IÂve forgotten about this one, I will be overwintering my potted Gerbera Daisy for the second year indoors. This plant will rest on the west windowsill in the mudroom where it stays cool too.

Very interesting Sharon, do you let the gerbera go dormant? I have one planted out in a pot that was a houseplant last winter and I would like to save it because it's a great dark red colour.

My tender plants, let's see, I brought in my hibiscus, and will be winter protecting my tender roses within a couple of weeks... that's about it! Nothing to rival your list - LOL.

I would say semi-dormant Gillian, the tops never die out, perhaps the odd leaf will shrivel up but these are easily plucked out from the crown to prevent them from rot. I give it a good bottom watering every 40-60 days, no fertilizer and pinch off any blooms from now on. The key is to hold back the watering and keep it in a cool place, watch for spider mites too ;)

Around April they start to regrow new leaves.

That reminds me, I will be overwintering Lavatera thuringiaca ÂBarnsley as well in the pumphouse, second year for this one too.

Is there any way we can push the clock 6 months ahead!

Sharon

Yup, this would all be so much easier if only we could skip winter, or at least the worst part of winter.

Sharon, when you mention you bring in your musa dwarf banana, do you keep it in light for the winter, or just store the pot? I have a musa ensete in the flower bed that I was going to transplant into a pot and bring inside. I was then discouraged, because it's so huge (and had slugs on it) and I thought to myself that I don't have very good light inside anyways.

Your pumphouse sounds like a dream spot for overwintering tender stuff.

Brought inside my solanum (Paraguan nightshade, technically a tropical vine/shrub) and put in the spare bedroom. It always seems to sulk and lose it's leaves when I bring it in, then regrow them.

I have a potted inabe shidare Japanese Maple. I sink the pot into the ground near the house foundation. I then take an appropriate sized box, remove the top and bottom flaps, place around the tree. Fill in and around the tree with peat moss, then leaves. This has worked well for the past few years.

I also have another maple growing directly in a flower bed that I basically do the same thing with. The only drawback is it's getting harder and harder to cover them as they grow bigger.

I wrap a few of the cedars that are more susceptible to winter burn (yellow ribbon, smargd). The brabant ones will have to go uncovered this winter. Actually their first year they did winterburn, but nothing beyond repair. Also have to wrap my Hicks yew very well.

I have a teddy cedar growing in a pot that I have to sink into the ground as well, also some catalpa trees that I started from seed this year.

Have to mulch my only tender rose (Tropicana).

I still have to dig out the canna bulbs and bring inside. Actually, the plants are still blooming. Also have water lilie tubers that I will just store in the fridge. Also have brought inside my favorite tri colour leaf geranium and made impatien cuttings, etc.

Then there is my ginkgo tree that I wrap with a tarp for winter.

Glen

Glen, this year IÂm going to try a different method for the Musa. Right now its downstairs in the spare bedroom, heat register closed, small window which is cracked open slightly and in its pot that its been growing in. This will be the second year too for this plant, last year I kept it upstairs in the dining room right near the south window, however it was so ratty looking from the heat register below it, lack of humidity that it didnÂt look good at all.

Yes, I sure love my pumphouse, but geez is it ever scary down there. I get down on the ladder and hubby hands me the pots; he keeps threatening me that heÂs going to nail the door-lid shut while I'm down there! As you probably know, I just discovered this storage room a couple of years ago, the owners before us used to store their root crops down there. Just to be on the safe side, hubby installed some kind of apparatus to let us know when the heat lamp burns out, a red flashing light will flash outside the pumphouse to warn us.

This year I had to transport the Japanese maple into a smaller pot, the original pot is just way to heavy to lug down there.

Sounds like your going to busy for a while, glad to hear you still got your Gingko, must buy one from Richters next spring ;)

Sharon

Hey Glen, I think I remember you talking about trying a different winter protection program. As opposed to a box full of peat moss and leaves, which always seems like a good idea until spring when it's a mess.

Anything come to fruition on this? I'm thinking of trying something different. I seem to have acquired 5 more tender roses this year and it's getting to be a lot of boxes and peat moss...

