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Don’t let old jack frost capture your garden without putting up a fight to save at least part of it.

You can’t beat him, but there are many plants you can rescue… either to prolong their flowering season indoors, or to rejuvenate them and enjoy their renewed beauty after the turn of the year.

Salvaging plants for winter or very early spring bloom is really much less work than is ordinarily supposed. It certainly takes less time than the customary starting of seedlings indoors to be transferred to the outdoor garden, and the reward is just as great, for a single blossom in February or March can provide more of a thrill than half a hundred in summer.

By far the most common mistake… and the cause of the greatest number of failures in bringing plants in for the winter – is waiting too long to begin operations. If you delay until the weather channel predicts “light frosts prob-able tonight,” and rush around with a spade or a trowel digging up and jam-ming into pots some of your favorite plants, and placing them on a window sill over a heater, you may just as well save yourself the trouble. The chances are better than 10 to 1 that these plants will either die outright or continue a tortured struggle for existence that will only end in disappointment. Salvage operations should begin at least a month to six weeks before killing frost is to be expected.

The first step is to decide what you wish to save or, more practically, what you will have room for. This will include, in general, three different types of plants:

• those which can be kept flowering after they are brought in, and foliage plants—the colorful leaves of which are decorative the year round;
• those which can be “renewed” by cutting them back severely and letting them gradually make new growth to flower later on, usually after the turn of the year; and
• those which may provide (by means of cuttings) vigorous new young plants for bloom indoors late next spring and for setting out of doors when warm temperatures permit.

The second step is to provide needed equipment. This consists of a number of pots of various sizes, up to 6 inches or so if you plan to save a few large plants. Next, a supply of prepared potting soil is needed.

Ordinary garden soil is not suitable. Add to good garden loam about one third, in bulk, of compost or other humus, such as peatmoss, and sufficient gritty sand to “cut” it thoroughly – so it will crumble readily even when moist and you’ll have the right mixture. Add fertilizer (we prefer an organic one such as bonemeal, about one quart to a bushel of mixture); mix thoroughly by screening through a 1/4- inch mesh, and you’re all set. A supply of small pieces of charcoal from the fireplace is also useful. Mix a few pieces through the soil in pots of plants which require plenty of moisture, such as ferns and semi-tropical foliage plants.

Large plants in full leaf and flower (such as geraniums, heliotrope, violas and fuchsias) are cut back severely until they resemble well-branched stumps with a few leaves. This is done to preserve as close as possible the relation of top to root system, which naturally must be greatly reduced. Smaller plants may be trimmed back less severely.

A month to six weeks before frost is expected, begin a gentle pruning of plants which are to be saved. Remove long new growths and old half-dead branches, continuing at intervals until plants are reduced to house size. If pots have been sunk to the rim in a garden bed, loosen these gently with a trowel and then set them back in place. Plants which have been set out without pots suffer less shock when moved if you dig part way round each one, continuing at weekly intervals until they are entirely loosened by the time you are ready to lift them. At this time roots will need pruning to fit the pots, and tops should be cut back proportionately.

When plants in pots sunk in the ground are lifted, if roots have grown through the bottom holes or if a heavy webbing of white roots appears when pots are removed, repot in prepared mixture using pots one or two sizes larger. Place a wad of sphagnum moss or a piece or two of broken flower pot in the bottom of each clean pot. Add an inch or so of mixture, set plant carefully in center of pot, fill with mixture to within 1/2 inch of rim, press down firmly about root ball and place in a tray of water. After repotted plants are moist at the surface of soil, place them in a sheltered position outdoors, against a wall or on a porch for a week or two before bringing indoors. Keep them moderately watered during this period.

For a few weeks after they are brought in see that the plants get an extra supply of fresh air each day and that they are sprayed every few days with a fine mist of cool water. Keep an open dish of water on the window sill near them to give extra humidity, and watch closely for aphids or other insect pests. If these appear, spray at once with a houseplant spray according to directions on the bottle. Snip off leaves or branches which die back, remove withered blooms promptly and water only when surface soil in pots feels dry to the touch. Do not let surplus water stand in saucers under the pots as more house plants die by drowning than any other way.

After the plants have become accustomed to their new environment and show signs of making new growth, they may be fed every two to four weeks with a complete house-plant food, given according to directions on the package.

Here is a list of plants some house plants, others salvaged from the garden – with instructions for care needed this fall for continued growth indoors.

For Continued Bloom:

African-violets have probably spent the summer indoors or on a sheltered porch but may need repotting in the fall.

Begonia semperfiorens (wax), patience plant (Impatiens sultani) and shrimp plant (Beloperone guttata) are three old reliables which bloom the year round if long straggling shoots and old half-dead branches are removed before bringing indoors.

Crown-of-thorns (Euphorbia splendens) is a cactus-like succulent which produces its blood-red flower bracts the year round. It blooms best when pot-bound, so repot only when necessary. In general it needs no pruning.

Chrysanthemums dwarf enough for potting are among the few garden subjects which may be moved safely in bud or even in bloom. Simply pot up in a pot of generous size.

Marigolds and torenias are two annuals which will go on blooming indoors. Marigolds should be young plants of dwarf varieties. Torenias are low growing and late blooming. Mature plants stand potting well.

For Foliage:

Decorative foliage plants should suffer little from their move if the suggestions made for gradual digging, moving and care are followed. Among these are aspidistra, ferns, dracaenas, dieffenbachias, house ivies, palms and rubber plants. Large-leaved begonias and cacti are treated in the same way.

Two other standbys for winter foliage color are coleus and tradescantia. Prune these back well when preparing them for their move and they will soon throw out strong young growth again.

Garden Plants:

Fuchsias, geraniums, heliotrope, lantanas, snapdragons, nierembergia, violas and other tender, shrubby flowering plants must be cut back severely and given reduced water and no plant food until new growth begins. They may then be fed and given more water and should begin to bloom again in late winter. (Prunings may be rooted as cuttings.)

Cuttings of garden plants may be rooted in moist sand, vermiculite or a mixture of the two and will make healthy young plants for early spring bloom indoors and for setting out next spring. Favorite petunias, verbenas and other annuals may be carried over in the same way. Make cuttings of crisp young wood and keep the rooting medium moist. As soon as sturdy roots have formed, pot up individually in the regular potting mixture.

by Frank Rockwell