Hi Frank,

I am a zinnia hobbyist and in the past I have brought numerous zinnia cuttings indoors to grow as a "lifeboat" for a few selected "breeder quality" zinnias. Despite my attempts to disinfect those cuttings, they brought in problems from the garden, in the form of thrips, aphids, and spider mites -- to name a few. I still have an indoors zinnia project, but what I now bring in is "green
seeds" to start and grow zinnia seedlings to maturity indoors during the Winter.

Whatever you do decide to bring indoors for the Winter, try not to bring in any problems with your cuttings or transplants. Pests that have natural enemies that keep them in check outdoors can have population explosions indoors.

ZM

I always take cuttings of my favorite unpatented coleus every year to pot up and grow in a sunny window and I love them. Coleus and the other two plants you've mentioned are tender perennials, very easy to root in a porous potting mix.

I never try to over winter my pots of annuals/perennials. One reason is the likelihood of 0, 6, 8, and zillion-legged critters coming inside, too. The second reason is that I don't have room for stuff like that, especially as they start to look like heck in a few weeks.

I also don't have the room. I do have two big lighted four shelf units that I rig up in my garage but I use every square inch to grow my bedding plants and a few veggies from seed.

Heed ZM's warning about tiny pests. I give my coleus cuttings a soapy bath, a warm water rinse, and an inspection with my dissecting microscope! I do not want spider mites or their eggs in the house with my permanent collection.

I love seeing others go their own way and really indulge in a hobby. I would have never thought zinnias would be possible indoors, but where there's a will there's a way. Awesome! -but I have been through your threads before and although I'm not much of a zinnia grower and breeder I do enjoy hearing the updates.

I have to admit that although I don't usually bring in annuals that doesn't mean I don't bring things in. It's kind of silly but I like having a few perennials out in the garage and have them growing under lights even though they're hardy enough to stay outside. It used to be mostly cyclamen and snowdrops but last year more and more primula snuck in. The good thing about these is I can put them out around the end of March and give my early seedlings the room they need to grow bigger.

Aphids have been my usual problem, but nothing serious. Most of the perennials go through a couple of freezes before I bring them in, and then when I pot them up I give them fresh soil. I was surprised though when all of a sudden in early March my plants were hopping with dozens of baby grasshoppers!

Regarding the Geraniums (assuming Pelargoniums) you don't need lights or much heat to overwinter them. If you can provide a frost free place such as garage, shed or porch you can overwinter the whole plant. Cut it back, keep it dry then repot and begin watering in Spring. When you cut back you can use the cuttings to propagate. For that you will need some warmth and light.

I have sown quite a lot of hardy annuals - mostly direct sown but quite a lot in pots...currently taking up a worrying amount of room in the greenhouse so I have been shunting them outside as they are going to have to take their chances along the walls. Whilst cornflowers make quite robust little plants, some of the daintier ones might well have a spring resowing. I am tempted to keep a couple of smalls under lights (the little phacelia campanularis) inside now I have an avid indoor grower in the household.