I had two pots of double begonias outside that were still blooming like crazy (October). I also had a pot of New Guinea impatiens that were in full bloom and had lots of new buds on it. Usually by now, here in MN we’ve had a few below freezing nights but it’s been hovering just above freezing so the plants have been unaffected. But it’s only a matter of time. So I thought I’d bring the flowers inside to see if they’d last. I brought them to my office because other plants seem to like the fluorescent lights. Within 3 days the impatiens totally collapsed. It looks like it was out in the freezing weather. The begonias are still hanging on and I know some varieties can be wintered indoors but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with them.
I wonder why the impatiens died so quickly and dramatically?
I have a begonia I brought in for the winter of 2022 and forgot to put back out this summer. It looked kind of droopy until I moved it directly under a skylight, and then it started thriving. It desperately needs repotting, and it never actually bloomed this year, but it has fresh green growth and looks like it’ll make it another year.
They must have had the shock of their lives! They went on a car ride and then to the office. I did have them in a sunny window though. Oh well, now I know.
Last autumn my friend took me to the nursery and we both got a whack of stuff to plop into our gardens for next year. I bought a lot of stuff, things were discounted. When I started planting I realized I had purchased two annuals by accident. I felt bad knowing they’d both die a horrible death in my house.
But they surprisingly both survived! Put them out in late spring, into a planter box. They both immediately got burned, but then adjusted well. They were a hibiscus and a night blooming jasmine. They began to do really well and they both bloomed. I kept forgetting to go out, in the evening to see the jasmine. When I remembered I was shocked at how fragrant the blooms were, amazing.
Then summer waned, temps dropped, we brought the planter into the sunny porch. The hibiscus continued to bloom and the jasmine proceeded to bloom a second time! I was shocked, I’m not even a very good gardener, to be honest.
I rise very early, make tea, take in to the porch. The scent of the jasmine was as strong as a lilac. By the second night, I could smell the scent in the foyer before even opening the door! It was so lovely. But it’s at night, so it’s kind of a private, secret indulgence!
So don’t be discouraged, I had no idea what I was doing but it somehow worked out. Go for it!
I swear, being a novice or actively bad at gardening sometimes seems like a benefit! I keep inadvertently getting plants that are notoriously hard to grow and having success. I suspect that good gardeners find it difficult to neglect plants, and the plants that thrive on benign neglect suffer under their good care.
I haven’t done flowers but I did bring a large window planter inside one fall. It had a pretty dense grove of thyme, oregano and what was left of a late basil. Fresh herbs! I failed to anticipate how much local wildlife had moved into the soil. Worms and crawlies out the drains on the bottom, earwigs and flying stuff up top. I’m not insect phobic and, so help me, actually like the little things but they can stay outside, please and thank you.