The results of my experiment last year, wintering plants over which I wrote in this article. Each plant is listed in the same order that it was in my first post. To give context, I put a few of last year’s comments in italics under each plant. Find out which plants made it through the winter in my basement and which ones I believe are worth the space and time to winter again. Ready?

What I did, and why

Agapanthus ‘Storm Cloud,’ Lily of the Nile I received in the mail a small plant that didn’t flower this year[2018]. This summer, my goal was to help it grow and gain strength to bloom in 2019.

The ‘Storm Clouds’ sent up two stalks of flowers, but I brought in the pot because of the frost. They bloomed inside in the second half October.

I wanted to see my agapanthus bloom in the summer.

Why didn’t the flowers bloom sooner? Was it in need of more heat? It will have to settle for what my cold climate calls “summer”, or find another home. Just in case, I’ll give it another year. I am looking for ‘Blue Yonder agapanthus’, which is hardy up to USDA zone 5, “with protection”. I would like to plant it in the ground but I think that a harder selection would flower sooner.

Angelonia Angelonia is supposed to be able to overwinter as a dormant flower. My angelonia did not. I could have repotted the plants a few weeks before cutting them back and putting them in my basement. I won’t overwinter the plants again.

Begonia I purchased tuberous begonias to plant in the Garden Shelter. Unfortunately, only one of the six tubers survived the winter in my basement. This tuber will winter over again, but this time I am using a different plant in the Garden Shelter hanging pots.

Canna Tropicanna gold. Dig them up and shake off all the dirt I can. Then I put them into a plastic bag. This year I planted my cannas only in pots. I will leave them there for the winter. As per usual, I cut off all the dead leaves after they frosted.

Solenostemon varieties Coleus Last year, I saved one coleus my husband loved. This year, I potted up cuttings from the same plant and brought in another plant that was doing well. This big plant will decline as the sun gets weaker. It will then be placed on the compost heap. I got some cuttings from a friend of other varieties, which I have also potted and placed along the windowsills.

Dahlia I used potted dahlias to store them in the basement during the winter. Dahlias will grow larger and more beautiful when they are planted in the soil, especially if it is amended. I store them in cardboard boxes in the basement’s coolest area. Label the boxes with the variety. Finding a large enough box is the hardest part, as the clumps grow really large and I want to plant them in spring big. I wait until there is a killing freeze before I dig them.

This winter, tubers dried up more than usual. I decided to use the method for growing dahlias. This involves planting the tuber, container and all, into the ground or a larger pot. Instead of digging up tubers, you can remove the container and leave the tuber inside. Next year, replant the tuber, still in the container.

In my cold climate, ‘Mingus Toni” is my favorite dahlia. It starts blooming by mid-July.

This method is appealing to me, because it’s similar to the way I used to store them in my former garden. But I don’t think gallon-sized pots are a good idea. Two of the dahlias that were in small containers had tubers growing outside the pot.

This method appears to work best with shallower and larger pots.

I pulled the first pot from the ground without realizing that some dahlias may do this and then broke off the tuber sticking out. Then I removed them more carefully. I’ll probably need to cut apart the pot shown above to remove the dahlia successfully and repot the plant in a larger, shallower container.

My dahlias did not seem to be doing as well as they had in the past. My local gardening friends all had the same problem–the dahlias didn’t bloom as early as they expected and didn’t grow as vigorously. I won’t blame the container yet, but will be more careful about feeding and watering them. The only dahlias that I had in my garden this year were those growing on the compost pile. I thought that the tubers would be duds, so I threw them out.

It bloomed a little later than I expected, even though the dahlia in the compost was much more vigorous. It is just now starting to bloom towards the end of August.

Eucomis, also known as Pineapple Lily, will hopefully bloom next year. The Eucomis (aka Pineapple Lily) I hope they will grow to blooming sizes next year.

These bulbs bloomed in summer, unlike the hibiscus or the agapanthus!

Four O’Clocks, Mirabilis jalapa ‘Limelight. I dug it up to save the tuber.

Geranium: (As with Pelargonium, the bedding plant that we consider an annual but is actually a perennial.) If they survive the winter, I can cut more cuttings for next spring. Other sources suggest letting them dry and dormant and then reviving them in spring. Both are working, but the dried, bareroot plants didn’t survive. All cuttings survived, but preferred the windowsill upstairs over the grow lights down below. Since I can’t fit them all on windowsills this winter, I will rotate the plants. It’s possible that the basement is around 55degF (13.5degC) and this may be too cold (and too warm, ironically, for dormant tubeers).

Wintering these plants is a good idea.

Gladiolus The glads are in the basement, with the rest. This fall I did not dig any glads; I left them in the ground. Glads that I planted in my vegetable garden several years ago have consistently come back, so I thought it was worth a shot with the red ones in front.

One of the dark red glads is leaning against Rudbeckia Triloba.

Hibiscus Jolly Polly hibiscus It is a plant that can be very aggravating. It shares the title with agapanthus. It produced only one flower which did not bloom until the plant was brought inside. I think I will induce dormancy in the winter as it doesn’t seem to deserve a place by a window.

Jewels Of Opar Talinum Paniculatum “Kingwood Gold” I dug up the tubers, and put them in a bag of paper in the basement. The tubers did not survive and the seeds were harmed by an unlucky event before they sprouted. This year I did not get ‘Kingwood Gold,’ but a friend has sent me new seed to try next year.

Rain Lilies, Zephyranthes: Mine are still in the pots in the dark basement where the other plants are stored. They still have green leaves. I’m not sure what will be required for them to go dormant and dry out. In the spring, I will bring out the pot again. Again, they did not bloom very much. I don’t know if they need more potbound or if something is wrong. Also, I’m not sure if there is anything else I can do to increase the amount of potbound.

Before I knew they could be stored in a container, I had grown rain lilies outside. These are dahlias; rain lilies do not have foliage.

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis I winter a rosemary each year and wrote about it. Since I wrote the post, we’ve moved and I have a rosemary ‘Salem.’ It is in the cool room over the attached garage, in a window facing south.

Salvia There is a lot of tender salvias, and it’s advised to “take cuttings” to keep them going. Although the cuttings survived to spring this year, they were not particularly floriferous last summer. I want to use the space for better plants.

Lemon Coral ™ In a container that my daughter painted.

I love ‘Lemon Coral Sedum’ (Sedum Mexicanum). It looks great in containers, but is not hardy. Proven Winners sent me a plant to test, and it’s a good houseplant. The space on the windowsill is worth it.

Golden Sweet Potato Vine Ipomoea Batatas I planted two of them in a basket to grow as a houseplant. I harvested tubers from the other two and threw them in a bag of paper. They are in the basement, along with the rest. I potted up cuttings from my mother plants in water and used them as houseplants for the winter. In early spring, I will root more cuttings to fill all the window boxes.

Two different sources of light are used to illuminate the vines, and they look good so far.