The brilliant autumn colors have exploded and now the leaves are falling. Pumpkins dressed with frost in the early morning tell you winter is around the corner and preparations should be made. Keeping some annuals and summer bulbs in colorful shape through the winter is possible, relatively easy and saves buying all new plants come spring. Coleus, dahlias, gladiolus, crocosmias, acidanthera, geraniums are all among the plants you can continue to grow or keep safe indoors. It is your choice. You could just leave all of them to die with the deep freeze and start with new plants next year. But the longer the potted plants are left to grow, the larger the plant, and the better the show for next spring when you will place them outdoors again. If you have any of the plants mentioned above and would like to keep them safe and sound through the winter, here are some guidelines to do just that. Some can share your living quarters and others have to be set aside in a cool, dry location. 


After the gladiolus, crocosmias, and acidanthera have finished flowering or when frost kills their leaves, carefully dig the corms of these plants and spread them out in a dry, well-ventilated area at room temperature for about two to three weeks. Remove and throw away the old corms, and in paper bags in a 35° to 40° location, store
the new corms collected.

After the foliage on cannas has been damaged by frost, allow them to dry in the ground for a few days, then cut back the stems to 3 to 4 inches. Carefully dig the rhizomes and let them dry at room temperature for a few days. In cardboard boxes or mesh bags filled with peat moss, store the rhizomes at 40° to 50° for the winter. Come spring, either plant the entire clump or separate the rhizomes, leaving a portion of the old stem attached to each one. 

By cutting geraniums back by about a third, you can keep growing and blooming them indoors. Start to fertilize them in a couple of weeks. It is important they get plenty of sun so sit your pot near a window where sun shines through for a good portion of the day. If you decide to keep geraniums dormant during the winter, move the potted plants into a dark, cool (40° to 50°) location, and don't water them or cut them back until they show new growth in spring. 

Take cuttings from the non-woody stems of coleus and root them indoors in water. If you want to save the whole plant, bring it indoors in the fall and cut back the stems a few inches to remove the tall, succulent growth most susceptible to aphids. 


Fuchsias and tender salvias can also be brought indoors in the fall. Cut back stems by about half. Or you can keep them in a state of semi-dormancy by moving them to an unheated basement or a place with low light with temperatures between 40° and 55°. They need to be water about once a month. In the spring when temperatures reach the 60s, move them outside, first to a shady spot, giving them a trim and then begin to water and fertilize like you usually do these plants in season.