Gardeners Supply Plant Care & Gardening Advice/Tips/Secrets @ HortChat.com®

There are several ways to save your geranium over the winter:

1. Take cuttings and root them. Take 4 ” cuttings of healthy tips, remove flowers and lower leaves . Dip the cutting in rooting hormone and insert 2″ deep in a light well drained soil. Keep cuttings in a filtered light until roots form (3-4 wks).

2. Pot them up (trim up to 1/3 )to keep them from getting to leggy and grow them as houseplants by placing them in the brightest window for the winter. Water when needed and fertize once a month.

3. Store geraniums in a dormant state. Dig up the plant and place it in a papper bag with holes in it or wrap the roots in newspaper. Hang the bag in a cool, dark space (basement, crawl space). Another old way is to hang them upside-down,bare roots in a cool, dark basement and rehydrating the roots a few times during the winter by soaking them in water for a few hours. Pot up the plant in late winter (Feb) and resume watering. Place it outdoors when the weather warms up.

All of my houseplants have turned brown on the tips. I also have little gnats flying around them. I have sprayed and no results. What could this be caused by?

Even though brown tips can indicate dry indoor air, it sounds as if you have been overwatering your plants and brown tips and fungus gnats are the result. Fungus gnats are tiny black flying insects that looks like mosquitoes and are more of an annoyance. They lay their eggs in the soil which turn into 1/4″ white larvae that thrive on fungi and decaying roots. After they pupate, they emerge from the soil as tiny flying gnats. They like consistent moist soil and are an indicator that the soil has been too wet.

Control fungus gnats
Because the larvae need moist soil to reproduce, let the soil dry out between waterings. Household insecticide sprays can be applied to the soil surface. Products such as BT (israelensis) sold as Gnatrol, Knock-Out Gnats will also take care of the larval stage. Be aware the stuff smells bad. Use the mixture (BT & water) as a soil drench- or use insecticidal soap  recipe - see below.   You may have to apply more than once.  To get rid of the adult flying insects, use yellow or blue sticky cards that fungus gnats are attracted to.

Here’s a recipe for a soil drench for fungus gnats..
1 qt of warm water
2 tBsp of insecticidal soap
soak the the soil -not the foliage.  Apply once a month until problem is elliminated.

Another recipe is: mix is 1 qt of water to 1 tsp liquid houseshold bleach.

I have a question about how to winterize Elephant Ears growing in my yard.  What needs to be done and how.

Elephant ear,  Alocasia are a semi-tropical tuberous bulbs  that are hardy in zone 8-11 and  will die in freezing temepratures.
If you live in a cooler climate zone 7 or lower, there are several methods you can use to winterize your elephant ear plant.

Option 1:
When the foliage starts to die back (turn brown) reduce watering.  If/when a frost blackens the foliage, cut the stem down to 6″, dig up the tuber and remove excess soil. Try not to bruise or cut the tuberous bulb as that can cause infection and rot during storage.   
To “cure” the tubers,  air dry, out of direct sunlight at 60F  for three weeks or dry them in the sun for a couple of days and then remove the excess soil.
Once dry, store the cured bulb in peat moss, vermiculite or sawdust around 40-60 degrees in a dry, ventilated location such as a basement or cellar. During the winter, check the bulb for shrinkage and rot (discolored soft spots). If the bulbs appear shriveled, moisten the medium a bit.  Replant next spring.

Store in container
You can also store the bulb as is in the pot in a heated garage. Insulate/wrap the container for added protection.  After the leaves yellow and die back, cut off the dried foliage and add 2-3″ of mulch on top of the soil.

If you don’t have a heated garage,  a cool, dark place such as a basement will work. Store between 40-60F and water lightly once or every 2 months to keep the soil from totally drying out.

Option 2:
Treat your elephant ear as a houseplant. Give it a southern exposure (high light), high humidity and water enough to keep the soil from drying out. If  it continues to produce leaves, feed it  with a 1/2 dose of liquid fertilizer, otherwise,  just keep it moist. The plant may sulk indoors during the winter but when the weather warms up in spring bring the plant back outdoors slowly re-acclimating it to brighter light exposure.

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