Keeping Gladioli, Begonias and Fuscias over Winter

How do people keep their gladioli, begonias and fuscias over winter. I have dried off the gladioli and begonias and want to store them for next year. The fuscias are in pots and I have cut them down. Currently they are all in the summerhouse.

Re: Keeping Gladioli, Begonias and Fuscias over Winter

I`m going to dry the begonias off and put them in the shed. The glads can take their chances.
Non-hardy fuschias (and possibly geraniums) I`ll leave as long as possible then maybe put some cuttings on windowsills as I`ve no greenhouse.

Re: Keeping Gladioli, Begonias and Fuscias over Winter

Glads won't overwinter here. I dig them when the foliage has died, lay them out in a warm spot on newspapers for about 3-4 days till they're thoroughly dry, then store for winter in mesh bags or old pantyhose in a cool place.

Although I normally have a green thumb, tuberous begonias HATE me, and aways die long before the storage problem arises. I suspect it would be similar.

Never tried the fuchsia cuttings; probably work. Carrying over the plants themselves wasn't successful; house too dry and not enough sun; they got very legggy and lost a lot of leaves.

Good luck!

Re: Keeping Gladioli, Begonias and Fuscias over Winter

fuschia and geranium cuttings are really easy - they`ll root in water or soil. Just cut a shoot from new growth (not hard wood) just below a leaf, strip the bottom leaves and put them in a pot of earth or glass of water. I do a few at a time in a pot then repot.

Re: Keeping Gladioli, Begonias and Fuscias over Winter

Thank you DM and C&D. Since posting I have cleaned the gladies and begonias off and wrapped them in newspaper. They can stay in the summerhouse along with the fuscia plants which I have cut down (so there are no cuttings to take off). Hopefully, some of the stuff will be OK and if not I will have to chuck it out in the Spring and start again.