I may have been talking about my Japanese maple. Currently, I surround it with a tall box (bottom flaps removed) and then fill in and around the tree with peat moss, leaves, etc. This has actually worked perfect, but itÂs sort of a hassle especially as the tree gets taller (though itÂs currently only 2 feet high.)

There is a forum member who lives in NW Ontario (not our Marcia) and supposedly surrounds his tree with a wire cage, then 4 inches of fiberglass insulation, then a larger cage to hold it into place. I suppose he means something like chicken wire. He may mulch around the base of the small tree as well.

There is a posting on the Northern Gardening forum, "Japanese maples in MB" that discusses this. I have attached the link because who knows, maybe some of the suggestions can be applied to other plants.

Other than that, one thing I have done for tender conifers or woody plants is to surround well with snow, even bury them a bit, then cover with a cardboard box, then more snow. Anything to limit the wind exposure I suppose.

Yeah, I seem to love cardboard boxes. My yard donÂt look the best in winter with things covered up, but I suppose I mostly live for spring, summer and fall.

Glen

Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese Maples in MB posting

I did the cardboard box thing with Miss Sunrise last winter, and it worked like a charm!

As for anything else, i'm really loathe to give up the last bit of blooms, but all my containers are back outside waiting for the big freeze. :( Then i'll store the geraniums and begonias in the cold corner of the garage (minimally heated in winter). I've taken all kinds of cuttings too - don't know what will happen with them.

Someone (Sharon?) mentioned digging up gazanias and bringing them in, and i'm thinking about doing that. They've survived so far, so maybe i'll dig a couple three up this evening and pot them up.

Glen thanks, I think that was the post I had seen. I have a similar situation now, with two climbing non-hardy roses (Double Delight and Autumn Sunset). I want to try this method because, while I know the bud union (roots on A.S., it is own-root) will survive, I want to see if I can grow them as climbers and not have to re-grow canes every spring. All my other tender roses grow back each spring from the ground or a few inches of cane.

I know of people who bend climbers flat for winter protection but these things have 3/4" diameter basals and are not flexible at all. My Autumn Sunset put on over 4' of new growth this year and I don't want to lose it all.

As for cuttings, I have rooted my sweet potato vine as already mentioned, and a Roma tomato too. Thank you so much whoever it was that suggested tomato cuttings. I had trouble finding romas last spring, now I don't have to worry! :D

Gazanias can be stored but they are so easy to start from seed, that I don't bother.

Sharon

Can hot pepper plants be dug up, re-potted and kept inside all winter? If yes, will they grow any chillies?

I don't know for sure, but i have heard of peppers being brought inside for the winter. They would probably produce if you hand-pollinated them.

I brought in my geraniums, coleous, portulaca, impatiens, and something I've labeled "African Daisy" but I'm really not sure that's what it is.

I also did tomato cuttings which are doing great so far.

I potted up a small 4 O'clock plant at the end of August already and its been doing really well.

***knocking on wood that those spider mites and aphids don't find out where my plants are this year***

The only thing I am overwintering is 3 mini roses.....I put them in the laundry room on a shelf and will forget about them till.....uhhhh ohhhhhhh I will probably remember them sometime in nov or dec.....at which time I will give them a little water and forget about them again till probably feb. LOL.

I was given some geraniums to over winter and some how managed to wipe them out already. Not sure what I did....but they went all mouldy. ewwwww

My begonias, dahlias, peruvian daffodils, anemones, and fresias are all packed in paper bags and or sitting in pots in storage. They even got labeled this year. :O

Ohhhhhh its time to water my indoor plants...(2 Xmas cactus and 2 african violets)...hmmm wonder when the last time I did that was.....:O

Sierra

African Daisy could be an Osteospermum. I have heard them called that before. Anything not to have to say Osteospermum - LOL.

Hi ya Gillian,

The common name for Osteospermum is cape daisy. Of course there could be others.

The common name for Dimorphotheca is african daisy and apparently rain daisy.

There is a difference....these two plants look completely different. However the flowers do look slightly similar. I have found that Osteospermum are a bit more difficult to start from seed and they are a lot more expensive than Dimorphotheca.

