Hedges Wonderful for Drying and Storing

As you can see from these pansies (wet plants have been removed and placed on up-turned tray), the space beneath hedges can usually provide a sheltered airy place for drying out over-wet pots and small containers. I find mine particularly useful at this time of year, especially after a spell of very wet weather such as we have just had. Pots dry out much faster outdoors than indoors.

They don't just dry the pots out, they can provide some shelter against frosts, as well. This gives us chance to dry out our plants before putting them in store, thus helping avoid disease problems. I find it is always best to keep plants out of store as long as possible.

GREAT FOR BEGONIA AND DAHLIA TUBERS
P.S. Begonia and dahlia tubers also dry out well. If you are really short of storage room, I should imagine tubers can be left in a dry spot under a hedge all winter, provided they were wrapped up a bit (with newspaper or horticultural fleece) once dried. They should be able to survive most light frosts. However, for harder frosts, they can be put in a container of dry peat, which will help insulation.

I am always surprised just how hardy so-called tender plants actually are, probably because winters are now usually milder than they were. However, we need to take care from late December to early February, when night temperatures can easily fall below -5 deg C.

PLACING POTS NEXT TO HEDGE OFTEN HELPS THEM KEEP DRIER.