Re: ..and what shall I do when winter comes?
I checked my notes under "Conspicuously in Bloom" for what I consider
to be the three winter months (November, December, January)in the
garden journal I set up. The inside plants flowering then are various
fuchsias, abutilons and Cuphea 'David Verity'. The same plants bloom
all summer, too.
I have tried various annuals which are said to flower under glass but
they must require more light, as they didn't start blooming till
spring in my attached greenhouse. The problem is my neighbours on
the south have very tall conifers which block almost all sun for the
whole winter. The sun manages to light my greenhouse for one hour in
the morning when it reaches the gap in the trees at my neighbour's
driveway. Definitely not enough light for annuals to bloom. Out in
the garden, further away from these trees, I do have annuals blooming
all winter: calendula, snapdragon - probably some others, too. They
just keep reseeding and I don't pay them much attention. You could
try them if your room is very bright. Oh, stocks were successful.
There are several different kinds so you have to be careful to get
the ones that flower in winter. I just checked a couple of US seed
catalogues, and they don't carry them, so you might have to check
some UK ones.
I did grow cinerarias one year, as I always admire them at Butchart
Gardens. They just kept on getting bigger and I had to keep potting
them on. They finally flowered in early March when about the size
of a modest rhododendron.
There is a book called something like: Plants that really flower
indoors. I think our local library branch has a copy. I'll take a
look tomorrow.
Another book is A Year of Flowers by Peter Loewer, published by
Rodale. It has information like the following:
Eucharis - have two pots alternately in flower. They will start
into bloom anytime. Withhold water for about a month after flowering
but don't let the leaves wilt. Resume watering and it will rebloom.
Cineraria - start seeds in May, August, and Sept. Repot till are in
6" pots. Blooms better if rootbound. (Aha! Maybe I'll try again.)
Bloom in 6 months. Prefer temps of 45 to 55 F.
Oxalis - lots of different ones that require 4 different regimes
(some needing year-round moisture and others needing to be dried
sometimes) I like O. triangularis with dark purple triangular
leaflets and pale pink flowers.
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
zone 8, Sunset zone 5, cool mediterranean climate (mild rainy winter,
mild droughty summer)
