What have you appropriated to the great indoors from the "annuals" section? Saved over winter?

I'd love to hear stories about Angelonia, Nemesia, Scaveola...?

I am in zone 5-6. I usually over winter my dahlias and 4 O'clocks.

4 O'clocks produce large roots They do self seed, but if you save the root, you usually get a much larger plant. And, if you like the color of the plant you save, no change. Seedlings can vary in color.

I think peppers are tender perennials if I remember correctly. I tried saving a couple of plants several years ago.

I have saved Impatiens, it's easier to treat them as annuals.

Good article Tiffany.

Thank you very much! I totally agree about 4'o'clocks. Good addition. : + ) !!

Good article, Tiffany!! 🙂

My experience is limited to peppers that I have overwintered: (black cobra (6 -7 years), poblanos (3 years), Serranos 2 years and then I pulled because I had more than I could store or give away, an Asian Indian pepper variety (7 years) and a Chinese variety (3). Nothing fancy like you, Tiffany.

I am smiling ear-to-ear though because tonight I purchased a Kalanchoe blossfeldiana (flaming Katy) in orange. Two days ago I acquired Gerber daisies and a few pieces of Portulaca grandiflora. I have never grown them and am so happy to read that I can overwinter these new plants of mine.

I planned overwintering them regardless (after my husband made the comment they are annuals). BUT reading your article only offers me the encouragement I need that my efforts won't bring disappointment. I need to succeed — only because I told my husband that I'd show him that I can turn them into perennials. He said he wasn't so sure about that ... so it made me more determined to somehow make them survive beyond summer. .

I wish I knew how to keep Cala lilies going but mine die back regardless.

Next year I will try a dahlia, like Frank mentioned. I am just starting to learn about flowers so I have to take it slowly.

As for the plants you'd love to hear about, Tiffany, I would too! I've never even heard of them. LOL! You guys are great here. I get to learn so much.

So glad I saw your article!! :

Several years back, I used to over winter Calla Lilies. I would dig them up, wash and trim and dry. Then I would over winter just like a dahlia tuber.

Thanks Frank! I will have to try that. I have hyacinths and I know those have to be dug up. Next year, dahlias will be on my list. As of last night, I have a plant moratorium per my husband. LOL!

I do have more than I can handle currently so I don't mind.

I love tropical fruits and their trees. I have 3 that are pretty common, sapodilla, cherimoya and a hybrid guava from a local nursery.

Wondering what I could add, I ordered seeds to try to grow a Rolinia deliciosa. The vendor only sold in quantities of 25. I planted all expecting perhaps 3-5 to germinate. So far .... 15! Who knew ?? Now the trick is to see how long I can keep them alive.

Eli, thank you so much for your kind comments!

The peppers sounds much more worthwhile, contributing something to the household food. And very cool! Thank you for contributing your experience to the discussion. Anything saved means next year's plant budget can be for something different, additional.

I think K. blossfeldiana would be hardy in the ground where you are. When it grows enough to snip a cutting, you could give it a try.

You could educate your husband about the difference between a true annual and a perennial sold out of its' zone of survivability... or claim credit for magic. LOL!

That's cool, Frank! Thank you for the addition to the discussion. When I lived in OH, I kept taro (elephant ears), Gladiolus, and Cannas that way. Extremely handy since they don't need any window-space. I had a basement then, I put them down there.

Ok, here's my contribution to the thread...

My wife teaches children's Sunday School and each Mother's Day she buys some flowering plants for the children to plant and give to their mothers. She always has some left over that she plants at our house. Last year it was pink Vincas. She planted them in a couple of large pots and they enjoyed the summer on the front porch. As autumn turned into early winter they continued to bloom. Then...a freeze warning! So...we moved them over into the inside corner of the porch beside the front door and covered them with an old fleece blanket...one of those small "throws" that you get at Walmart or a dollar store. They survived the freeze. Before the winter was over they had survived several hard (for our area) freezes...and still had a few blooms hanging on. Finally, we made it through all the freezes, moving the pots numerous times....leaving the plants beneath the blanket for two or three days at a time. Still, those little flowers survived!!! They were looking a bit beaten up, but the stems are small trunks now, the leaves are coming out nicely and they're getting into the swing of things with blooms. So, I guess Vincas are annuals but nobody told these little flowers that!!

