Coleus and various begonias are easy. So too, canna, ginger, spike dracaena (those overwintered in the ground this years), even bananas can be treated as annuals. I don't do like geraniums except for the scented ones though, tried to love them, but not luck. My summer climate is too WET and HUMID for them.

Loads of them. Pretty much almost anything which goes into winter dormancy with a robust enough root system, so all geophytes, numerous hardy and tender perennials, from paeonies to geraniums, verbascum, phlox, asters. osteospermum, verbenas, liatris,...Nearly all nursery stock was field grown and either lifted and stored in cool dry conditions and sent off as bare-roots. Even now, the box stores will almost. certainly be carrying a slew of woody shrubs, bulbs and tough perennials which have been dug up and stripped back to their roots and a small amount of woody top growth or crown material.. I would imagine someone with more familiarity with nursery stock (GG comes to mind) could draw up a fairly comprehensive list.

By 'bare root', do you mean the plants dug from their summer bedding or pots, stripped of foliage or cut back, then stored - roots exposed - in a cool, dark location? Other than pellies, I can't think of any annuals or temperennials that are treated in this manner. And I don't consider any bulbs, tubers, corms or rhizomes as "bare root" stock.

It may well be that plants are marketed differently in different regions but in my area, selling plants bare root is a very limited practice. Only box stores or dodgy wholesalers and mail order vendors sell bare root perennials here. No one sells bare root annuals. Retail nurseries and garden centers sell a very limited selection of bare root stock - fruit trees. cane berries, a handful of shrubs (lilac, forsythia, willows. dogwood), roses and a few early veggie starts like asparagus, leeks and onions, strawberries. Everything else is sold as a growing (although perhaps dormant) plant with soil around the roots.

Part of the reason is the vast majority of retail nurseries here are not growers but only resellers and they don't have either the growing or storing facilities for bare root stock. And storage is critical. I shy away from anything bare root that cannot be found in a better retail nursery as the product deteriorates rapidly if not stored correctly and the box stores, et al do not achieve this criteria at all successfully.

btw, bare root stock should be sold while fully dormant. My local nursery - the best and largest in the area - pots all the stock they receive as bare root as that extends its window of salability by months, if necessary.

By 'bare root', do you mean the plants dug from their summer bedding or pots, stripped of foliage or cut back, then stored - roots exposed - in a cool, dark location?

Hey 'gg', that's exactly I was referring to when I wrote "as simply bareroot in a box".

Other than pellies, I can't think of any annuals or temperennials that are treated in this manner.

That's interesting 'gg'. So I wonder what is special about pelargoniums that allow for such storage?

May I suggest Missouri Botanical Garden plant finder? They tell the truth. They aren't trying to sell flowers, so they don't say lobelia erinus, for example, is an annual. Yes, we use them that way, but they're actually perennials. Look it up ahead of time, and you'll have a better time than just trial or error. You'll never overwinter anything that is a true annual. But a tender perennial, you have a good chance.

I suggest Missouri Botanical Garden plant finder? They tell the truth.

For sure that is always an option ie "to google".

But for me the appeal to post here is that one is able to get feedback from experienced gardeners that I "know".

But a tender perennial, you have a good chance.

Yes. Such as a pelargonium.

But it seems that 'simple' bare root storage from Fall to Spring isn't a widely successful technique for tender perennials?

Missouri Botanical Garden has been on target more than experienced gardeners, from my past experience. But to each their own. Google doesn't cut it either. Some sites get it right, some don't. MO Bot, always gets it right.

" MO Bot, always gets it right. "

I beg to differ......they do not always get it right! I have encountered numerous errors on that site. Most of the time the info is accurate if somewhat generalized and is certainly presented with a focus on plant performance in the St Louis, MO area. And some issues are not addressed at all, like how suited a plant would be for storage over winter in a bare root state. This is definitely a topic where input from gardeners that do practice this methodology is significant.

To each their own ;)

I've never tried them bare root in a box, but do overwinter brugmansia dry in a corner of the garage in a way similar to geraniums.

I also found it interesting that calibrachoa survived the same treatment, and bounced back very well once I started watering the pot again. It was supposed to be an overwintered rosemary, but the rosemary mostly died.

I grow pelargonium as a perennial and annuals. I keep mothers in their pots and they get brought into the closed porch during the winter. Mostly dry, but still enough water that they live on. Midwinter I start watering more once the light tilts- and then I get my growth flush for cuttings. Cuttings are ready to plant out in the gardens as annuals once warm weather hits. Sometimes I get a good one out in the garden with a nice shape- I dig it up in the fall, knock most of the dirt off, and into a pot it goes to hold through winter. I usually grow out mothers for 6-8 years before the shape is gone or I get another summer grower that is just really nice.

I have accidently killed the heck out of some of them by pulling them for storage and they went too dry and poof... no come back. They died instead of dry storage. An experiment pushed too far. So I do it in the dirt and some moisture to make sure they live to be mothers again.

I’m certainly no expert, but I always considered the lifting of bulbs, tubers and corms as different than bare root. And yes, most bare root storage always seems somewhat out of my skill set and not something I would get too excited about dabbling in as a personal home garden grower. Indeed, the one time recently I ordered the latest trendy tree which was sold bare root - my treasure arrived, I soaked over night, planted the next day, watered diligently over the next few months, and the thing was a perfectly dried out stick at the end.

I grow pelargonium as a perennial and annuals.

Same here @beesneeds. I have one permanently in a container that I bring in each Fall and this year I have 3 bare root that I recently potted up. These plants are so good for so many reasons.

but I always considered the lifting of bulbs, tubers and corms as different than bare root.

