by Raven Lebeau

Created on: January 08, 2008

The hardest part of gardening is seeing your annuals die in the winter. They bloomed for you all summer, and now there is nothing you can do to save them from the unrelenting cold. When spring comes, you will dig up their dry, dead roots to make room for the next regiment of doomed volunteers. That's just how it works.

Don't buy it! Many of the plants labeled as "annuals" are anything but. Sure, they may not have what it takes to winter over in zone six, but their lives were never meant to be nasty, brutish, and short. Lobelia, peppers, geraniums, and impatiens are just a few of the many victims of false advertising. The store where you buy your plants wants you to come back again next year, so if something is not hardy in your zone, they just call it an annual and won't bother telling you it can be brought inside. With a little effort, planning, and education, you can save a lot of money and a lot of plants. Here are a few things to consider.

1. What types of plants can be brought indoors?

In addition to those mentioned above, you can plan on bringing in culinary or medicinal herbs, hibiscus trees, cacti, crotons, Norfolk pines, and palm trees. A beautiful red bloodleaf is currently hanging in my window. Last May I purchased it as an "annual" seedling. Over the summer it grew until its many tendrils spilled over the rim of the pot and about a foot down. I didn't have the heart to let it die, so I hung it in my window, not expecting much, since the experts at the nursery called in an annual. So much for the "experts" advice! I think I'll have that plant for years to come.

Even more astonishing is a pair of tomato plants I brought in. Late started and slow growing, they never bore fruit over the summer. I didn't honestly expect them to bloom in the house, but they are now. A little green tomato is growing on one of them. Their growth is much slower than it would be outside and over the summer, but the are alive, healthy, and producing.

Take home message: it (ALMOST) never hurts to try bringing in a plant.

2. Are there any that truly can't be brought inside?

Yes. Evergreens need to be researched on a case-by-case basis. Dwarf Alberta spruce make adorable potted plants and can be wintered over outside in pots in zones five and six. In more northern climates, they won't survive the winter unless planted. In any case, they must be outside over the winter. They need a cold period in order to survive. Even some species sold as bonsai trees must be wintered outside. There

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