:O see whatcha get when you ask....haha...putting sleeping cap back on now. LOL.

Sierra

I bought seeds/grew Dimorphotheca "African Daisy" last summer. And, yup, looked just like the "Rain Daisy" posted here somewhere.

The Venidium that I grow apparently (from google searches) is also called "Cape Daisy" but looks nothing like the "African Daisy/Rain Daisy".

Now to have me REALLY REALLY confused this one that I had labeled "African Daisy" is because the seed looked identical to the African Daisy/Rain Daisy I grew before. But now that it is growing it looks very different from either one of these.

Brugmansia 2nd year except not cutting back this year.. took too long to bloom... Looks great now. Still have it in greenhouse with nite heat..
Fushia gartimieser this will yr # 3.. over 3ft. tall
Asarina Red Dragon 2nd yr
Mimulus Aurantiacus Apricot 1st. yr. will try keeping it in porch to begin with.. Not sure if it needs to go dormant or not..
Agastache aurantiaca 1st yr.
Silene laciniata 'Jack Flash' 1st. yr.
Canna, calla & assortment of other bulbs started from seed 2 yr. ago..
Crepe Mrytle 2nd. yr.
Minature roses 1st. yr.
4 O'clock roots if I get them dug up..

Most will be striped of leaves & but in garage(heated) & away from the lite, watered once a month..
Will also try a red easy wave petunia in the basement under lights..
Is there anything else I need to know about keeping the petunia ?

I'm confused. LOL. I thought they were ALL the same thing. I have only ever grown Osteospermum, and yes they are a little pricey. The flowers do look similar tho!

On a related topic, I bought a white "whirlygig" osteo this spring with twisty petals, and it rebloomed this fall but with straight petals. Anyone else ever had this happen? I am thinking of taking a cutting anyway to avoid the expense next year, even if the petals are straight.

Oh yeah I was also going to say, I have heard Osteos called Sunscape Daisies too. Just to make it more confusing...

I'm overwintering Alternanthera 'Purple Knight', six impatiens that I got on clearance for 25 cents, an Argyranthemum for 50 cents, a Gaura that came back from seed and never got to flower, and my Geranium 'Roxanne'. I also have a 'Sutherland Gold' Elder that turned too yellow where I had it this Summer. And Dusty Miller plants. (I know they're common, but they seem to sell out so fast locally that I hadn't had the chance to try them before.)

Plus Zonal Geraniums and Vinca 'Cooler Grape', and a sad-looking poinsetta that I kept inside all year. The Vinca is getting leggy and tall, though. Can I cut it shorter and root the stem?

How do you root tomatoes? I'd like to try that, and I've been covering mine, so they're still alive if not thriving.

Sharon

Sharon, I took tomato cuttings with about 3 sets of leaves (probably about 5" of stem) and rooted them in a glass of water. Took just under a week. One cutting got lots of black spots and I threw it out, but the other is doing fine and is now in soil. I plan to take more cuttings from it when it gets bigger.

I used to keep a zonal geranium from cuttings every year - it was Skies of Italy. It was really nice, don't remember what happened to it.

northspruce,

When you mentioned you used to have the Skies of Italy geranium I suddenly thought of mine out in the greenhouse. Hoping that the greenhouse did not get too cold last night with -8 here, I checked everything in there and all's well. In fact the temp in the greenhouse now is 30!!!
Time though to get everything inside though!

Overwintering...
in the basement "pit" will go...potatoes, beets, carrots, dahlias loose, cannas in pots, cannas loose, callas in pots, begonias in pots, an ismene lily and some apples.

in the house, as plants...all my plectranthus family plants which were in my pots on the deck all summer (green leafed nico, silver leafed nicolette, white edged nicolette, Troy's Gold, purple leaved swedish ivy, cuban oregano, swedish ivy), Skies of Italy geranium, german ivy, Purple Knight alternanthera, megilla perilla, about 2 dozen assorted amaryllis, assorted coleus (trailing ones and others), assorted wandering jews, etc. I also dug out a smaller plant of a white datura and a purple ballerina datura to see if I can grow them inside for the winter. Of course all the plants from the tub pond plus the koi have been inside for a few weeks already...my water lettuce, water hyacinth, and 2 papyrus. See if I can keep the water lettuce alive this winter in the aquarium, my first time to try and some people have been telling me not to expect miracles.

