Marianne's Response

Wintering over

Hi Marianne:
Can I winter over, in the house a Maidenhair fern, Rhine Nadine Begonia, Mezoo, trailing red and Echeveria, Rosea or do some of them need to have the cold and die back?
Thank you,
Marilyn Borg

Posted by shonuf on October 24, 2019

Marianne's Response

Yes to all of the plants you mentioned except for the rose plant - I am just assuming you meant a rose plant when you wrote Rosea. Leave the rose plant outdoors. The trick is to give the different plants specific care. The fern would like filtered light and a cool room and keep the soil moist. The Echeverias are sedums so do not water them in the winter as you need them to go dormant until late spring. Really, do not water the sedums at all until March. The Mezoo can adapt to becoming a winter houseplant but do not let the soil dry out and give it bright light. Finally the begonia will be a bit of a challenge as it is so susceptible to powdery mildew and once you see the white powder on the foliage it is almost impossible to save the plant.  Enjoy the begonia indoors as long as you can then toss it out when mildew appears. So good luck and enjoy the wonderful challenge of overwintering your plants - you always learn something by trying new things with plants. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti