African Garden + winter

Adventures in Overwintering Tender Plants

I've got such a bad case of the winter blahs. All this snow has finally gotten to me, with more in the forecast and the "B" word being used for the first time this season. (It's "blizzard.") My potted bulbs that I'm forcing are nowhere near ready to bloom. I've been trapped in a world of gray, black and white, frozen in snow and ice. And then, a package arrived in the mail.

For entering the "Why I Garden" contest on Blotanical, I won a copy of the book "Bulbs in the Basement, Geraniums on the Windowsill" (thanks, Stuart!), a book for people such as myself, whose success in overwintering plants is limited to a couple of cacti. How I wish I had this book a couple of months ago, when I embarked on my overwintering adventure. I started with such enthusiasm with a large gift Pelargonium, a couple of pots of Alocasia, a Dahlia tuber and two Ipomoea cuttings.

(The Alocasias have already bit the dust.)

"Bulbs in the Basement" provides information specifically on many tender plants. Although Alocasia isn't one of them, the directions in the general information section would have told me to store the tubers rather than try to keep them growing in potting soil. It also lists the various pests and diseases that afflict indoor plants and advises how to deal with them.
At least I received the book in time to save the Ipomoea cuttings from death by overwatering. (I was trying to compensate for my underwatering tendencies, and they were starting to droop.) The book also validated my instinct to put the Pelargonium next to the patio door to keep it cool. With a forecasted low of -9F for later in the week, I'm thinking maybe I should move the Pelargonium until this Arctic blast has moved on.
I hope all of you are doing better than I am. Stay warm, stay sunny, and may you have abundant blooms.