In the house, as bulbs, hanging in (former orange)bags of plastic netting...gladiolas

Lots of work to do yet, 'cause the beets, carrots and potatoes are in the ground yet as are the dahlias, some cannas and the glads. Next week sounds like it will be nice weather wise and looks like I will be busy then. Sounds like there are others out there who do just as much "hauling in" as I do. But it gives me a garden inside to look after in the wintertime and a headstart on next year's plants for the deck planters and around the acreage.

Well, all this talk about "skies of Italy" geranium had me curious, so I checked out a pic on the web (link attached). Skies of Italy has scarlet blooms, correct?

My geranium is similar though I believe mine is "Mrs Pollock" with orange blossoms instead of scarlet. I laughed when I once read a website about Mrs Pollock, saying how the orange blooms clash with the foliage. It's sort of true. I had a purple geranium planted next to Mrs Pollock and the purple blooms looked better against the variegated foliage than the orange blooms do. But still, I am a sucker for anything variegated.

Valleyrimgrl, I once overwintered a purple. At first it lost almost all of it's leaves (adjusting to the lower light of indoors?) but did survive in a pot on the windowsill. It was started from seed and didn't bloom the first year, nor the second year. Not sure why but I ditched it after that.

I am also trying to overwinter water lettuce and water hyacinth. They say they need warmth but especially lots of light. I wasn't going to bother trying to overwinter, but I figured I had the plant light so might as well try. I am also trying some lotus seedlings that I had in the pond. Not going too well but I think the pond water was getting too cool for them. Since they are basically just in containers under plant lights, anyone have any ideas how to keep the water fresh? Maybe just change regularly, or add aquarium charcoal/carbon?

Glen

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:779376}}

Sorry about that, I meant to say I once overwintered a "purple datura", not a "purple". I suppose I should actually be proof reading when I preview these messages.

Glen

Glen I'm not an expert on pond plants, but I don't imagine they are too picky about water freshness. Based on my knowledge of aquarium plants, they actually kinda like dirty water, as in fish poop, so I don't see why they would need really clean water. Maybe just an occasional partial water change and check for rot.

That pic looks just like my old Skies of Italy. It was not a vigorous pelargonium, never got really big, but it was healthy and did bloom - as I recall the flowers were not a particularly nice red, kinda orangey. It would be tempting to cut them off.

If you're interested, I got it at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory Mother's Day plant sale and I know they had it 3 years in a row so likely would again. (enable enable hee hee)

I bought my Skies of Italy geranium from the Conservatory fall sale about 2 years ago. Yes, it never gets too big but I love the foliage, looks just like the picture that you posted. It, though, has coral colored blooms. They labelled it Skies of Italy, could I have something else instead???

Glen, yes, I was wondering what the purple...was. I am going to try the datura inside. We'll see if it works. If the plant dies, at least I have the seed pockets and will start some that way in the spring instead.

My water lettuce and water hyacinths are in the fish aquarium with the koi and the 25 watt aquarium tube lights in my old 20 year old aquarium. I have to change the filter "cotton batton" quite often because of the plants but so far so good. The water hayacinth seem to love it in there and the tube lights warm the water all day so I hope that my water lettuce will like that all winter. I have a garage sale each spring with perennials and would like to sell some water plants next time. So, no big loss if it doesn't work, but...if it does...

Some friends and i saw that geranium in Vanderwees in Thunder Bay last spring. We were all hyped up about the foliage until one of us saw the flower! Not exactly attractive! :)

Not sure Valleyrmgrl. A couple of years ago I bought one at Rona and it was labelled "Mrs Pollock". It was a fairly vigorous grower and had orangy blossoms. I over wintered it one year, but lost it last winter. This spring I found one that looked identical to it at Shriemers Nursery, but it was just labelled "Tri-colored leaf geranium". That is why I assume mine is Mrs Pollock, or something very close. One thing though, it was a very vigorous growing, crowding out the other 3 geraniums in the pot.

