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Container Gardening

cutting back and storing chinese lanterns in portland?

16 years ago

i'm both new to planting from seeds&bulbs and to my current climate zone (8) i'll be crossing my fingers as i cut back first year chinese lanterns in a few weeks once all the green's gone, at which time i plan to water them once well & put them in the underground, dark storage room in my apartment complex. should i be wrapping bubblewrap around the container too? or covering it with plastic? any advice would be much appreciated.

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Comments (2)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
16 years ago
These are incredibly hardy plants for your zone......I wouldn't bother with winter storage or much protection, unless you want the containers out of the way. Some chill period is preferred, so store where temperatures hover just above freezing, not too warm. In spring you may want to lift and divide the plants before repotting - they spread very rapidly and a congested planting will not bloom well.

This is one plant I'd not consider outside of a container situation as they are extremely aggressive spreaders and difficult to remove once well established. Also spreads/propagates very easily from seed.
greengreen
Original Author
16 years ago
thanks so much for your reply. i've read about the infamous invasiveness of this sort of plant.. good thing mine is in a teapot! i guess i should just cut it back and throw it in a plastic bag (to balance the moisture/heat & reduce the spider-possibilites atleast a bit) and put it in storage.
i have a tiny porch & don't even know when i should be expecting my marigolds and nasturtium to die although the portulaca are suffering from all the rain that's coming down & will be here for the duration. are there really annuals that you can save by bringing inside?
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