On 24/10/2010 14:04, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Sacha
writes
On 2010-10-22 10:22:47 +0100, stuart noble
said:

On 22/10/2010 08:06, FiveMins wrote:
snip
It's really great to get so much advice offered, thanks. I am just
south
of Manchester, near Macclesfield, so I don't know how the frost we
experienced compared to London etc. I have cut off all the growth that
was killed by the frost& the remaining plants seem to be still 'OK'. I
am going to take the advice& let my plants dry out& if I find that I
have got tubers then I can look after them as suggested.

IME one overnight frost doesn't suddenly kill everything, especially
if it's followed by a sunny day.

Some gardens just down the hill from us have turned black overnight,
apparently.

One light frost was enough to see off the top growth of a batch of
Dahlias on the allotment site. And several rows of runner beans are
looking unhappy.

(My one tomato plant hasn't turned black, but it was looking unhappy
even before there was a frost.)

My outdoor tomato plants have now all gone over looking miserable.

I plan to treat the begonias the same as last year. Allow the top growth
to wilt, then put the pots in a shed until the top has died off
completely then remove the bulb part (corm? rhizome? I never can
remember what it is called) clean off all lose compost and wrap it in
newspaper and keep it over Winter in a cool dry place. In late Spring it
should be starting to put out some new shoots when unwrapped.

I don't know if the above is the best way to keep them from one year to
the next, but it worked for me last year to this.

--
David in Normandy.
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