Saving Container Plants: Overwintering Techniques for Keeping Tender Plants Alive Year after Year. A Storey BASICS® Title

by Brian McGowan, Alice McGowan

Enjoy your favorite container plants year after year! From geraniums to fuchsias and beyond, many container plants can be overwintered and enjoyed again the next season. Alice and Brian McGowan offer simple techniques for overwintering a variety of common tender perennial plants based on what kind of dormancy the plants go through in their native environment. With a plant-by-plant guide for quick reference, this Storey BASICS® guide will inspire you to create a stunningly varied container garden that comes to life every spring. 

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2014

Reviews

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good starting point to teach one how to overwinter plants.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a small handbook that I’ll keep in my potting shed. It’s kind of a shorthand version of the authors’ earlier book, “Bulbs in the Basement, Geraniums on the Windowsill” that went into much more detail and was illustrated, which this is not. My advice would be to borrow and read “Bulbs”, and then buy this to keep on hand as the summer turns to fall.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short book with tips on ways to keep tender perennials, and the techniques specific plants require

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saving Container Plants is a how-to guide for saving those beautiful annuals that require a moderate climate year-round, and won’t survive a cold winter outdoors. It explains how to overwinter these plants and presents the information in a clear and easy to understand format. This is a basic guide, perfect for gardeners new to the overwintering process. It is filled with detailed information and how-to guides that will save the novice from making some avoidable mistakes. Like bringing bugs in the laundry room.

No two plants are the same, nor do they require exactly the same indoor preparation and growing conditions. There is a handy reference guide at the end of the book with quick tips for a large variety of common plants, something even experienced gardeners will find useful.

Replacing annuals every year by purchasing new ones at the garden center can get expensive. If you’re tired of losing favorite plants to the cold weather, and then having to spend money every year to replace them, try overwintering a few of them.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for your gardening library!

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping that there would be more about growing foodstuffs in containers.

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book, covers the basics of how to overwinter container plants. I picked up a couple of good tips.