Those 'annuals' are actually all perennials, though they are all quite tender (react poorly to frost) where you live.

Annuals all complete the life cycle from seed to flower to seed in a single year, and dormant seeds bridge the gap from generation to generation. Perennials are described as plants capable of persisting for more than 2 growth cycles. I'm pretty sure you knew that, but just had one of "those moments".

Al

Annuals are annuals and I can grow them again next year. lol!! I like to grow some different flowers each year. I have my old standbys that do great and then I like to try a few different things. I do not dig up plants to bring in. I have no room or light set up for any annuals to grow inside my home. I have a new rex begonia this year that I had outside and I brought that in. I also have an oxalis plant that went out and back in for the last few years. I can not take that time or energy to dig up plants. I am sad to toss some of the flowers but I leave them until they freeze to death or get ratty looking, whatever comes first.

Mike do you dig up your Coleus? I usually find I can make better plants by making cuttings from them and then overwintering the cuttings (rather than the whole plant). I did not grow any this year, however. Debating to try to overwinter a geranium in my cool garage. My home is lacking on windows with good light and those I do have are already full of houseplants that vacationed outside. However I would probably fill any amount of good growing space (not matter how big or small) that I had.

Coleus are terrific, if you do not overwinter them, try growing them from SEED, they are EASY, even indoors under LED lights! Going to containerize mine tomorrow.

Patti - you can grow annuals from year to year by germinating their seeds, but you cannot start an annual in the spring of year one, bring it indoors to over-winter, and move the same plant back outdoors in spring of year two. There are some winter annuals that germinate in fall and over-winter before completing the life cycle in spring (winter wheat, chickweed, henbit, e.g.), but they will die after setting seed.

That a perennial might be tender in a given zone and gets treated as though it's an annual doesn't change it from a perennial to an annual by virtue of the way it's treated.

Al

Hi Meyermike! Yes, I dug up elephant ears, caladiums, cannas, and my one dahlia. Last year I also dug and stored callas. But since they didn't bloom this year after the storage, I decided those were not worth it.

My huge canna collection is currently in the garage drying before I wrap and store those. I'll be working on that later this week.

I also moved my amaryllis into the garage to let them go dormant. I moved my geraniums into the basement window wells that sort of act like cold frames during the winter.

Al is spot on. Most of the plants folks have mentioned are actually tender perennials .. not annuals.

Some tender perennials yes. Black and Blue Salvia Canna, and my favorite red salvia. Not only have gotten 'cheap' as I've gotten older, but it gives me something to do in the winter. The salvia nd canna I 'over winter', but the salvia I take cuttings all winter. Yes, I'm a dork when it comes to plants, but I am who I am about who/what I love.

I try to save pretty much everything that's not a true annual, been doing it for decades. Coleus selection in particular from year to year varies so if you have one that you love, don't count on being able to find it again next year.

Some things have a bulb or rhizome that can be stored dormant, most things can be snipped and stuck in a jar of water for a few mos. There are very few plants that I actually dig up.

So many of the plants I'll be saving have been pictured in this propagation discussion:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6156295/show-your-water-rootings#n=42

That's the primary point of the water-roots experiments, beyond just curiosity and something to do beyond just staring passively at plants. Any plant that can do that doesn't need to be dug up.

I'll be saving about 100 different entities this way that are outside the realm of usual "houseplants" but because of the saving, the lines are blurred @ my house between houseplants and garden plants. Many plants sold as garden plants make great houseplants. Don't let "them" tell you when & where to have a particular plant.

A lot of plants sold in the "annuals" section at stores are perennials that can't survive year-round outside where they are sold, so they are referred to as annuals to avoid any unrealistic expectations. Perennial plants have a known range of hardiness zones, which can be easily checked if you're curious about a particular plant.

If you are not sure what zone you are in, enter your ZIP code here to find out: https://garden.org/nga/zipzone...

Tiff - you could always take up bonsai. It only takes a few plants to ensure there's always something to do; there will forever be new secrets to discover and new techniques to try; and it's much more challenging and rewarding than "just staring passively at plants".

Al

TY, Al! Totally agree. I do have a few plants that are being cultivated in the spirit of bonsai but would be better described as arborsculpture experiments. In particular, there's a Schefflera arboricola that's only about 15" tall that I've had for about a decade. The shape isn't impressive but the leaves are about 1/4 the size of a new variegated one I just got a few mos ago that has not been trimmed before (well, before I got it. Of course I've trimmed a couple of branches and pinched all of the tips by now.)

And I have a few F. benjamina plants that have been braided, looped, inosculated in various ways. And some Dracaenas that have purposely cultivated curls, bends, and braids.

.... so you already enjoy manipulating plants, why not make the leap from unusual topiary to bonsai?

Bonsai immediately challenges those with a limited ability to keep plants in a high state of vitality, which is why the number of folks that try their hand at bonsai is very close to the number of those who give up in frustration. That shouldn't be a problem for you. Plus, there are hundreds of species growing in AL which would be well-suited to bonsai, and free.

