Preparing Tender Plants For Winter

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An October 7 Amateur Gardening report advises gardeners to protect tender plants before winter weather, especially where gardens are exposed or in northern areas. Recommendations include lifting pelargoniums and gladioli for frost-free storage, while leaving plants in place for a few more weeks may suit warmer, dry locations.

Amateur Gardening published advice on October 7 urging gardeners to prepare tender plants for winter by lifting or sheltering them before cold or persistently wet weather arrives. The report recommends storing pelargoniums and gladioli in protected conditions and says timing should depend on local weather and exposure.

Gardening journalist Ruth Hayes says pelargoniums rarely survive winter outdoors and describes a large plant that lived through one winter beside a sheltered house wall but died the following year. The report recommends lifting pelargoniums, potting them in peat-free multipurpose compost and watering them well. As the plants become dormant, they may need little or no further water for several weeks, Hayes writes.

For gladioli, the advice is to lift the corms because they are prone to rotting in damp soil. Hayes recommends cutting the stems back by half, keeping healthy new bulblets attached to mature corms, and discarding older corms that are shrivelled or soft. Store the retained corms somewhere dry and frost-free.

The report also describes potting up tender perennial bedding plants, including petunias, lobelia and calibrachoas, and keeping them in a greenhouse. Hayes says she cut these plants back, watered them thoroughly and then reduced watering until new growth began in spring. She advises waiting a few more weeks if conditions remain warm and dry, while gardeners in northern or exposed locations may want to act sooner.

Protecting Plants for Next Season

Preparing tender plants now can help gardeners keep them alive for future growing seasons, rather than replacing them after winter damage. The advice focuses on two different risks: frost exposure for plants that struggle outdoors and rot for gladioli corms left in wet ground.

The timing is not the same for every garden. Taking plants in too early may be unnecessary in warm, dry conditions, while delaying in a colder or exposed location can leave them vulnerable. The report offers practical steps, but does not present them as a guarantee that every plant will survive; results depend on local conditions and how plants fare in storage.

Local Weather Sets the Schedule

The report was published in early October, when gardeners may need to decide whether to leave tender plants outdoors or move them under cover. Hayes notes that winter weather is difficult to predict, citing the possibility of heavy rain, a late cold snap or a dry season. Those examples frame the advice as preparation for varied conditions, not a forecast for the coming winter.

Hayes says she has previously overwintered petunias, lobelia and calibrachoas in a greenhouse. She also describes one pelargonium surviving a winter in a sheltered position but failing to recover the following year. These are her reported experiences; the article does not provide a controlled comparison of storage methods or survival rates.

“I’d not place a wager on what weather this winter will bring.”

— Ruth Hayes, Amateur Gardening

Winter Conditions Remain Unknown

The report does not predict what weather the coming winter will bring, and local temperatures and rainfall will affect when plants need protection. It does not specify a single date for lifting plants that would suit every region or garden.

It also gives no measured survival rates for the recommended storage methods. How well individual plants fare may depend on their health, the storage environment and care during dormancy. The article’s examples are based on Hayes’s experience, rather than comparative trial results.

Check Conditions Before Lifting

Gardeners can use the report’s guidance to review tender plants as autumn progresses, paying attention to forecasts and the exposure of their site. Those in colder or wind-exposed areas can prepare suitable frost-free storage for pelargoniums and gladioli, while people in warmer, dry locations may wait before moving plants.

After lifting, gardeners should check corms for softness or shrivelling and keep only healthy material. Pelargoniums can be trimmed to a healthy leaf bud, with removed shoots used as cuttings, according to Hayes. For plants kept under cover, the report advises reducing watering during dormancy and watching for renewed growth in spring. No further forecast or follow-up outcome is included in the source material.

Key Questions

When should tender plants be prepared for winter?

The report says timing depends on local conditions. Gardeners in northern or exposed areas may want to act in early autumn, while those experiencing warm, dry weather can wait a few more weeks.

How should pelargoniums be stored?

Lift and pot them in peat-free multipurpose compost, water well and cut shoots back to the lowest healthy leaf bud. The report says dormant plants may not need watering again for weeks.

What should I do with gladioli corms?

Lift them from damp soil, cut the stems back by half and store healthy corms in a dry, frost-free place. Keep attached new bulblets and discard old corms that are soft or shrivelled.

Can tender bedding plants be kept over winter?

Hayes reports potting up petunias, lobelia and calibrachoas and storing them in a greenhouse. Her method included cutting plants back, watering them well, then limiting further watering until growth resumed in spring.

Source: rss