I was searching the internet for the differences between "skies" and "mrs pollock" and one website said that both have orangy red blossoms but skies of Italy has sharply lobed leaves. As we know, however, you can't trust everything on the internet, one website said Mrs Pollock had apricot pink blooms.

At any rate, they are all beautiful. See the attached for different types of geraniums. All I will say is wow, I didn't realize there were so many striking geraniums.

glen

Here is a link that might be useful: Skies Italy & Miss Pollock

I was also looking around for Skies of Italy on the internet last night, and I found several different accounts of what it actually is on different sites. Flower colour varies from red to vermilion to orange, and leaf shape is frequently listed as "maple shaped".

I think what had looked like Mrs. Pollock. Since we got it at the same place, VRG and I probably had the same one. I also clearly remember the tags being hand labeled and it is a benefit sale, so perhaps the donor just got it wrong.

Glen, just wondering where you got the lotus seeds from? I would love to try growing some from seed, as buying the roots is quite expensive.

As for bringing in tender plants, I've brought in:
2 hibiscus
one orange brugmansia
a chunk of chameleon plant
umbrella palm
water hyacinth
creeping bamboo
canna roots
rooted cuttings of Kong coleus
swedish ivy
ponytail grass
elephant ear bulbs

Will also bring in the waterlilies pretty soon, as well as the fish. Just have to find an aquarium first, as they've out-grown the tub I used to use.
I thought I was cutting back this year, but it sure doesn't look like it. I am finally ditching the calla lily bulbs that haven't bloomed in 3 years, mind you, they're probably frozen already in the pot, so maybe I'm not as tough as I think. lol

Laurie

Has anyone ever not had mint come back? I have quite a few different varieties that I don't want to lose, but I am getting tired of digging up chunks every year to winter indoors. If I don't have to it would be great.

Syreeta

Gee Laurie, your life sounds like mine lately. I have two growing koi and 4 fantail goldfish. Last year they overwintered in a 44 gallon perform pond, this year I didnÂt feel that would do the job so I contacted a livestock supply store and bought a 140 gallon stock tank. ItÂs not quite filled to the top, some maybe even 110 gallons in it, but that will have to do the job this year and in future years. ThatÂs as big as I will go. ItÂs not the goldfish who are growing so much, but the koi.

Regarding the lotus seeds, the initial batch of seeds I bought via mail order Gardens North back in February. They were slow to sprout and my thinking was, maybe it wasnÂt the best thing that they were shipped in the cold of February. They did sprout, however, but for whatever reason they rotted before they got leaves and roots.

So, I tried again with seeds I bought in August. It was off ebay. I think it was on the ebay stores section "buy it now" and one seller was offering pre-scarified seeds. They sprouted very quick and I planted them in small pots in the pond, but have been struggling since because of the cool water. If only I had planted them sooner. Anyways, IÂm trying to baby them and give them good light indoors and see if that helps.

Syreeta, I know you asked if anyone has not had mint come back. Yes and no. A few years ago I had a peppermint that survived one winter, but not the next. It was in a soggy spot, however. Last year I planted a spearmint by the house foundation and it did come back this year. That probably doesn't help you in knowing what to do, but I guess it might be 'iffy' if they survive our winters.

Glen

Laurie,

Do not "ditch" the calla bulbs!!! Sometimes it takes a year or two for the bulb to regenerate enough energy to bloom again. Since you are close to Bdn and IF you do insist on throwing them out...do you want to "throw" them my way??? I live just west of town. Mine are still outside in pots and I am hoping that they will be okay. They were quite large bulbs this year and all put on a nice show. I grow them in large pots and once, in the fall, that they have frozen, I will now cut the frozen tops off, dry out the pots and place the pots in my cold storage area under the basement.

