Now that I have brought my babies in for the winter the leaves are dropping like crazy. Will they lose all their leaves and just leave the stem with the root? Watering once a month should be ok right? Thanks in advance,
The Newbie
Question
I guess it depends if you have enough light to keep them growing all winter,or are putting them in a dark dormant stage,I think if you are going dormant with them,you cut the water off?
Even if they go dormant, don't let them go bone dry. I let mine have just enough light that the tips of the branches always have a little growth on them. For me that is how I tell if they need water or not. Guess I'm too lazy to bend over and feel the soil in the pots. Wilting leaves are a dead giveaway. :) If they aren't actively growing, once a month will probably be enough unless it is warm where they are stored and then they might need a little more. You will just have to keep your eye on them until our weather gets cold and more stable for the majority of the winter.
Thanks Shirley,I knew we would get a Pro along here!
Mine dropped all their leaves last winter. I stored them in the crawl space of our house. I watered them a bit whenever I thought of it, which was no more than once a month. All but the very immature ones survived and are blooming now.
This year, I have lots more, so I put the ones that didn't have buds in the garage when it turned colder. It's semi-dark in there and I'm cutting down on the watering, trying to let them go dormant before I pack them into the crawl space. (Less mess in the crawl space and it's easier to sweep the garage).
The ones that had buds are in the house in the bay window. They are losing lots of leaves from the change, but the buds are still growing and blooming. Once they are done blooming they will also go to the garage then the crawl space.
I'm not sure if this is the best plan for our zone, but it worked for me last year.
Hope this helps a bit.
Thanks for all the help. I have them in the basement. Only light from one small window. As you can see in the pic. the top leaves are pointing towards the ceiling looking for light.
Scheesch,yer makin me dizzy woman..LOL
.
anyways, I read on a brug website that you can leave them out till the first frost knocks all the leaves off ,Mother Natures Housekeeping :-)
.
Am I gonna try that?..NOoooo Wayyyy.
Later,SB
T
h
e
y
L
o
o
k
G
r
e
a
t
!