Cassia Alata aka CandleBush and overwintering

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tdot Toronto, Canada Aug 09, 2015

I have a number of these beautiful plants that I germinated this past spring. The seeds are straight from Kakum National Park in Ghana, West Africa. My babies seems to love the summer here in Toronto, and have grown quite quickly.
I actually have two questions:
First, one is not opening his leaves. He's still got new stems growing daily but his leaves won't open, even in direct sun. My guess is I need to transplant him into a larger pot? It is quite a small container.
Second, what do I do when it gets downright cold here?! I want to move my babies inside; they bring me so much joy, I'm not ok to losing them to winter. Has anyone successfully overwinter these plants (in Ghana they are called Simpis)?
Thanks for any and all advice :)

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tapla Bay City, MI(Zone 6a) Aug 09, 2015

Container size isn't restrictive of growth and vitality until about the point the root/soil mass can be lifted from the container intact. Your plants should be A) potted up before root congestion reaches that point, or B) repotted at the next opportunity that is advantageous for the plant. Repotting is a more extensive procedure than potting up because it includes root pruning and a change of soil. Potting up ensures the limitations due to root congestion remain. Repotting eliminates those limitations.

I haven't grown this plant, but if it was mine, I'd likely move it indoors in fall, let it dry down so it enters a consequential dormancy for the winter, and start giving it sips of water in early to mid-May. At the first signs of bud movement, I'd repot it into an appropriate soil. After that point, you should be good for another 2-3 years, depending on how large your choice of soil allowed the pot to be.

Al

Al

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