Happypaphy7
Paphlover
For those of you who live in hardiness zone 7 and 8, and have grown things like Gladiolus, Dahlias, Amaryllis, Nerine bowdenii, Rain Lily (Zephyranthes candida, also the yellow variety), Tuberous Begonia (odorata but any tuberous type), Calla Lily (colorful hybrids, namely hot pink and dark purple ones) and Pineapple Lily, have you left them outside in the ground and they came back again year after year, or did you have to dig them up every year?
I guess winter rain can be a major threat and snow-covered ground would have the opposite effect.
I have all mine in pots, so that means they would need protection. I read that potted plants should be considered as if their hardiness zone is two above their listed zone. I wonder keeping the pots covered in these brown burlap or plastic bags should be sufficient, or should I just bring them inside, which I'm afraid might be too warm?
So, I have all those listed above, well, except for the Dahlias, which I got rid of midsummer after enjoying some flowers. They attracted way too many little green jumping insects that did quite a bit of damage. They started to spread to other plants near the Dahlias, so I threw away the whole plants.
Everything else except for Cala Lilies and Begonias which are inside now, is still out in the Balcony.
Calla Lilies had their leaves withered down last month and I brought them inside in fear of losing them to cold damage and rot as the weather has been pretty cold often dipping into minus Celsius (below the freezing point). Now I wonder if the room temperature (around 65-70F) is too warm to overwinter them. My biggest worry is that they wake up too soon later as the winter comes to an end.
I have also brought in Begonias last month. They are puzzling me because I was expecting them to be quite tender for some reason, but obviously not really as they have barely lost just a few leaves even after having gone through a few weeks of cold weather nearing the freezing point (nighttime low).
So, they are now sitting inside and very slowly dropping one leaf here and there. Only one out of a few plants detached itself from the tuber. All the rest are still full of leaves and flowers/buds, although they are not really actively growing.
What would you do? Force them to wither down by cutting water completely or keep them going? If I keep them going, would they eventually just wither down and go into dormancy? I was initially expecting that the cold weather would kill off the top growth, then I would bring them inside.
Also, what's your opinion of storing the tuber/bulbs? I like to just leave them in the pot. It worked well for me in the past and I rarely lost bulbs. Some just shriveled away. I mostly keep them bone dry without any water for tubers and for bulbs, I do water every once in a while.
Some people like to take them out of the pot, clean them (I think this can cause damage and introduce diseases potentially), keep them in layers of dry moss, shredded paper inside wooden box or paper bags.
Please share your experience! If you have read it all, that means you are probably also a tuber/bulb enthusiast. Help me out!
Thank you!
I guess winter rain can be a major threat and snow-covered ground would have the opposite effect.
I have all mine in pots, so that means they would need protection. I read that potted plants should be considered as if their hardiness zone is two above their listed zone. I wonder keeping the pots covered in these brown burlap or plastic bags should be sufficient, or should I just bring them inside, which I'm afraid might be too warm?
So, I have all those listed above, well, except for the Dahlias, which I got rid of midsummer after enjoying some flowers. They attracted way too many little green jumping insects that did quite a bit of damage. They started to spread to other plants near the Dahlias, so I threw away the whole plants.
Everything else except for Cala Lilies and Begonias which are inside now, is still out in the Balcony.
Calla Lilies had their leaves withered down last month and I brought them inside in fear of losing them to cold damage and rot as the weather has been pretty cold often dipping into minus Celsius (below the freezing point). Now I wonder if the room temperature (around 65-70F) is too warm to overwinter them. My biggest worry is that they wake up too soon later as the winter comes to an end.
I have also brought in Begonias last month. They are puzzling me because I was expecting them to be quite tender for some reason, but obviously not really as they have barely lost just a few leaves even after having gone through a few weeks of cold weather nearing the freezing point (nighttime low).
So, they are now sitting inside and very slowly dropping one leaf here and there. Only one out of a few plants detached itself from the tuber. All the rest are still full of leaves and flowers/buds, although they are not really actively growing.
What would you do? Force them to wither down by cutting water completely or keep them going? If I keep them going, would they eventually just wither down and go into dormancy? I was initially expecting that the cold weather would kill off the top growth, then I would bring them inside.
Also, what's your opinion of storing the tuber/bulbs? I like to just leave them in the pot. It worked well for me in the past and I rarely lost bulbs. Some just shriveled away. I mostly keep them bone dry without any water for tubers and for bulbs, I do water every once in a while.
Some people like to take them out of the pot, clean them (I think this can cause damage and introduce diseases potentially), keep them in layers of dry moss, shredded paper inside wooden box or paper bags.
Please share your experience! If you have read it all, that means you are probably also a tuber/bulb enthusiast. Help me out!
Thank you!
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