Great story, Ed!

I tried my hand at overwintering coleus a couple of years ago and it did great! But that is the only annual I have tried so far.

I wish I had a small greenhouse so I could do more plants, because I only have one good spot for keeping any plants over the winter, a north-facing set of French doors in my kitchen.

Thanks, Vickie! This is a good, elevated south-facing porch of an old house. The tiled surface is a good heat-sink, too. And, being located in south Alabama helped, too! These vincas surprised me, though. My wife wanted to give up a time or two...preparing to go to bed at night but being detouring into going out in the cold to cover up some scraggly plants just wasn't that appealing to her...or me! But, we managed somehow. I'm not sure we'll try for a second winter or not...we'll see how they look at the end of the summer.

One thing I will say, it was nice to walk out in the winter on pretty days and see those pink blooms glowing in the light of the low-riding sunshine!

Thank you for the great contribution, Ed! That's a gorgeous pot!

Species: Vinca (Catharanthus roseus)
So many cultivars: https://garden.org/plants/sear...

The pots, thanks!...they were my grandmother's.

This is a great thread!
I have been working at finding and culturing pepper varieties that will grow inside during winter, produce, with the least special attention. I'm also looking for that special cherry tomato too.. Currently testing out Tiny Tim and Mexico Midget.
So far, my greatest success has been with small to medium Annuums and Frutescens, but I haven't delved out of the 5 typical species yet.. Some of the wilds look pretty promising. Pubescens seem to grow the best indoors, but I have yet to get them to produce. I'm also going to attempt some Blackberry Nightshades of various species this winter as well.

I had never grown Coleus before I tried bringing some cuttings in last year.. What a great plant to teach kids about cuttings and care with. Tradescantia are pretty decent too, though I feel T. zebrina is a little easier to manage inside. I try to keep the ornamentals to shade tolerant, because the peppers have priority over the windows.

CF, I've got some peppers growing that I'm going to try and overwinter. Not sure if their good candidates or not.

One Craig's Grande Jalapeño.
One Red Sabina.
One Poblano.

I don't expect fruit during the winter but hope to have some big plants starting out in the spring .

Glad you enjoy it, Crafty! I'm not a pepper person but I wish the best to both of you!

In my mind, propagation and saving are so closely related. Not counting most of what I have that are traditional houseplants, most of the plants I get are put in the ground soon after purchase because I can water them slightly less often that way. So propagating snips to save is the usual plan vs. digging things up.

If this sounds familiar, or just interesting, there's a great discussion about propagation adventures here:
https://garden.org/thread/go/2...

I have a lot of new candidates to try this winter. Probably a lot will just stay in jars of water for those few months. I'm not looking for any kind of performance during that time, just, like the Bee Gees song, stayin' alive.

I've discovered that cut Angelonia stems take root easily in water.

Now is the time to start taking snips of any ground plants that aren't true annuals that one might want to try to save, for those farther north, and approaching soon for those of us farther south.

I've learned over the years to not wait for "panic night" - when 1st frost is expected - to cut stems of Coleus to save. They do not take root as easily if they have had some chilly nights too close to freezing.

Impatiens walleriana (busy Lizzy) continue to bloom inside.

A couple of Vina (Catharanthus roseus) are still alive but not still blooming.

Alternantheras make their odd little pom-pom blooms all winter.

This porterweed did great being brought inside over winter, not much leaf loss or etiolation near a sunny window. After being back outside for about 3 weeks, I see inflorescences forming.
Jamaican Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis)