Question
Hi there, me again, just wanted to find out what I need to do with my plants over the winter - I have 5 of them & I brought them inside before the frost started so right now they're sitting on my dining room table, losing their leaves & just looking very depressed - what I would like to know is - obviously I still need to water them but how often & should I keep them in a dark room, light room? I'm just not sure what to do with them right now, I realize they're probably going into dormant stage but what steps should I take to make sure they come back next spring? any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much, sincerely, Jutta

Answer
Hi Jutta,
Thanx for your question.  Yes, the dipladenias will not look very good while they go into a semi-dormant state.  Place the plants in windows where they will receive sun from an eastern or southern exposure.  Water the  plants about once a week.  Just enough to keep them from drying out but not overwatering where they a too damp.  Do not feed them until right before they go back out in the spring after there is no danger of frost.  They will get unkempt looking and drop some leaves but after a while, they will get used to the new low levels of sunlight and lack of summer heat and they will carry themselves over until the warmth returns.  I hope this helps.
Tom