Northspruce,

I was looking at the site for geraniums. I wonder if we both bought the same geraniums the same year. They were under a tree next to the trunk at the sale. My "Skies of Italy" leaves are not maple shaped leaves like the site had posted. Mrs. Pollack's leaves are similar but I definitely have coral/apricot colored flowers. I took some pictures with the digital camera a few minutes ago. How do I now post them to show you all what I have? ...Which is probably not the Skies of Italy (to my dismay...but I still really like this geranium no matter what the name is).

VRG, if you wanted to post the pic into this thread you would need an account on an image hosting website like Photobucket or Shutterfly.

But now that we have the Gallery, it is easy. Go into the gallery and start a message, and on the second screen when you preview it, you add the image directly from its location on your computer.

We probably got the same one. I didn't go to the sale last year, and I tried to the year before but the line up was SOOOO long so I went home. I bought S. of I. twice though, three and four years ago. Last time I went it was all in one tent. If you like the spring sale, you should see if you can make it into town for the fall sale. I went this year and it was AWESOME.

Anyway, the Skies of Italy I got had rounded/scalloped leaves like a normal pelargonium and the flowers were orangey red. The leaves looked exactly like the link Glen posted. I like the name too!

I should say it looked like the first link Glen posted, not the second.

I tried to post a couple pics of the leaves of the geranium but the posting only accepted one picture. How are you guys posting multiple pictures at a time and then adding in comments after them?

Hello Valleyrimgirl,

We go through this often enough that I should save this post for future use.

To post pictures in the body of a message the pictures have to be on a hosting site which allows remote loading of images.
The one that I am familiar with is Photobucket.com.
Go to Photobucket.com and open a free account.
Upload the photo or photos to photobucket.
Once you have the photo in photobucket click on the photo to view it.
If you wish to edit the photo click on the [Edit] button above your photo to shrink or rotate the photo.

When you wish to post photos in GW forums open your photobucket account in one window and GW in a separate window.
Type your message into the message box in GW.
Personally I prefer to type the message in MS Word and then copy and paste to GW. That gives me spell check etc.
When you wish to insert a photo switch to the window with your photobucket account and find the box under your photo labeled [Tag].
Copy all the text in that box and paste it into your GW message where you want your photo to go.
When you think that the message looks right click on the [Preview Message] button to see how it looks.
If you wish to make changes use the back button on your browser and edit your message.

A more involved method gives you clickable thumbnails.
If you wish to use clickable thumbnails chose the photo or photos by clicking on the little box under the photo in your photobucket account to the left of the file name for example xxxx.jpg..
Next go to the bottom of the page in your photobucket account and click on the button labeled [Generate HTML and IMG code]
That will take you to a page with a series of boxes with HTML code.
The one near the top labeled [HTML clickable thumbnails for Ebay, Livejournal, MySpace, etc.] is the one you want.
Copy the text from that box and paste it into your message.

It is a good idea the first time that you post photos to GardenWeb to do this in the Test Forum for practice.
If you get into difficulty somebody is likely to give you some pointers.

I will be visiting family in the Ottawa area for a couple of weeks.
If you have questions about posting pictures I am sure that somebody will give you a hand.

Good luck
Ian

Here is a link that might be useful: Test forum FAQ

Thanks for the information Glen, I guess I'll be outside digging up mint later in the day.

Syreeta

Glen, wow, that's a big tank you've got there. I'm hoping I can get a 50 gallon tank from a friend soon. I'm down to only one small koi and about 8 or 9 shebunkins and comets and 8-10 babies, so I'm hoping 50 gallons will do for awhile. Thanks for the lotus seed info, I'll have to check Gardens North and ebay out. I've got a nice sunny south window and was hoping to have them as my winter project. :)

Vrimgirl, have you had callas bloom again after them taking a few years off before? I would have thought after 3 years, that they're probably a lost cause already and I was going to pull the plug. When I planted them this spring they looked healthy enough and produced lots of leaves, but not a sign of any buds. If you think I may have a chance at getting blooms next year, then I might go out and see if they are frozen yet or not, and rescue them. But, I tell ya, next year for sure, if I don't get any blooms they're history!
Laurie

