wall baskets

[corylus]

Usually compost the contents of my wall baskets this time of year but 3 of them planted with trailing fuchsia, geraniums and nepeta are still growing strongly so I've put them in my cold greenhouse for the winter, I hope that at least some of the plants will survive. Any advice on over wintering them appreciated.

[boxtops]

I've got geraniums still flowering in troughs outside - I tend to leave them there and they come back next year. I have lovely fuschia bushes flowering profusely the ground at the moment, they just overwinter in the garden. All that's frosted so far in my garden is the nasturtiums, and they are self-sown anyway!

[jomifl]

keep the soil just damp detectably damp, they should survive light frosts.

[corylus]

Thanks for that advice I too have fuchsia bushes still flowering in the garden, they are years old and obviously hardy. I also have a trough full of a variegated leaf geranium still in flower, that's gone in the greenhouse as well, but as usual I've taken cuttings from them that will over winter in a heated porch. I've kept these geraniums going from one plant for 17 years so I know the cuttings will survive.

I'll keep the watering of the baskets in the greenhouse down to a minimum and will cover them with fleece if it's exceptionally cold (like last winter) and hope that they survive.

Last year a nepeta plant in a tub outside survived the serious frosts, it's replanted in one of the baskets so it'll have another chance this year.

[rowanwitch]

use them as stock plants...take fresh cuttings and keep them on an inside windowsill in case the originals don't survive

[corylus]

thanks Rowanwitch,I have taken cuttings to be kept in my heated porch but the original plants in the baskets look so vigorous that I think with a little help that they might just make it through the winter in the unheated greenhouse. Let's hope so, it'd be a shame to just chuck them out.