First frost

First frost on the north facing roofs this morning here in the Vale.
Just spent the last few hours digging up the geraniums and moving them to their winter home and at the same time plant a few more daffs and crocus.

 

Yes, 20 miles away in Harrogate my thermomiter registered 0C overnight. The previous lowest had been 5C. I had pre-warning, my home page on IE is the local weather forecast - and its due to get colder still later this week.

So yesterday and the day before were busy days, putting bubble wrap up in the greenhouse and decided what plants need protection. Luckily a lot of tender plants such as Geraniums (ie Pelargoniums) and some of my tender Salvias will take a little bit of frost.

 

There seems to be huge variance in temperatures presently achieved in my tea-house. It's draughtproof but there's a bit of ventilation through the roof cover.
I've a 40watt bulb on a timer inside each of my jukeboxes which come on every fifteen minutes for that length of time during the night, providing a tiny bit of heat to reduce the amount of damp that might be present as well as a box of moisture absorbent crystals in each.
I keep a maximum/minimum thermometer on one of the inside walls.
The maximum temperature variance in the last 24hrs was 20°F.

From 40°F to 60°F.

 

Spent the morning moving the more tender plants from the allotment into the garden.

I put plants as close to the house as I can around now, most will either go into the greenhouse or garage when the winter gets going proper.

 

They forecast freezing temperatures and a ground frost here last night for a couple of days, but we were given a reprive and it stayed above freezing.

I've only got a couple of tender plants in the garden - a Lemon Verbena and a 'Kingfisher Daisy', both in pots and both are now up against the wall of the house.

 

I've been out to dig up my tender salvia patens and pot them up. They're recovering in the shed at the mo. Frost not expected until Weds here, so I'll have time to get the last (and biggest) fuschias up tomorrow. I've just about completed plantings of daffodils and hyacinths. Tulips can wait until the frosts have hit, as can dahlias. I can't remember frost in October ever and, looking at my gardener's diary for the last 3 years, I have recorded the weather as warm and sunny for this time!

 

That's interesting as we've several fuschias, but never do anything with them in the winter. The roots of those we have are well below the surface. The first sign of frost and the leaves and any blooms are gone. But I leave them untuil the spring before I cut them right down. We must have had them for twenty years and they've been moved around the garden on a few occasions. Each time I've moved them I've buried the roots well below the surface and they come up every year.

 

Question guys....
I have one Hosta in a pot and it has been nice over summer.
Anything I should do to protect over winter?
Thanks.

 

Hostas are hardy, Capney and behave like most herbaceous perennials, with the foliage going brown and dying away right about now.

I have all my hostas in pots and they have bounced back with no ill effects after the last two harsh winters. Your one will be fine

 

Just make sure you get to the new, emerging shoots next spring and protect them before the snails find them!

 

Yuck on the frost.....and they said on the news here that places north of me, are going to get flurries today!

 

Oh Heck !! I had better make a start on sorting out the tender plants then. I keep thinking that if I ignore the coming winter, then perhaps it will not come !! :-\

I have a roll of bubble wrpa given to me at work that i can bring home and start soritng out the fragiel plants and maybe bubble wrap the greenhouse too. I want to see if I can keep plants in there thru the winter.

 

I was referring to my tender, basket fuschias. The hardy fuschias are left in the ground over winter and are able to withstand frost, snow and blizzards. I actually lost many of the tender fuschias overwintering in my greenhouse last winter, although the ones left outside were fine!

 

That figures. Plants in the ground have more protection and that bit more warmth of the soil than plants in pots, even if indoors. I know someone who lost everything in her unheated greenhouse last winter, when normally they'd have been fine as she lives by the coast down here in the south.

 

Saturday night was 0C for me. Tomorrow (Tuesday) night is said to be 2 degrees colder.