I cant comment on whether a mum can survive indoors on a slim diet of water and very little...if any at all, sunlight. If the plants are not those which were grown in a greenhouse simply to provide a little fall color, then it stnads a chance of survival....outdoors. Mums are outdoor plants and the usual...let's say the common approach, is to -- don't wait for frost to cut them back severely, in a pot or in the soil, place them in a well protected site....such as next to a wall that is out of the way of wind. A good spot is behind foundation plantings. The wall offers a touch of warmth that comes through it, and the protection of not being affected by winter wind, snow, sleet, ...whathaveya...and is buried under soil, leaves, or such for further protection. Further protection from freeze thaw cycles is to place evergreen oughs over it. If its in a pot, bury the pot in soil. If the ground is too firm to obtain a decent depth, pour warm water over the area until you can open sufficient depth. Depth can also be accomplished by burying in a mound of potting soil. It is brought out only when no further chance of frost is going to affect it...in the north that would speak for mid to late April---early May even, before it is brought back out, given a place where it can remain, not bothered, and allowed to grow on. It is then allowed to grow at a pace that allows it to be cut back half its new growth, (about 2"--cut back 1") until about mid August when it is allowed to grow to its full potential. Flower buds then will be growing on a sturdy, compact bush and will perform much better than if allowed to just grow as it wishes. By early October it should be ready to be what it was the previous year.

I dont know how much space you have, but with lupine and poppies, I probable would just winter sow them. My space is limited however, my indoor set up is for veggies and annuals and other tender plants. Any temperate plant I will try to wintersow, besides its fun to throw seeds and dishes into the snow and have all your relatives and friends think your nuts if you dont know what im talking about you can check out www.wintersown.org or just check out the forum here on gardenweb.

Hi Adam, I'll try to help, but I'll admit to having success with overwintering without really thoroughly knowing why, other than dumb luck, lol, at least in the beginning! Barbara is going to dig up her plants because she is moving in a few months and wants to bring them with her. I'm assuming if she weren't moving, the plants would stay in the ground. As far as your broken door, I honestly don't know. As far as I know, the idea of bringing the plants inside, but in an unheated space, is to get them out of the more severe temperatures in which a potted plant might not survive, but still giving a cold environment in which the plant can go dormant, which is necessary to it's cycle. This is why you cover a plant with plastic, or in my case, I cover the window in the garage with black material. I guess it's kind of a fine line between dormancy and just enough heat/light to keep growing. In my case, I think that's also the reason I lost so many roses last year - bringing them out of dormancy too soon. I think outside, the light doesn't matter because it's cold enough for the plants to stay dormant, whereas in the garage, those few degrees may keep the plant thinking it should still be growing. The other option you mentioned, just digging them in somewhere for the winter, is certainly possible if you want to. There are two ways this can be done. One, plant the actual plant. I choose not to do this because 1.) digging a hole in my yard is a major construction activity and 2.) I have to add so many amendments, and at this time of year I just don't have time to deal with this. If you have an already-prepared bed (which is something I never have, lol!) and want to stick a plant in temporarily, that might be a whole lot easier. The second way is to plant the plant with the pot. In other words, dig a hole and place the plant, still in the pot, right into the hole. I never really got the idea of this, since I figured if I'm digging the darn hole, I might as well just plant the darn plant, lol! But last year I did this with a really late-season, last-minute plant I acquired, and it did work. But I only tried this because it was a rose, and I was a bit gun-shy of doing the garage thing with roses after my experience, so I tried the pot-in-the-hole method. It did work, but I don't think I will do this too often, especially not with perennials, but that's my personal preference. Perhaps if I had a plant or rose that, like above, I really didn't want to lose, I would do it again, but it's so much easier to just drag it in the garage. Lastly, as far as your patio plants, yes, you can drag them into the garage and drag them back out. I do it with my 80 or so plants each year. There's no absolute guarantee it will work, especially with the question of the broken door, lol (which hopefully someone else can address) and with the annuals it's an iffy thing, although I've overwintered some annuals my son bought me at a school Mother's Day sale for five years now! Again, at least with the perennials, the key is timing. Bringing them in after they've gone dormant, and bringing them out at the right time in spring. I hope this helped at least a little. Maybe someone with more knowledge will pipe in and add some info. BTW, George, thanks for that added post. The info on the feeder roots was very helpful. :) Dee

Do you have a cold frame? A greenhouse is a brilliant asset but since not many of us can spare the space for one, a cold frame is a good winter protection for tender cuttings. Yep, the top growth may die back but it is the roots where the action is so as long as the pots do not freeze for weeks at a time, they should be OK. If your winters are too cold, then simply keep them in a dormant state in a garage or basement - they are not dead, just resting. I sow a lot of my seeds all year round and frequently have cuttings to overwinter from summer...and I just assume that the plants 'know' what they are doing, will go into dormancy and when the conditions are right, will start to grow top growth again the following spring. There are always losses, especially with tender pelargoniums, which are susceptible to over watering (I keep mine practically dessicated now) but if the cuttings have developed enough roots, they will be perfectly OK coming through the winter.