Various over winterings

djgrint · November 2021

Hello!

We had the first signs of a light frost this morning after a clear evening down in sunny Kent. As a result I'm now thinking of what I'm going to do over winter with a few plants I bought this year. Any help much appreciated!

Musa Basjoo
I have a 2-3ft MB. I've heard I should cut off the leaves and wrap in fleece?

Dicksonia Antarctica
I have a young DA, 'stump' is just 5-10cm high and wide. I believe these are frost hardy, though I've been told it will need to be protected while it's young. Not sure what to do here? Should I remove the fronds and cover with fleece? I was thinking I could build a small dome over the 'stump' with bent poles and fleece.

Gunnera Manicata
Planted a small one in Feb this year, it grew to about 2-3ft high/wide. Should I remove all the leaves and cover with a fleece dome?

Canna
I've also got a canna in a 40cm pot which flowered really well this year. I know I have to move this one inside, but I'm not sure how to do it. Should I just cut all remaining foliage down to the grown and transfer to a temporary plastic pot in the shed?

Thank you!

KeenOnGreen · November 2021

I move our potted Canna's into an unheated greenhouse (a porch or conservatory would do). I still water a tiny bit at the moment, as we are getting sunny days, and it is regularly warm in the greenhouse, and I don't want them to dry out completely.

I will reduce watering to almost zero over the Winter, but might add a tiny bit of water occasionally, just to keep the soil from being bone-dry. I start a bit of light watering around March/April, but if you are further up North, you might need to wait until later Spring, when things warm up.

By Easter time, I usually have the soil moist, but not over watered. This is also when I start a weekly liquid feed. I put the pots outside after all chance of frosts has gone.

djgrint · November 2021

Thanks. Do you keep your cannas in their usual pots? I was thinking of taking mine out so I can replace the compost in the spring. Is that necessary?

thevictorian · November 2021

Canna are hungry plants so it's a good idea to give them new compost every year. Overwintering them is fairly easy and the only things to avoid are frost and excess moisture, so if the soil is sodden you are better taking them out to dry them a little and perhaps put in some new compost now. In the past I've had lots of canna (up to 100 one year when I grew alot from seed) and I just put the pots somewhere frost free for the winter and did as mentioned above come spring. I gave most away as they get to be substantial plants after a few years and are harder to find room for.

The musa is basically a big canna in terms of care. I don't chop the leaves off because I want to keep the height and all you need when young is a frost free environment. Mine went in the conservatory whlist it could fit through the door but now I just leave it outside all wrapped up in a old plastic greenhouse cover and fleece. The roots are very hardy and even if the frost cuts back all the foliage and stem they tend to resprout.
You can take the leaves off and wrap in fleece but if you have the space just wrap the trunk and pots in fleece and put it in a greenhouse or in as sheltered position as you have if you don't have a conservatory or anywhere else that stays above freezing.

Tree ferns need to be kept dry and warm at the growing tip which is at the top. The trunk doesn't really matter and general advice is to stuff the crown with some straw/fleece and then bend the fronds over the top for extra protection, you can then wrap the top in fleece if you get really cold weather. In spring just take the fleece off, remove the straw and take the old frond off and new ones will appear.

Gunnera are pretty hardy. There are a few around here that are just left to fend for themselves without any protection and they come back every year. When we had ours we put straw or bracken over the crowns and then put the old leaves on top. We did this until it really got to big for the space and was becoming a pain, so we left it and it did fine. They really are a plant that you'd be unlucky to lose in our climate now. Its good to give it a little help until it is established so a fleece dome/straw and it's old leaves over the top sounds like a good idea just incase the winter is a cold one.

djgrint · November 2021

Excellent, thank you!

My Musa is in the ground, so I'd rather not uproot it to move in inside if possible. Can I just leave the leaves in place and wrap the stem with fleece? How many layers is a good wrapping?

I want to enjoy the Dicksonia for as long as possible, should I look after it now or can I wait till we have deeper frosts?

thevictorian · November 2021

If the musa is in the ground then the roots will get some protection from the ground and the roots are the most important thing. I don't think the leaves will survive outside all winter because the cold will just blacken them after the first frost, so I'd chop them off and wrap the stem.
Different people have different methods of weather proofing them. If you are a relatively warm part of the country like London then several layers of fleece should do. We aren't that cold here in norwich but I wrapped mine in fleece and then put a layer of bracken around it for some extra protection but straw or even bubble wrap would help if you don't have enough fleece.

With the tree fern there is always a little bit dissapointment because you have to weigh up when it's time to end the show versus the risk of leaving it. If it's forecast to be below zero or even 1-2c then I would at least put a little fleece over the crown and some straw as well if you have any. We tend to get a few days of frost this time of year but not every day so you could use this mini protection on those days and then only properly get it ready for winter by folding it up when you think longer periods of frost are forecast.

Various over winterings

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