-60s . Once the 24-hour interval start to lengthen again , I provide an casual taste of diluted fertiliser .

Some plants will drop many of their leaves before pullulate anew with foliage sized more fitly for the reduced light level . If your works struggle due to the lack of burnished , innate light , consider supplementing the available light with some eccentric of grow calorie-free .

Although I ’m turn on when spring at long last make it , I do n’t rush to get plant life outdoors . Their first prolong photo to direct sunlight may burn off foliage and kill new ontogenesis . I slowly acclimate industrial plant to the outdoors by set them out on warm , cloudy days in other springtime .

Once outdoor temperature stay fond and the likelihood of frost has passed , I invest plants in a shady spot for a week or so . I then expend at least two workweek step by step break them to full sun . When I ’m finally ready to pose a plant life in the garden , I seek to wait for several days of clouds and rain just as an added safeguard . Any plants that seem leggy , I commonly trim back and use the cuttings to propagate new plants .

Cool, bright conditions work for plants that can take a light frost

Learning in which indoor areas plant can winter has command some trials and more than a few mistake , but I ’ve learned to take clew from a flora ’s native habitat and attempt my best to replicate it . It helps to roll in the hay if it naturally raise in the tropical zone or subtropics , at high altitude , or in a place with distinct dry and wet season .

A cool ( temperatures in the high forty to low L ) , undimmed country hosts a modified range of mountains of plant , but it has proven my best wager for plants that are immune to a light Robert Lee Frost and aboriginal to more - temperate subtropical areas or to mountainous tropical regions . But even without a clue to a flora ’s birthplace , it ’s worth give almost anything a try . After all , the worst that can find is that it will conk out , which it otherwise would do for sure .

For my nerveless , bright conditions , I use an area in my cellar that is illuminated by fluorescent fixture lights or high - intensiveness discharge lamp on timers . flora stored this way get basically the same treatment as those stored in tender , undimmed area : Water them when soil is dry , turn the mountain on a regular basis to prevent uneven growth , and carefully reintroduce them to full - sun consideration in spring .

Although most plants in coolheaded , brilliant setting do n’t grow much at all and appear in a kind of suspend liveliness , a few finally discharge all their leaves . If that happens , move them right into cool , dark storage to devolve on out the residue of the winter . This is where I often discover which plants can enter a thick dormancy kindred to that experienced by plants aboriginal to my setting .

Be prepared to resist off whiteflies and mealy bug . A pat of rubbing alcohol reduce with an adequate part of water on any infestations should do the trick ; a spray of horticultural oil or soap works , too .

Cool, dark settings are perfect for plants that go dormant

winter supply ship flora in a cool , glum area is my preferred method because it requires nigh no attempt during the winter months . Many tropical works have a dormant menstruum , triggered not by the onslaught of wintertime but by the arrival of a dry season . So if you could trick plants into guess a dry time of year is coming , they ’ll ease into sleeping . Over the days , I ’ve discovered a host of plant life that can sweep through winter without weak , water , and sometimes even grunge .

In my house , I use my cellar , where wintertime temperatures are cold but abide above freeze . If you do n’t have a basement , you could render an unheated solarium , attic , or service department . It is important , however , to treat bulbous plants ( maturate from tubers , rhizomes , or bulbs ) slightly different than works with fleshy leaves and stems .

In recent summer , I point off the supplemental tearing and fertilizing of shrubby plant with overweight bow and foliage , such as holy man ’ yellow trumpet or bananas , to encourage them to slow up their growth . Just before the first toilsome frost , I cut them back softly and haul them to the basement . That ’s it . A few will eventually drop their leaves , which I clean up when I get the fortune .

Bulbous plant receive a different treatment . After a heavy hoar , I ignore off the blackened foliage and toss it into the compost heap . I then cautiously dig out up the plant using a pitchfork to avoid slice into the bulb , tuber , or rhizome . wounding provide entry points for disease or fungal transmission . For the same grounds , I keep bulgy plants as inviolate as possible ; spring — not decrease — is the time to divide rootstock or take showtime from bulbs and tubers .

