[macgro7]

I have been growing vegetables, fruit trees and bushes as long as I can remember, but this is the first year ever I planted a lot of flowers - dahlias, geraniums, begonias, marigolds, etc.
They all look fantastic atm! 

However my concern is - what do I do with them in the winter? We are in Leicester (city) so don't get hard frosts every winter unlike some upland areas, especially more north than us.

Last winter was quite cold though - my geraniums froze to death... I just read that over winter you can keep them indoor as house plants - correct?

As for dahlias - can I store them in pots with compost in the attic over the winter? Or can I just put a straw bale over their bed to cover them from frost? 

[Fleecewife]

There are two kinds of geranium - the perennials and the bright pelargoniums usually grown afresh each year.  I think you mean the latter. Yes, pot them up before the cold weather arrives and they get damaged.  It's also worth cutting them hard back then you get fresh new growth and a bushy plant, otherwise pelargoniums can become incredibly leggy, like sculptures.
Dahlias are normally lifted when the foliage starts to go and the tubers stored in sand once the foliage has dried right off.  If you have somewhere truly frost free (we don't except bedrooms which are too warm and dry) they will store well over the winter.  In spring you can either plant them out again after the last frosts or take cutting from the regrowth and produce new plants.  Dahlias are so easy to grow from seed that I just do that each year.
Begonias are definitely indoor plants so pot them up as pelargoniums.
Again there are several types of marigold. Pot marigold is an annual which is grown from seed which can be sown in autumn or spring, but French and African marigolds are not hardy so are raised as HHA every spring.
To keep your garden bright in the autumn, sow perennial flowers such as rudbeckia the year before ie now, overwinter them then you get lovely flowers in the autumn when the bedding plants have gone over

[macgro7]

Brilliant!
Our house is really warm and well insulated- that's why I think It would be too hot for dahlias over winter. Shed is definitelly not frost free. Polytunnel would still freeze over at night - depending on how cold this winter is going to be...

I guess I'll put them in the attic then, we shall see what happens.

Thank you very much!

[Penninehillbilly]

Are the dahlias in pots or planted out? If planted out and you have quite a few, maybe try leaving a few in, mulch well, making sure moisture cannot get down the stem, that seems to be becoming popular now. I would love to try that, but further north and 1000ft up, too risky here. I leave mine in pots in the conservatory.

[macgro7]

Dahlias are planted out - not too many of them (so far  )
I'm pretty sure people down the road leave them in the ground all year round.

As I said before I was thinking of putting a straw bale on top of the flower bed when/if we have frosts. You just never know around here!

[doganjo]

I planted dahlia corms for the first time this year. I haven't had any success with seeds. So I'm just going to leave the ones in the ground as my beds are fairly sheltered, and I'll move the potted ones round the side of the shed to shelter them

[Anke]

Do you have a garage that stays frost-free? You could hang the dahlia tubers in sacking or even paper sacks from the ceiling  - out of the way of mice.


But you will probably be able to get away with covering them with a good layer of straw and muck over winter.