over-wintering nonstop begonias and impatience
 

OK, I know neither of these is winter hardy here (and I am not certain
of the spelling of the common names), but the plants are amazing and
giving an incredible display. The question is, can I keep them going
by transplanting into smaller pots (there are four to five plants in
each of two large pots) and bring them inside? How long can they be
kept going? Must either have a period of dormancy? If so, it wouldn't
be hard to keep them at a relatively contant four degrees Celcius. But
if I can keep them as houseplants, either during the winters or
possibly even all year long, that would be terrific!

I guess this reduces to two questions: 1) what to do to overwinter
these plants, and 2) can they be kept as houseplants during part, or
all, of the year, and if so how.

Thanks,

Ted

Ted wrote:

I guess this reduces to two questions: 1) what to do to overwinter
these plants, and 2) can they be kept as houseplants during part, or
all, of the year, and if so how.

I have been overwintering my impatiens as house plants for the past two
years with great success.

I just scoop them into big plant pots with a bunch of wood chips and
soil taken from where they are planted and keep them by a SE facing
sliding glass door.

I had one 2 foot wide salmon impatiens flower dramatically all last
winter until it got mites in early spring. I then put it outside where
it got lightly frosted in our late frost. So I broke off almost all the
damaged branches, and to my surprise it grew back nice and thick by
June. It's in a pot on the deck right now and will probably spend the
winter by the door again.

I overwintered one of those rose-like double impatiens for two years. It
dropped all its blooms when inside each year, but filled out nicely when
I put it in a sunny spot in my garden. (Turns out, this double impatiens
doesn't like shade.) Since it doesn't flower, I just put it on the floor
by the sliding glass door where it gets enough light to stay alive.

I haven't grown nonstop begonias this year. But I have read that you
should cut back keep the nonstop begonias and treat the roots like you
would dahlias and that is what I plan to do. This is the first year I've
raised them.

BTW, I was sold two different kinds of flowers as "nonstop begonias".
The one looks just like a Reiger begonia, and I suspect that is what it
is. That one will work as a houseplant but will eventually run out of
blooms. The other is a big guy with large flowers and that is the one I
believe needs to be wintered in the basement in peat.

--Jenny

http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/ Type 2 Diabetes info
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ Low Carb info

Hi Jenny

Thanks for this. That was quite informative.

There is one catch, though, and that is I have only had one Dahlia, and
I had to give it away at the end of the first year I had it in because
it turned out to be huge, overshadowing everything else in the garden.
Therefore, I have never attempted to over winter them either. What do
you do with Dahlias?

http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/ Type 2 Diabetes info
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ Low Carb info

I found these links interesting. I too am diabetic, and I developed a
product to help with meal planning for folk like us (and indeed for
anyone with diet related health issues). Could I ask you to visit my
website, and then contact me by email. I am sure few gardeners would
want to watch a dialog about health issues related to diet and the use
of diet to minimize risk; at least not in this forum.

Thanks again,

Ted

R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D.
R & D Decision Support Solutions
http://www.randddecisionsupportsolutions.com/
Healthy Living Through Informed Decision Making

Ted wrote:
Hi Jenny

Thanks for this. That was quite informative.

There is one catch, though, and that is I have only had one Dahlia, and
I had to give it away at the end of the first year I had it in because
it turned out to be huge, overshadowing everything else in the garden.
Therefore, I have never attempted to over winter them either. What do
you do with Dahlias?

What I did with my dahlias (which were small and pathetic last year as
I'd planted them in a spot that was far too shady) was to wait until
after the frost, then cut off the withered foliage and put them in a box
filled with peat and store them in the basement where the temperature
stays in the mid-50s.

In late-April (which really was too early) I divided them and potted the
divided roots in potting soil, taking them outside when the weather was
above freezing and bringing them in at night and they grew huge. All the
miserable looking withered roots that I figured would do nothing
sprouted energetically. It was quite heartening.

Unfortunately, we had a late frost, which set them way, way back, but
they mostly grew back and my garden was jam packed with big, healthy
dahlias by mid-July.

Visit alt.support.diabetes for diabetes discussions. Bring your asbestos
suit. g
--Jenny

http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/ Type 2 Diabetes info
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/ Low Carb info

Thanks Jenny,

I appreciate the information you've provided.

I'm hoping next year will be better. With all the heat and dryness
we've had this year, my lilies and irises have not faired well.

Cheers,

Ted