Storing plants over winter

by Ed Gardiner

Tender plants in the herbaceous border won't normally survive our low winter temperatures. To keep replacing plants every spring can quickly become expensive. If you don't have a greenhouse, conservatory or space in the house to protect the plants, here are some ideas to safely store your investment, ready for planting in the spring,

Pelargoniums (geraniums)

In october, dig up the plant or remove from hanging baskets/patio planters.
Put it in a paper bag, allowing the soil to dry out completely. Remove the dry soil as it drops off the root ball. You'll also find that any remaining flowers and leaves will fall off.
Loosely tie the top of the bag and store in the shed, porch or conservatory.
Check the plant regularly, if the stems begin to shrivel, mist with a water spray.
If there's signs of mould, open the bag, allowing any moisture to escape.
In the spring, plant up, water well and cut the stems to 6ins (15cm).

Dahlias

Recent trials have found that it isn't necessary to lift and store Dahlia tubers. They will survive left in situ with a mulch of straw covering them. Remember to put slug pellets down in the spring, to stop slugs eating the new shoots. Note that this trial was done over a relatively dry winter. Wet freezing winters may still kill plants left in the ground, so it might be worth saving a few plants using the method below:

Dig up dahlia tubers after flowering or after the first frost.
Cut any stems to 6ins (15cm).
Dry out the tubers by placing them upside down in a dry cool place for a couple of days.
Remove any soil, any diseased or damaged spots, trimming and tidying any fibrous roots. Place roots down into a seed tray or shallow box, covering with dry horticultural sand (not the orange builders sand).
Store them in a cool place. Don't water though the winter, unless the tubers start to shrivel.

Chrysanthemums

Treat in the same way as dahlias, except put them in a tray of moist soil compost, rather than sand.
Keep the soil moist, but not wet.

Chrysanthemums can be propagated by starting over-wintered plants off early in a warm greenhouse, when the shoots are a couple of inches long cut them off the main plant at the base, remove bottom leaves and plant in a tray filled with potting compost, water lightly and keep them in a warm, shady position.