One way to save on costs for beautiful annuals

  Red begonia in this planter were bought in 2019, over-wintered in home.
Three coleus plants, at left, were over-wintered indoors; they were live centerpieces in vases.
Those plants at the end of the season


It was an experiment launched last fall: If I over-wintered a few different annual flowers, which one would come back in 2020, just as beautiful as they were when purchased?

Turns out, coleus and begonia plants are the winners in the quest to keep fresh flowers all year 'round, in some way, shape or form.

The photos prove the flower-power. I used the coleus as live centerpieces, all winter long. The bright red begonia was the only plant to survive in a planter with a bottom reservoir (that I plan to recycle after this season).

In the spring, I planted the coleus in individual pots and kept them in a brightly lit place until it was safe to plant outdoors. For the begonia, I kept it in the planter and added some more annuals to fill it out. This occurred after May 10, the safe time to plant in this part of Iowa.

According to the Old Farmers Almanac, online, coleus is in the lamaiceae, or mint family. It is tropical but can be easily kept indoors during harsh Iowa winters.
 
This time of year:
1. Use a regular fertilizer at half the recommended strength.
2. Cut off plant spikes in late summer to encourage new growth of colorful leaves.
3. In cool regions, like Iowa, take cuttings of the plants before the first frost and place in water.
4. You can use them as fresh decorations, as I did, or root them and place in a warm sunny window for the winter.

Begonia plants cannot withstand freezing cold temperatures, either. I brought the begonias in regular containers and kept them in a sunny location. They lost leaves and didn't look good for a while, but one bounced right back in the springtime. Now the plant is thriving, as readers can see in the photo.

This means, some of the dozens of annuals I planted actually were purchased in 2019, at a local garden center.

Gardening can be a pricey hobby, especially for those who favor brightly-colored tropical plants. This is one fun way to reduce the costs.




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