Garden Tip 68:

OVERWINTERING ANNUALS!

Last week I spoke of preparing houseplants for the move indoors for winter. I move a few annuals in for the winter months as well. Garden centers cannot possibly carry all the varieties of annuals available to grow each season and they tend to switch things up year after year. For this reason, I dig and overwinter some of my favorite annuals to ensure that I will have them again for the garden next spring.

These plants require a sunny spot indoors and will need a bit of pruning and shaping to keep them in good condition, in order to take cuttings from them in March. Coleus, begonia and geranium are a few that are easy to maintain in the winter.

Another annual that I over winter is Salvia “Amistad”. This plant is an absolute magnet for hummingbirds! Overwintering this annual not only guarantees that I will have it again for the garden next season but also that I will have at least one that will flower early for the returning hummingbirds!