But there is little difference in terms of technique i.e. shake off the earth, make sure it is dry and then box it away till spring in a coolish dry location in your home.

I guess the way I see it is with corms, you actually aren’t preserving the roots, but the storage mechanism which produces the roots. Whereas I always looked at bare root as keeping the roots somewhat intact. I guess it could said that the corm is one big root. But I’ve never heard the term used for my tropicals.

Around 90% of Pelargoniums (what we call geraniums) originated in South Africa where there is a pronounced dry cool season. They have evolved to withstand dry conditions with fleshy stems and roots that retain water to get them through the dry times. The stems and roots probably have what is called a waxy cuticle which is a physical barrier that allows the plant to stay hydrated when it is not actively growing and experiencing dry conditions. When geraniums are stored dry over the winter they usually lose their leaves which cuts down on transpiration and conserves water too. Storing a tender perennial with bare roots is not the same as storing dormant tubers, bulbs or rhizomes which are storage organs normally without any top growth. Storing tender perennials dry in a box is not the same as overwintering dormant hardy perennials, shrubs or trees which have a very defined dormant period and usually require low temperatures for several months in order to regrow the following season.

My grandmother used to hang geraniums from the rafters in the cellar of the old farmhouse, it would get cold but not freezing and most of them would be alive when spring arrived. The cellar had a "dirt" floor, that may have increased the humidity which helped them get through the winter. I have never had any luck storing geraniums dry over the winter and am not aware of many (if any) other plants can be treated this way to keep them alive during the winter months.

The stems and roots probably have what is called a waxy cuticle which is a physical barrier that allows the plant to stay hydrated when it is not actively growing and experiencing dry conditions.

Its got to be something like this as I am always impressed at how "plump" the stems are after being boxed up for months on end.

Storing a tender perennial with bare roots is not the same as storing dormant tubers, bulbs

I was mostly referring to the technique, the procedure, which for me is identical whether it be for tender geraniums or say...alocasia corms.

I have never had any luck storing geraniums dry over the winter

Lots I can't do from 'scratch' but so far (a few years now) saving geraniums as bare root has been really good. So I say 'Jeb'...give it another go.

Reminds me, I should bring in the potted 'BullsEye' geraniums from the garage and start them into growth to take cuttings.

Just brought all seven plants in and all looking good, now cut back and cleaned up as well.

I should bring in the potted 'BullsEye' geraniums from the garage

@FrozeBudd_z3/4, how cold does it get in that garage of yours?? Its gotta go below zero right?!

The garage does fall well below freezing during our deepest bitter cold spells, this is when I move the tender potted plants up against the warm wall of the house and pile those containers over with heavy blankets, or temporarily set them in the house. Of tender plants being held over are a few other geraniums, petunias, penstemon 'Arabesque Red', salvia 'Mystic Spires', verbena bonariensis 'Vanity', I wanted to see how second year plants perform and take cuttings as well, and the alstroemeria 'Inca Ice' that I decided to give a winters rest.

I have grown columbines and clematis from bare root but they are not tender perennials I guess. I have also seen hollyhocks being sold that way.

Found this post just now and wanted to ask how much, if any, of the Citronella plant do you trim off, before storing them as bareroot to overwinter? I dug up two of mine today, shook off nearly all the soil, and wrapped the root ball in a couple of plastic bags. Each is nearly 3.5 feet tall and wide and will take up significant space in the basement. Is hanging them upside down the prefered method? Or can I pack them in carton boxes, upside down no less, to minimise the mess of the fallen leaves as the plant dry out? I garden in Chicago Zone 5. Thank you for sharing your insights.

Those scented leaves pelargoniums can be kept as house plants. There is no need to pull them out of the soil. If they're already out of the soil you could pack them in boxes. But not upside down. And they'll need good light in winter.

I hope our next house will have lots more sunny windows with space to overwinter live tender perennials or annuals but until then I do what I can to overwinter such plants as dormant.

I found out recently that one can overwinter tuberous begonias as dormant plants. Maybe there is another way but if they are in pots, cut them right back and bring the pot inside and store into a dark room temperature location until the spring. I am "testing" this out right now :).

I overwinter my pelargoniums in the basement. I used to do the hang-from-the-rafters method, but that got a little tedious, tying up each plant and then tying it to the ceiling (although I did have about 6-10 VERY convenient nails sticking out of the rafters at just the right angle leftover from the previous owner. Always makes me wonder if he did this too lol).

Now I just put them in paper bags and then in a cardboard box, the same way I do my dahlias.

The worst part is having to dig them up BEFORE frost, when they are still in bloom. Breaks my heart to dig up a perfectly good plant and cut off those buds and blooms! I push it as late as I can but I just did mine last weekend. Here's about half of them waiting for bags

In the past I tried begonias with about 50% success - lol I had two begonias, one survived, the other didn't. It was so long ago I don't remember how I did it but I am going to try again with my two begonias this year. This weekend, actually.

I have also tried overwintering sweet potato vines. I tried last winter, and to be honest, I think it would have worked if I didn't wait so long to plant them out. When I pulled them out of storage they looked pretty good, but then I just didn't get around to planting them in time.,

For me, the tricky part is the spring planting. It seems most of these types of overwintered plants need to be planted up by a certain time, but that certain time is too early to go outside. And I don't really have the space to have all these plants inside - plus things always (ALWAYS) die on me inside lol. So it's a time-balancing act!

:)

Dee

I just throw my pelargoniums in a few large Amazon boxes.

It seems in warm climates a pelargonium might live through the winter anyway. Pels seem to survive a one off freeze down to about 23 degrees. Like Seattle? seems those things would persist through a winter and come back without doing anything. no?