Bulbs in the Basement, Geraniums on the Windowsill: How to Grow and Overwinter 165 Tender Plants

by Alice McGowan, Brian McGowan

Rare book

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2008

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is chaotic in content and design, but useful nonetheless for a topic not well represented in gardening books. Although it’s a little scattered - for example, the early section on growing in containers seems off-topic and sketchy - the info on overwintering conditions is actually carefully crafted. They categorize indoor conditions (cool wet vs. cool dry vs. warm wet) as a way to simplify the choices you make in bringing plants indoors, and use icons for these categories in the glossary. Plants in the glossary section lean toward the exotic, but favorites are there too. Not a beautiful book, but a useful one.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the basic sections and skimmed the individual plant descriptions. Wonderful book for learning about different tender perennials and a great reference for specific plants you are trying to overwinter. Will likely need to borrow it again and again at this time of year!

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been going along appreciating this book's information and how much easier it made my yearly task of bringing in tender plants and of deciding which tender plants are worth overwintering at all and will do OK in my own conditions. I even made a chart based on the book (combined with my own past experiences) to know what to bring in first so that I wouldn't lose anything I wanted to keep. I know I should have double-checked; it's my own fault I didn't do that. But regardless of that, I used the information in this book to decide to wait to dig up one of the plants that was supposed to be hardiest. The book says it's hardy to 15 F. It was the only thing that was severely damaged by temperatures falling into the mid-30s F in my garden this week. I looked up more information on it today (I'd never tried overwintering it before) and it turns out that it's actually only hardy to USDA hardiness zone 10, and can be damaged by temperatures falling to around freezing or below. There's a big difference between low 30s F and "at least 15 F," which is what the book claims. In addition, both the book and the sites I've consulted cite the exact same cultivar of the plant ('Blue Daze', the only commonly available cultivar of Evolvulus glomeratus, which is termed by this book and some sites as Evolvulus pilosus), so it's not like the authors even have the excuse of it being a different cultivar that's got a different hardiness level.

So much for a useful reference guide. Now I'll double and triple check everything this book says, which means it will automatically no longer be my primary reference for these subjects. I'll keep looking for a truly useful book about overwintering tender plants indoors in cold-winter climates.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slim book is a quick, accessible read with 80 pages of basic overwintering information with many illustrations and 112 pages of a plant guide for mostly flowering and other showy plants in their 'tender perennial' designation (plants that can be perennial with a bit of TLC). The plant guide has a clear photo for each plant, and brief recommendations for species/cultivars, design ideas, overwintering, propagating, and common pest problems. It's a great choice for beginning gardeners and for apartment dwellers who do their gardening with indoor/outdoor potted plants. I find myself consulting this book before a quick run to the greenhouse much more often than I end up using more serious and weighty reference guides (which tend to have smaller print and smaller pictures :). The hardiness guides are simple temperature recommendations and not as accurate as knowing your local zone and weather conditions; I wouldn't use them for anything other than roughly judging what you might be able to overwinter in the ground vs. what you should bring inside, and what plants you can overwinter right at the window and which might need more careful protection from cold.

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic idea: some plants that are not hardy enough to survive the winter in your area can still be grown, and saved to grow next summer, if you are willing to make the effort to overwinter them. Some plants can be kept in a container, either cool or warm, depending, and some have bulbs or tubers, which can be stored. There was other basic information on plant care, and then a section on individual plants, but I would have liked to see more details on the specific care of each plant, such as whether they need sun or shade.

[David Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bulbs in the Basement, Geraniums on the Windowsill: How to Grow & Overwinter 165 Tender Plants by Alice and Brian McGowan (Storey Publishing 2008) (635.932). This is an OK book; it contains useful info for keeping plants alive in the winter, but it doesn't provide any new information. My rating: 5/10, finished 2009.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about tender perennials—more than I’ve learned anywhere else. I wish the authors would have used the common names alongside their long lists of Latin names. (That is just a personal preference as a self taught gardener)! Excellent information!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive treatment of the subject.

I read the library copy, but definitely worth buying.

Lots of good color photos.