Any way to keep some of my surfinias for next year?

pandora205

I have a hanging basket of wonderful pink surfinias that has flowered for months and is still flowering. They have grown really vigorously and have loads of flowers.

I know these are annuals and that the frost will soon kill them off. Is there anything I can do to keep some?

chrisbur

pandora205 wrote: »

I have a hanging basket of wonderful pink surfinias that has flowered for months and is still flowering. They have grown really vigorously and have loads of flowers.

I know these are annuals and that the frost will soon kill them off. Is there anything I can do to keep some?

I think that surfinias are tender perennials so if you can keep the frost off them they should survive the winter. They may not flower as well if they do survive but you could take cuttings in the spring to produce new plants. Or even try some cuttings on the windowsill now although I think it is a bit late in the year now.

Most if not all surfinias are protected by plant breeders rights so any plants you produce from them must not be sold.

bexybeck

I agree with Chrisbur. It's definitely worth trying cuttings now, if they don't take you haven't lost anything and you can try again in spring if they survive the winter.

You could try bringing some them in and treating them as houseplants over winter on a cool windowsill and leave some outside with horticultural fleece.

I had a few annuals I left for dead last winter and they came up happily this spring so you might be lucky. I even had sweet williams in their 3rd year. Annoyingly I had sown seed to replace them so I was overrun! I gave them away to gardener friends and everyone was happy

Good luck!

bexybeck

P.s. They definitely won't survive in a hanging basket (it might freeze!) but if you plant them in a sheltered spot in the ground they'd have a chance.

pandora205

Oh thanks. I didn't realise they are actually perennials.

I'll take some cuttings and put them in my shed with the geraniums (if there's room). If not I'll repot in a large pot and put in there anyway. I can always take cuttings in the spring.

Pippilongstocking

Hiya
agree with all above, take cuttings and hope for the best - petunias (of which surfinias are a type) are pretty prone to botrytis (grey mould) so try and make sure they have plenty of air, might be good to put a few in different places ie shed, cold windowsill in house etc so if you lose any in one place you might save them in an other. Keep an eye on them and if you spot any grey mouldy stuff or rotting leaves whip them off quickly.

As someone said above, they are protected by plant breeders rights and so you can't sell any (swapping is fine though )

Well done on them doing so well though! And good luck

pandora205

Thank you everyone. I dashed outside first thing and took cuttings and have put them in the shed, though I may bring a couple indoors (though space is limited). I put the remnants of the hanging basket in the ground in a sheltered spot just in case they survive too.

bexybeck

Glad to help, I hope they survive! It's terrible losing a plant that has done so well.

Davesnave

As someone said above, they are protected by plant breeders rights and so you can't sell any (swapping is fine though )

As someone who actually has Plant Breeder's Rights, I can tell you that I'm not after the person who goes down to the local boot sale with a dozen plants. PBR is really only relevant to professionals who are propagating in the thousands, though in my case, I wish they would, as I've yet to see a profit!

Surfinias are an absolute doddle in the spring, pushed into heated sand beds, but I have never tried to overwinter them.

pandora205

I planted lots of cuttings which are outside at the moment as it's mild. I don't have a greenhouse but will try to squeeze them in the shed when it gets frosty. Then it's fingers crossed and hope for the best!

These were lovely. This is the variety though I didn't get them from here:
http://www.kerley.co.uk/ProductForm.aspx?itemKey=candyfloss