Bringing Wax Begonias and Pansies in for the Winter

9 years ago

Hi there, I am new at gardening outdoors (only a couple of years) and have never planted indoors before. I am giving it a shot this year and had a few questions:

1. For my outdoor wax begonias, can I bring them in when it starts to cool down? Will they thrive indoors during the winter? When is a good time to consider bringing them in? They have been doing great outdoors since beginning of May and I would love to keep them throughout the cooler seasons, I am in Cleveland Ohio, region 6.

2. I also have outdoor pansies. I left them in their pots through last winter, they died away, but came to life again in their pots during the spring with no real effort on my part. I can always do that again, but they really are so beautiful I would rather just bring them inside. Can pansies that were outdoors be brought inside? Will they survive indoors throughout the winter? When should I bring them in?

3. I purchased both wax begonia seeds and african violet seeds to plant indoors, are there any special tips that anyone would recommend for their growth success?

4. Do I need those special fluorescent lights for my indoor plants or my seeds? I have a sun room in my home that has windows on all three sides that face the outdoors two sides have windows that reach from the ceiling to about three feet above the floor and the last side has windows from ceiling to floor. The room is on the west side of the house with one window facing south, one north, and one west.

Thank you for your patience and reading this far!!

Nada

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Comments (2)

marguerite_gw Zone 9a
9 years ago
Nada. you will have no problems with growing wax begonias indoors for the winter, as they have always been grown successfully as house plants as well as outdoors. About pansies, they are usually left outside, but I recall seeing a yellow and black one growing in the window of a neighbour's house through a winter a few years ago; I never found out what happened to it afterwards, as the neighbour was renting and moved away, but it was definitely a common-or-garden pansy, and looked well in its window. If you have a favourite it would be worth trying, I think. In her book 'The Unexpected Houseplant' the author, Tovah Martin, recommends lots of outdoor plants for growing in the house.
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garyfla_gw
9 years ago
Hi
Most begonias are tropical so appreciate year around warmth
The Viola family occcurs all over the world but MOST Pansies are bred from temperate plants Meaning they require a cool cold rest period I grow them in winter but when the summer heat hits they wilt away I have oversummered them in the fridge but was not worth the effort. If you want them as a houseplant look for tropical varieties MUCH harder to find lol gary
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Bringing Wax Begonias and Pansies in for the Winter

Comments (2)

marguerite_gw Zone 9a

garyfla_gw

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