I have my geraniums for 3 years now. I usually bring them indoors and keep them in pots for the winter early in November. The weather here is unusually warm for this time of the year (mid/low 40s - mid/low 50s). The geraniums still look very healthy with no discolor leaves. I bring the dahlia tuber indoors too. I wait till it finishes blooming and the leaves have yellowed before I bring them in. My dahlia still has a bloom and green leaves. So my question is -is there a rule of thumb about when to bring these plants indoors? Thanks.
Over wintering Geraniums? Hmmmm....My sister in law brings them in and they sit in a window and stare at the snow till spring. However, I treat mine differently... http://www.gardenstew.com/about31602.html I suppose it depends on how much room you have to give them a Winter vacation. My geraniums are now in for the winter(zone6b). Still in pots, they will be allowed to dry out. Then the soil is removed and the plants are given a necktie party. As for your Dahlias, I would imagine a frost happens late in zone 8a/8b, Mid November? If your Dahlia is blooming now a return to the elements would produce darkened/black leaves when the frost hit. The plants are due for their winter nap anytime after the 15th of next month. Enjoy the bloom. Then give them their vacation till spring planting. Jerry
LOL.. loved the geranium trail post, Jerry I have been doing what your SIL does. I guess I will wait for the high temps to drop a little more before bringing them in. Thanks.
Thanks Jerry, my Dahlia's are still blooming (my first year growing them) nicely in zone 6b in pots. Should I let the first frost kill the foliage or should I bring them in before? The plant look absolutely healthy otherwise.
I think it is too moist and some years too cold too here in Seattle. I bring my dahlias indoors just before the first frost.
Growing up on the Olympic peninsula, I remember that people never brought in their dahlia tubers- and knowing that I found it different that here in Minnesota, you have to bring them in for them to survive. There was a family that grew them for cut flowers out west and they have fields of dahlias... I remember it being quite the sight! I have a few now and I always wait for the first frost that melts the foliage. Then I take my pitchfork and gently lift them out of the soil. I bring them inside and lay them out to let them cure for about a week before I pack them in boxes and store them in the basement. This is also how I treat and store my 4-o-clock tubers, canna bulbs, caladiums (and elephant ears), some begonias, glads, and some other odds and ends. About 4-o-clocks.. I used to just grow them from seed each spring, but the massive size they can get in my short warm season makes them worth storing the tubers. My 4-o-clocks this year were shrublike!
