Bring inside before the frosts
When the night temperatures drop below five degrees, it's time to bring the vanilla flower into the house. Check the plants for pest infestation beforehand, because spider mites or aphids can infest and cause massive damage not only at the solstice but also other plants in winter quarters.
also read
- How is the vanilla flower properly cared for?
- Which location does the vanilla flower prefer
- Can the vanilla flower be cut before wintering?
Move bedding plants
Vanilla flowers that thrive in the flowerbed are carefully dug up. Make sure to dig up as much of the root ball as possible. Then the heliotrope is planted in commercially available potting soil and watered.
What does the ideal winter quarter look like
Place the pots on one of:
- bright
- cool
- frost-free
Space. It is important that the temperatures do not fall below five degrees here either. An unheated staircase or a bright basement room, for example, is ideal.
Care during the winter
Water the plant very sparingly, there is no fertilization at all. During hibernation, the solstice sheds some of its leaves and some shoots dry up. This is not a bad thing. Remove all dead parts of the plant in spring, the vanilla flower willingly sprout again.
Move to the open air
Only when no more night frosts are to be expected can the vanilla flower move outside again. After the winter months, get used to the changed conditions carefully and place the pots in a shady, protected place. It is only transplanted to its final, sunny location after about two weeks.
Tips
In rough locations with cool summers and very frosty winters, heliotrope should preferably be cultivated as a pot plant. You can put the vanilla flower directly into the bed with the planter in the summer months. This saves you repotting twice a year.