Al

I have two Coleus that I dig up and over winter in pots that I can no longer find anywhere and could not bother with seeds. They are over 3 years old and nice think trunks. Love them.

I also over winter a geranium I have had for 5 years that comes back nice and strong every year with bright red flowers.

Also I over winter 'black elephant ears' expensive to buy if you buy the bulb, every year for the past 3 and it comes back nice a black every year.

A red banana tree that I cut back and dig up and a few begonia that grow beautifully on my window sill that I have had about 4 years.

Good to see some here actually save a few plants that they don't want to keep rebuying or start from seed.

Petunia and others I just let fall by the wayside.

I save many of the plants mentioned but no annuals..I save all of this!..thankfully I have space to store them..

I brought the foxtail ferns in hoping to save them..never had any until this year..

will my 2 potted lantanas overwinter in an unheated shed in zone 6?..

Nicholsworth, if the shed is below freezing for long enough for the roots to freeze, Lantana will not survive. An unheated shed will be unlikely to prevent that. Do you have a basement?

Tiffany..the shed is wood and attached to the back of the garage..it's south facing and warmer than a metal one but in Indiana is probably freezing at times..I don't have a basement..I've overwintered potted hosta in the shed primarily to protect the pots and they've done well but hosta aren't as delicate as lantana..my garage doesn't freeze..the furnace and hot water heater are in a closet on the wall that's attached to the house..maybe put the lantanas in a cardboard box in the garage?..

Nicholsworth, if the shed or garage stay above freezing, it should work. Some people wrap pots with a string of lights to provide just enough heat to keep the soil in a pot from freezing, but those old-school lights may be impossible to find now.

Tiffany..I'm leaning towards storing them in the garage..on really cold days when I step into the garage it's cold compared to the house..but when I go outside from the garage I realize the garage is warm!!..

Esther..I wouldn't bother with the light for your caladium..even in mild climates they die back..but save them!..

You never know until you try. Best luck with it!

I save my caladiums (perennial) but I let them die back. I do not dig them up. I bring them into the basement to rest for the winter. I learned that here on gardenweb. Thanks all!!

I will be bringing in a few of my ivy geraniums this year to see if they will survive the winter in the basement. It will be my first try for them.

@nicholsworth Z6 Indianapolis - I buy lantana every year so let us know how it goes next Spring saving it in IN. It is such a great plant for the butterflies.

I don't grow in the ground so technically i will not be digging them up to bring them in. However, I literally save everything that will survive the winter indoors and be ready for next year outdoors. I find that keeping them indoors for the winter is less work than growing from seed indoors in late winter or buying every year and bringing a variety of latent pests and diseases along. I will or already have brought in pentas, my fav portulaca, bell and chilli peppers, butterfly pea plant, jasmines, gardenia, petchoa, mums, verbena, snapdragons, stocks, dipladenia, and fuchsia. Am debating weather to leave geranium rozanne and penstemons outdoors or bring them in.

Geothermal heat (heat from the earth) warms the garage floor which serves as a radiant or conductive source of heat which is trapped to a varying degree by walls/roof, depending on how well they are insulated. You can usually over-winter plants which are only hardy to 2 zones warmer than that in which you live by the following: Cut either the top or bottom out of a cardboard box large enough to completely enclose the plant. Set the plant on the garage floor and cover it with the box so the plant is completely enclosed. The box traps heat radiating and conducting from the slab/floor to the pot, and dead air surrounding the box is an excellent insulator. It's especially valuable if someone leaves the door open over-night by mistake during killing low temps or colder.

Al

Nickelsworth, I keep potted lantanas indoors over winter — I’m in z5 NY, so they’d freeze and die in the unheated shed or garage here. I have also kept them in an unheated porch that only rarely goes below freezing… they do well there over winter too, but I bring plants from that porch indoors temporarily when temps there drop below 32f.

party_music..lantanas are more delicate than I thought..I Googled..from what I read it sounds like you're doing what was suggested..they're evergreen in warm climates..they don't thrive as houseplants in cold climates..bring in but minimal water and cool temps to give them a rest..I have space and could bring them in..but I was trying to bring in just the ones where it's absolutely necessary to be inside..I don't mind lots of plants but my husband could be happy with a few..or none!..

Tiffany mentioned a basement..a basement sounds ideal but I don't have one..🙁

I try to overwinter things that are expensive to replace or sometimes hard to find.