Laurie, I have my callas and ismene lily in pots that I bring in for the winter. This year the ismene lily did not bloom, the callas in the past have taken a break also. Because I have 15 or so callas I do not have to keep track of which ones bloom when because they are in 2 large rectangular containers and one circular pot that every year something blooms. They are 4 -5 years old and have huge bulbs each already giving lots of foliage and a bloom here and there. It's like my amaryllis. I have about 20 or so pots and about 1/2 bloom each year, all at different times. I had one blooming in the greenhouse this summer, just before my daughter's wedding which was a first for the summer for me. Usually they seem to take turns in the winter. I would dig the callas out of the garden and try them again. Place the callas in a pot, place them in the cold storage once the pot is dried out and forget about them until spring. Plant them and see. Hey, what will it take you, a few minutes to dig, put in a corner, place in the cold storage...maybe 10 minutes... What colors were you supposed to have?

Oh, I joined photobucket just a few minutes ago. Later, when I have time I'll figure out how to use it and post multiple photos also. Laurie, what kind of camera do you have? You have been able to get some pretty clear close pictures of butterflies etc. in some of your postings. They look good.

Your callas are in large pots? That could be my problem, as I've got 6 or 7 bulbs in a 14" round pot, but it's quite shallow, maybe 6". Next spring I'll have to remember to put them in a deeper pot and see how they do. They're white, but maybe I'll see about getting some other colours too.
The camera I have is an Olympus C-5500 sport zoom, and I absolutely love it. It's very user friendly and I'm really happy with the quality of photos it produces. By far the best camera I've ever owned. Glad to hear you joined photobucket. It's quite easy to figure out, if I can do it, anyone can! I played around on the test forum to really get a feel for posting pics and getting used to what the best sizes are too. Have fun!
Laurie

Laurie,

My callas are in rectangular planter boxes that are 6" deep in soil (8" deep for the container), 10" wide and 24" long. I planted 3 on each side offsetting 3 on the other side, like a zigzag. There is the width of a steak knife between each bulb. I have 2 planters like that with the other planter having 4 on each side. Then I have a plastic terra colored pot with 4 in there. That pot would be about 10" deep and about 12" diameter. What kind of soil are yours in? Mine is approx. third mix of garden dirt with a third peat moss and a third potting soil, little bit of slow release fertilizer and some silica gel crystals. I add silica gel crystals to all my pots. I buy it in the cat section in Superstore by the large jug. Calla lilies love moisture and the silica gel crystals absorb the moisture when you water and release it to the plants when the soil dries out.

I just bought my first digital camera in the beginning of June. I wanted one that I could take pictures of my flowers with, without bending down to the flower to take the picture. I purchased a Canon S2 1S Powershot and love it. I have taken over 5000 images this summer, 90% being flowers in my yard. Of course, Ideleted a lot of them in order to select the "right" picture! I find that it is also a very user friendly camera. I just went into the camera shop and told them what features I wanted and they told me the camera that I should get. I wasn't stuck on a Sony or a Kotak or a Canon camera like some are. As long as I could get the quality of picture with it being easy to use that's what mattered.

Back to fall cleaning the house. My DH took out the window air conditioner unit out of the living room window today and so now I can "fill" the area with my "overwintering tenders"!

Your containers are larger than the one I had my callas in. Sorry, it's taken me awhile to respond, but the computer was in the shop for the past few days. I did check to see if the calla's were frozen, but they look fine. Very plump and healthy, and boy have they grown! Two are about 3" in diameter, they've never been that big before, so now my hopes are really up for next year.
I use commercial container potting soil with slow release fertilizer for all my containers. I heard that calla's like their water, so I had a few (unused :)) diapers kicking around and I took the gel out of them and mixed it in the soil as well. It should have worked just like the silica gel you mentioned, but when my pack of diapers is gone, it'll be cheaper to get a jug of silica gel. Maybe that's why the bulbs grew so large, because they had lots of moisture.
Wow, 5000 pictures in a summer! That's quite a few. I got my camera in May. I didn't keep track of how many pics I've taken, but I'm probably not far behind you! :)

My two cents on the water plants and koi. I am trying this for the first time this year, based on a recommendation from my local pet store. He overwinters his koi, submergent plants & water lilies in 50 gallon plastic livestock tanks in his basement. (They don't have to be that large, depending on what you have) No lights other than windows & no heater. He just puts in aeration in for plants and fish from aquarium pumps with aerators. Plants separate from fish so the fish don't destroy the plants. I don't think he does this with floating plants. I tried water lettuce once in an aquarium and threw it out around mid winter due to some type of insect that was destroying it.

