Gardentalk – Protecting your begonias, dahlias and fuschias

This dahlia blossom won a ribbon during the 2015 Harvest Fair at the Juneau Community Garden.
This dahlia blossom won a ribbon during the 2015 Harvest Fair at the Juneau Community Garden. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

Master Gardener Ed Buyarski suggests that Juneau gardeners start bringing in their begonias, dahlias and fuschias. Temperatures are dropping overnight in the Juneau area, sometimes dipping to well under freezing in the Mendenhall Valley near the Mendenhall Glacier.

Fuschias should have some of their leaves cut back, and the plants should be watered lightly every few weeks over the winter just to keep the soil moist.

After bringing begonias and dahlias inside, pull them out of their pots, cut or snap off the stem tops, and then carefully wash them off before placing them in paper bags or cardboard boxes.

Let them all overwinter in a dark area of an unheated garage or cool, but non-freezing crawlspace. They should remain dormant until February or March.

“But we don’t want them in really warm places like a heated garage because then they will want to start to grow again,” Buyarski said during Gardentalk that airs on KTOO’s Morning Edition.

Buyarski also reminds gardeners to soak their rhododendrons one last time and place some mulch around them for the winter.

The very last of the carrots, potatoes and other tubers should be harvested now.

And finally, probably the last gardening event of the season, the Third Annual Garlic Lovers Potluck, will be from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Saturday, October 15 at The Canvas on Seward Street in downtown Juneau.

Listen to the October 13th edition of Gardentalk:

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