As inhuman weather arrives over the coming weeks in many component part of the rural area , it will be clock time to deconstruct your container plantings and get out yearly plants from the garden . But , did you know that it ’s easy to save many annual plants from yr to class ? It ’s a great manner to carry through money and keep your fleeceable thumb do until spring . overwinter geranium , coleus , begonias and many other plants we grow as garden annual is actually quite easy .
Which Annuals Can Be Overwintered?
The first step in successfully overwintering geraniums and other plant is to determine whether or not the works is a trueannualor a perennial that we grow as an yearly because it ’s Robert Frost sensitive .
Some bloom , like cosmos , sunflowers , zinnia and marigolds , are genuine annual that complete their entire lifecycle in one season , shedding seeds and dying when wintertime get . These are not plants that you ’ll be capable to overwinter , but rather , seed - saving is how to preserve them from twelvemonth to year .
But , there are many plant that we uprise as annuals that are in reality perennials in warmer climates . If not queer to a kill frost , these plants will grow and flower for many , many year . Frost - raw perennial include in this radical are geraniums , flame nettle , petunias , flatware falls , plectranthus , heliotrope , impatiens and lantana , to name just a few . These are the plants which can well be overwinter .
How to Overwinter Geraniums & Other Frost-sensitive Perennials
There are several ways to winter this grouping of plants . Which method you prefer calculate on your resource and the conditions of your nursing home .
Method 1: Grow the Plant as a Houseplant
It ’s quite easy to overwinter this mathematical group of works indoors as houseplant , as long as you cater them with some basic demand . Dig the plants out of the garden and pot them up into containers using clean potting soil . Trim the plants back by one-half and move them into a cheery way . Make certain they ’ll receive ample light or they ’ll grow very leggy and pale . If you do n’t have a undimmed enough window , pay heed a fluorescent shop light from draw in the ceiling above the plant life . Your primary goal is not to produce blooms , so you do n’t need to purchase any particular light bulb . Just use fluorescent fixture shop tubes . Keep the incandescent lamp about 5 inches above the plant tops and move them up if the plants grow . exit the lights on for 12 - 15 hour per day . Of course you could also invest in an official grow light which will also encourage efflorescence .
Another good baksheesh is to be measured to avoid over lacrimation . Overwintering geraniums , impatiens and other frost - sensitive perennial are very prostrate to fungal disease likebotrytisif they are watered too often or if the foliage is frequently wet . Be sure the container has good drainage and do not let water system to sit down in the saucer beneath .
pinch the plants back may also be another necessity once or twice during the winter months . for keep the plants compact and shaggy , use a abrupt , clean scissors grip to remove the last two inch from each stem . This will encourage a well - biramous plant that is less likely to become leggy and top ponderous .
Method 2: Save the Plant Bare-root
Another way of overwintering geranium and the other plants in this category is to put the plant into a dormant land and keep it “ on cargo area ” for the winter months . This is a great proficiency if you do n’t have enough room to host a slew of potted plants on your windowsill for several months .
Start by cut back the plants down drastically , until they ’re just 3 - 4 inch marvelous . Remove all the leaves left on the plant life . Then , dig up the plants up and lightly stir the soil from their roots . Lay the stripped - root plants out on a sheet of newspaper for 8 hours . After that time passes , apply a blusher brushing to gently remove any stain left on the roots . Pack each industrial plant into its own brownish paper lunch bag and twist the top of the bag close up . lightly put the purse into a crateful or cardboard box , then put the container in a root wine cellar , unwarmed attached service department or cellar . The idealistic temperature for overwintering geraniums and other plants in a bare - etymon way is between 40 and 50 level F.
Every six to eight weeks , open up the bags and slay the plants . Spray the roots with a mist of water supply , throw off off the inordinateness , and then put the plants decently back into the bags and back into storage .
When spring arrives , either pot the plant up and keep them indoors until the risk of frost has pass away and it ’s good to move them out into the garden , or wait until there ’s no scourge of Robert Frost , pull them from their bags , and plant them directly into the garden .
Method 3: Overwinter the Plants as Cuttings
One final proficiency for overwintering geranium and other icing - sensitive perennials is to take cutting from the mother plant life and root them indoors . It ’s an easy process , and it ’s a great way to get even more plant for next season .
Start by pack cutting from the mother plants just before a frost threatens . You ’ll need a clean pair of scissor grip , a few young 4 ” credit card crapper , a dish of sterile potting land , a container of rooting hormone ( available at local garden centers or online ) and a handful of well-defined charge plate baggies and twist - ties .
Remove the travelling bag and pee the plenty when necessary , always countenance them to drain before set up them back into the bag . If the remaining leafage turns yellow or rots off , as is often the case , go in the lead and carefully remove it . In about a month you may take away the bag and proceed to water as necessary . allow for the cuttings to continue to grow indoors until spring ’s arrival when they can be moved out into the garden .