Plants I am overwintering:
sun coleus cuttings in the window (this year I rooted them all in a 1 gallon aquarium with water, previous years I would lose cuttings attempting them in soilless mix).
cannas & glads
callas*
pineapple lilies* (E.bicolor & 'sparkling burgundy'...highly recommended)
Sprekelia formosissima* (aztec lily)
non-stop begonias (just letting the pots of soil dry up with roots in tact, in the basement...we'll see)
geraniums (put the pots on the basement floor near a window & water once a month)
amaryllis*
Caladium* (1st try)
Colocasia esculenta*
Colocasia "Black Magic" (in the water tub) 1st try
Begonia "Illumination" (as a house plant)
purple heart (Tradescantia) (as a house plant...I put cuttings of this in many planters every spring, great contrast with chartreuse, grows like gangbusters)
Commelina tuberosa tubers
dahlia tubers

*I let these dry up in the pots and don't unpot them until spring when I replant

I tried something new last winter with the last 2 species, wrapping them in saran wrap before storing them in paper bags in the dark in the basement around 60F. It is the first time I had dahlias survive, even finger sized pieces. I read about it under the dahlia forum last year. I tried four-o'clock roots this way but I don't think they were mature enough.

Cathy

Laurie,

My digital camera gives a number to every picture I take, whether I delete it or not,...over 5000 pictures taken, not saved. I would take a few pictures of each perennial or flower at different angles to try to get the best picture I could, then only keep the ones I really liked. I am slowly downloading the favorites into the Future Shop website to create albums with different topics (for example...perennials, annuals, daylilies or irises) and then am getting them developed as I wish to.

Bet your callas will bloom next year, since they grew so much this year.

Since the forecast is now for single digit highs and lows just into the freezing, it is time to get the last of the cannas and dahlias out of the garden and into the house and also to empty the greenhouse of amarylises and a few other plants.

Just a reminder....When's the last time you checked on your tenders?

Yesterday for me, I went down into the pumphouse and all is fine, no signs of mice or fungi and no King Tut corpses ;)

As well all the tenders downstairs got a lite drink. Some shrivel up leaves, but still alive.

I can't wait for spring! Shouldn't be long now, only 3 months to wait ;)

Sharon

I still have petunias inside. They were still blooming in the mini-greenhouse in November and i couldn't bear to dump them. They're still in their containers in the west window in the porch, hanging in there. A big leggy, but i've cut them back a couple of times, and there were some aphids on them but i sprayed the heck out of them. I also have a few impatiens cuttings still in water, and will have to pot them up soon. My mother-in-law gave me a cute rectangular container that fits on the windowsill, so i was thinking of putting a couple in there.

My impatiens did have an attack from some type of mealy bugs. I washed them in soapy water and will just keep my eye on them. I hate to use anything stronger unless I really have to.

A lot of my impatiens and geraniums just donÂt look right, even the Âhealthy ones. I think itÂs because of low light on the windowsill and low house humidity (have the dehumidifier going downstairs to compensate for the goldfish being overwintered indoors in a stock tank).

Other than that, all is well so far. My canna root is sprouting because the basement just isnÂt cool enough. Not that IÂm complaining, but I think itÂs because the weather outdoors isnÂt very cold.

As for the outdoor stuff, well, at this point itÂs in the hands of mother nature. Anything I mulched I just ensure that I piled lots of snow over that. By now everything has pretty good snowcover.

I suppose spring is (relatively speaking) not too far away but January to mid February can be the most trying time of the winter, should Mother Nature decide to give us some real winter weather.

Happy New Year!
Glen