Hello fellow readers,
Weather apps no longer provide frost advisories now that the growing season is over! It turns out many of you share the wish to keep things going. Scott emailed asking about overwintering palm trees he bought this summer but doesn’t have room in his house. His garage is somewhat heated, rarely drops below 45 degrees, and he wondered if it would make a good winter home.
Overwintering woody tropical plants such as palms, bougainvillea, hibiscus, and citrus can be tricky. The best bet is to treat them to an indoor tropical vacation. If you provide a sunny window where the air temperature stays about 60-70 degrees and create humidity by placing the pot in a pan with water and gravel (or using a humidifier), you can keep most tropical plants growing. However, Monrovia, a large plant grower, writes, “you can induce many tropical plants and tender perennials – even ones that grow as shrubs and trees – into dormancy by withholding water and keeping them in a cool, dark place above 35 degrees.”
To store herbaceous plants as dormant, cut back after frost has withered their tops. But bring woody tropical plants inside just before a frost is expected and don’t cut back or prune them. Deciduous plants that still have leaves will gradually yellow and likely drop off. New leaves will grow when you return the stored plant to light and warmth come spring. That’s when you can prune the plants back into shape. Palm trees are evergreen, so my bet is the coolness of Scott’s garage, even with windows, will not be ideal. However, some palm varieties are hardy in zones close to ours, and if so, Scott may be in luck. Keep dormant plants on the dry side, but not parched, over the winter, checking for moisture every few weeks.
For tropical plants such as begonia, dahlia, sweet potato vine, caladium, and canna, you can store them over winter as bulbs, corms, or tubers – those nifty underground storage structures with nodes from which new stems and leaves develop. Bon voyage growing season. Hello, preparations for spring!
Garden dilemmas? AskMaryStone@gmail.com and your favorite Podcast App.
Post updated 10/11/26
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