All my tropicals are in pots and I'm starting to think about fall and winter. When are folks in the northern climes bringing in their tropicals for the winter? Does it vary by plant? Thanks for the info.
When to bring inside
It will vary by plant.
The true tropicals I bring in at night time low 60's/high 50's temps.
Many will actually go dormant at less than 60 for a prolonged period.
The semi's mid/high 40's.
The hardier plants before a frost.
Which plants are we talking here?
Ric
Hi Ric, Cordylines, caladium, curcuma, alpinia zerumbet, pelargonium, another type of geranium I don't know the name of, Euphorbia milii, Jatropha podagrica, Adenium obesum. I have about 10 cultivars of cordylines, safe to assume they're the same for hardiness?
Adenium obesum can't take much cold at all if wet.
It will rot in a heartbeat.
I never take mine outside after loosing my firstat age three to a wet Summer.
Caladiums mostly I leave until the first frost unless it's a cold rainy Fall.
They will rot on you then.
Pelargonium NO frost, little water when cold so it's a judgement call.
Same w/ Euphorbia milii.
Haven't muh experience w/ the others.
Hope this helps.
Ric
Cordylines can stay out till late, but risk damage to the tips of the leaves. I have 35 + kinds now.Most staay in the greenhouse just because they are too valuable to risk losing them till I get more reproduced.The Ti are like the others wet and cold is the issue.Not good for any tropicals. So nights in the upper 40's for more than 4 nights and it's time for moving in.And spray with a good houseplant spray before bringing in for winter, will save a spidermite infestation later on.
Kyle
Thanks Ric and Kyle. Kyle, I have Safer soap for the cordylines, is that good? We have only gone into the 50's at night, we usually don't get frost until late September (that real early), almost November is more usual. We'll have to wait and see what kind of fall it is. I brought them in for Tropical Storm Ernesto, just brought them back ouside. My house gets no sun inside until Novmeber but outside they'll get filtered light. I thought I had a lot of cordylines, I have 9 kinds. What do you have Kyle?
I have a related question. Can I put a Hidden Ginger in the garage until spring -- dark, probably about 50 degrees, no watering? I would think so, because I read it goes dormant even in warmer climates than mine, and should not be watered when dormant.
My tenders came in before the first frost (night blooming cereus, sanseveria, bougainvillea, gardenia jasminoides "veitchii", donkey's tears, lemon tree, spider lily, and my cestrum nocturnum.)
I dug my caladiums, my ginger lilies, my hardy amaryllis, and my tuberoses after the first few frosts, before the first hard freeze. I also let my jasminum officinale and my glory bower stay out during the frosts.
I just brought in my Kleim's Hardy gardenia and my confederate jasmine. All had been out in temps as low as the mid twenties, and can go lower, down into the teens in the ground, but I didn't want to risk the root balls freezing in their pots.
This year I'm adding a passiflora caerulea, two "dynamite" crape myrtles, an Oklahoma sabal minor, and a cat palm http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60192/ to my outside wintering experiments. I am using chicken wire enclosures filled with raked leaves about eighteen inches deep compressed.
-Joe
So how do you handle the confederate jasmine over the winter? Do you cut it back? Treat it as a house plant over the winter? Or can it go dormant in a dark room?
I've just got it in my basement under fluorescent lights. I am not going to cut it back because I'm not sure whether it blooms on new or old wood. I water lighter in the winter, and feed very lightly. It'll go back out some time in mid March to early April, as will the Kleim's Hardy and the poet's jasmine. The poet's jasmine got cut back.
I forgot to mention I have a jasmine, Maid of Orleans, that also came in before the first frost.
Back to confederate jasmine, next year I want to try trachelospermum jasminoides "Madison" as a mulched foundation planting. As a supposedly cold-hardier variety I am thinking it should do quite well here.
-Joe
Thank you. I am all ears for easy ways to overwinter tropicals!
CF blooms on Old Wood so prune as soon as it blooms.
Up here we prune lightly... down South you can take a deeper cut.
It over-winters easily in a South facing window.
As w/ most plants we over-winter a fan blowing on it helps keep down the white fly and spider mites.
Hello, I have a related question.
How much cold can caladiums tolerate? It's my first time growing them (in the ground). We don't really get any frost here, average lows are in the high 40s....Do I need to dig them up?
Roberta,
You can leave your caladiums in the ground, as long as the ground doesn't stay too wet in the cold of winter. If you are unsure then you could dig most of them and leave a few, to see what happens. I leave mine in the ground, but, we have fairly dry winters here in FL.
Gingerland>
I have read that caladium are cold sensitive -- at least, if you dig them and bring them inside, they should be kept at room temperature rather than being put in a cold garage. I don't know if that applies if you leave them in the ground.
Thanks guys. I will leave them in the ground and make sure they're not too wet!