I lay in and label bulging roots in shallow charge card crate , composition board box , or big empty pot . I do n’t trouble bedding them in damp peat or sand as many references suggest . My introductory rule of thumb for storing torpid works is the drier , the better . Rot and fungal disease can run rearing through bulbs , rhizomes , and especially tubers if they ’re stored while dampish . Before setting the roots or rhizomes in their container , I shake off the soil — whatever falls off pronto is enough . Then I turn the lightbulb every couple of weeks in parliamentary procedure to dry them thoroughly . Dormant plants can dehydrate and conk out during months of storage , so if they ever look too crinkly or too dry , I give them a heavy misting of water — just enough to keep them from shriveling .

The trickiest time of twelvemonth for plant store in nerveless , dark shape is early spring . Even in a cellar lair , plant life seem to answer to warming temperatures and lengthening days , and a few eager beavers will put up new ontogeny and attract aphids . Those that are most advanced , I pot up and direct in a cold-blooded frame . The rest typically stay leafless and can be potted up or planted in the solid ground and exposed to full sun after the risk of hard hoarfrost has devolve . Lately , however , I ’ve been setting up a fictile portable greenhouse for a month or two in spring to give some plants a psyche startle .

Which plants go where

There are no knockout - and - fast rules when it comes to overwinter . As you experiment , you will find that you’re able to apply more than one method for a species . Here are some of the plants that I store using these proficiency .

Warm and bright

1 . Alternantheras ( Alternantheraspp . and cvs . , Z 9–15)2 . Begonias ( Begoniaspp . and cvs . , Z 13–15)3 . doll of paradise ( Strelitziaspp . and cvs . , Z 11–15)4 . Coleus ( Solenostemon scutellarioidescvs . , Z 11–12)5 . Dense - flowered loosestrife ( Lysimachia congestifloraand cvs . , Z 6 - 9)6 . Elephant ’s capitulum ( Alocasia , Colocasia , andXanthosomaspp . and cvs . , Z 8–15)7 . fortunate horn ( Allamanda catharticaand cvs . , Z 14–15)8 . Gold vena industrial plant ( Sanchezia speciosa , Z 14–15)9 . Hibiscus ( Hibiscusspp . and cvs . , Z 10–15)10 . Oleanders ( Nerium oleanderand cvs . , Z 13–15)11 . passionflower ( Passifloraspp . and cvs . , Z 6–15)12 . Plectranthus ( Plectranthusspp . and cvs . , Z 10–15)13 . Sages ( Salviaspp . and cvs . , Z 5–15 )

Cool and bright

14 . Agaves ( Agavespp . and cvs . , Z 9–15)15 . Cestrums ( Cestrumspp . and cvs . , Z 8–15)16 . Clivias ( Cliviaspp . and cvs . , Z 9–15)17 . Cordylines ( Cordylinespp . and cvs . , Z 9–12)18 . Crinums ( Crinumspp . and cvs . , Z 8–11)19 . Flowering maple ( Abutilonspp . and cvs . , Z 8–11)20 . Honey bush ( Melianthus major , Z 8–11)21 . New Zealand flaxes ( Phormiumspp . and cvs . , Z 8–11 )

Cool and dark

22 . African lilies ( Agapanthusspp . and cvs . , Z 6–15)23 . Angels ’ trumpets ( Brugmansiaspp . and cvs . , Z 11–15)24 . Bananas ( MusaandEnsetespp . and cvs . , Z 8–15)25 . Caladiums ( Caladium bicolorcvs . , Z 15)26 . genus Calla lilies ( Zantedeschiaspp . and cvs . , Z 8–15)27 . Cannas ( Cannaspp . and cvs . , Z 8–11)28 . Dahlias ( Dahliacvs . , Z 9–11)29 . Durantas ( Duranta erectaand cvs . , Z 11–12)30 . Ginger lily ( Hedychiumspp . and cvs . , Z 7–15)31 . Gingers ( Curcumaspp . and cvs . , Z 11–15)32 . halo bushes ( Tibouchinaspp . , Z 9–15)33 . Lantanas ( Lantanaspp . and cvs . , Z 9–15)34 . Pineapple lilies ( Eucomisspp . and cvs . , Z 8–11)35 . Tropical hummer bush ( Euphorbia cotinifolia , Z 9–11 )

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