• Annual geraniums are usually pretty easy to overwinter dormant, I had it down pat at my other house but still trying to find the best storage conditions for them here (cold enough to keep them dormant but not freeze -- found out the crawl space is too cold). They get huge after a few years, well worth the small amount of effort to dig and dry because plants that large would set me back $30 or more a pop, easily. I am bringing one inside to grow in the window this year, though, as a mother plant in case I lose the dormant ones -- it's a color that only one place in town carries, and it's *that* specific color that I want.
• I have had no luck trying to overwinter Black & Blue salvia before, so I took some cuttings about two weeks ago; if they root, I'll grow them on the light cart in the basement. Price of these is really creeping up, although they are easy to find. Salvia generally is a snap to root, so I'm anticipating success.
• I always take a mother plant of Mystic Spires and grow in the window; cuttings from here are taken in late winter for seasonal plant out. Talk about a pricey plant....yikes! This cultivar is a spectacular luscious deep purple blooming machine and I wouldn't want to be without it.
• I am trying cuttings of Fragrant Delight heliotrope this year -- this is the old fashioned tall one, which I much prefer over the dwarf varieties; fragrance is stronger, too. I'm also going to try to overwinter a mother plant that's growing in a clay pot just in case the cuttings are finicky, but that's iffy because I have to soak and repot her to make sure to keep insects out of the house. The Salvias can take some frost without killing the roots so that's kills of any hangers-on, and I just cut it down to nubs to get rid of any eggs on the leaves, and nothing seems to bother geraniums so I don't worry about that. Just the heliotrope is concerning re: insects. Only one place in town carries the Fragrant Delight (well, two -- but the other place wants something like $15 for a small pot...uh, no), and it's a must-have for me, so need to figure out how to make this work.

That's it. Anything else is just too much for me space-wise, and I'm bad about remembering to water.

30 little snippings in bottles of water don't take up much room if you utilize the handy boxes in which the bottles arrived on the property.

Mxk3, that is quite a list! I too bring some of those same ones indoors. I am tired of spending money to replace them when they do just fine in my care.

I find the hardest to keep over winter are the herb plants like Rosemary Or Lavander. You need strong lights for those. I wonder if they can be kept cold on a porch too?

As for the ones I have brough inside and stuck on a cold porch or under lights they are

Stock...I keep on a cold porch and water as needed.

Gardenia...Cold porch and water as needed.

Begonia...I keep in a warm room under lights.

Coleous..In a warm room under lights.

Heliotrope..I keep in a warm area in a sunny window at work. It does awesome all winter. It is a grafted 3 foot tall one like on a tree I spent 50 dollars on.

Geranium..I keep on a very cold porch and only water as needed.

I will snap a few pics of the annuals and plants I over winter for next season. I couple I will dig up, but most are already growing in pots the entire year.

P.s..

I wish I could over winter Alyssum and Petunia, but no success with those. They are two of my most fragrant annuals I could have. I have one right now over 3 feet wide and long in a hanging basket thriving even now. Going to miss the fragrance of that before walking into my main entrance door(

Mike

Tiffany, what a great idea!! Was it you who thought of propping up containers on bottle caps too?

Just amazing. I love that Coleous far right bottom.

Remember, I am trying to roots that begonia for you) I chopped mine in half to do it.

For those of you that overwinter plants in your unheated garage - I'm assuming they go dormant and drop all the leaves? Can I do this with a citrus I have? It's just a run of the mill lemon I planted from a grocery store lemon, but I've had it for many years and this year it's outgrown it's home. If I could winter it in the garage, that would be perfect. Whatta ya think?

I don't bother over-wintering stuff that's easily available in the nurseries or easy from seed (e.g. petunias, herbs, etc). Just the expensive or hard to find stuff -- so while my above post is long-winded, the list of plants is short: geranium, B&B salvia, Mystic Spires salvia, and heliotrope.

Bill -- it depends on your zone. Citrus wouldn't survive up here in zone 5 over winter in an unheated structure (or at least I don't think so).

I'm in zone 6b/7a. The tree is very common, but one I've had it for a long time and I would rather not sacrifice it if I didn't have to. If I keep it in an unheated garage, temps will always be above freezing. I guess it will drop leaves right? I think I'll give it a try anyhow. Hopefully it'll recover in the spring.

Thoughts?

Bill hi.
It shouldn’t drop leaves if you give it light but keep it on the cold side. That’s what I do with mine. Make sure you water as needed and it’s in a well draining mix so wet roots would not be a problem. Should do just fine if so )

Thank you, Mike! :) I didn't invent the idea of bottle caps as pot feet, but am happy to pass it along.

I think the Coleus you were admiring is 'Spiced Curry.' It didn't look like this when I got it but has colored-up so beautifully in a mostly-sunny spot. No guarantee I'll ever see it for sale again and although it was not expensive, I'd rather spend $ next year on another Coleus. Saving any plant doesn't affect my spending, I'll buy trees & shrubs even if I can manage to save as many little fru-fru plants as I want. I don't know how many plants I want. Never hit that point yet in all of my years of gardening.

It's a keeper, that is for sure. Funny, how many of us can't can't see letting certain plants go. For some reason, I feel it's a crying shame to see the frost or cold kill them when they look so nice. I wish I had the room to carry over almost everything that I hate to loose.

Thank God for artificial lights these days instead of relying on just a sunny window.

Beautiful

Totally agree. :)