Overwintering physalis: in a pot, bed or indoors?

The heat-loving physalis is often only cultivated as an annual. But did you know that it hibernates and can live for several years? We give tips for overwintering physalis.

the Physalis (Physalis peruviana), also called Andean berry, is now very popular in German-speaking countries. The useful plant, which belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), originally comes from South America and is a perennial shrub there. During the summer we can harvest en masse the berries surrounded by a rustling lantern shell. However, in autumn the leaves of the physalis begin to fall.
In our latitudes, physalis is often cultivated as an annual plant. Outdoors, the South American plant, which needs warmth, hardly survives the winter in this country, but if it is wintered frost-free, the physalis can grow, thrive and bear fruit for several years. Overwintered plants bear fruit even faster than their freshly sown counterparts. In this article you will find out how to get your physalis safely through the winter.

Overwintering Physalis: Is the Physalis hardy?

In our latitudes, the physalis plant is not hardy and is therefore often cultivated as an annual. Although there are newer breeds that have a higher cold tolerance, most Physalis varieties stop growing at a permanent temperature of below 10 °C. Temperatures around zero are also tolerated once. However, the entire plant can then die off or typical cold damage such as black spots or a strong violet coloring of the leaves can occur. The physalis does not tolerate frost under any circumstances and so it should be wintered in mid to late October at the latest.

How to overwinter physalis?

There are two best practices when overwintering physalis: one is to place the plant in a pot and overwinter in a cool, bright room. The other method allows us to propagate the physalis at the same time: you can take cuttings from the existing plant and pot them.

Prune and propagate physalis before overwintering

Before the Andean berry overwinters, the many shoots are cut back. On the one hand, this has the advantage that the plant can be overwintered more easily without the long, sparse shoots. On the other hand, the Physalis then branches out in the next spring and thus grows bushier. Cut each shoot back about halfway with garden shears before wintering your physalis.

The shoot tips of each cut shoot can now also be used as head cuttings for propagation used: To do this, cut the cuttings to about 10 cm in length with a sharp knife diagonally. Then all leaves are removed, except for those at the top of the shoot. Now place the cutting in prepared pots about 9 cm in diameter with a nutrient-poor substrate like ours Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil, are filled.
With high humidity and in a bright but not sunny location, the cuttings need about two weeks to form sufficient roots. You can achieve high humidity with the help of a cover, for example: A transparent plastic bag, a glass bell or a greenhouse are suitable, for example. However, all covers should be aired regularly, otherwise fungal diseases can occur.

In the rooting phase, the substrate must never dry out, but it must not be dripping wet either. Therefore, it needs to be watered regularly. If the first leaves develop again, this indicates successful rooting. Now they are allowed to continue growing slowly at around 15 to 20 °C and as much light as possible. If the young plants have rooted through the entire substrate after a few weeks, they are transplanted into more nutrient-rich soil and a larger pot. After the ice saints next May, the young plants can finally go outside.

Tip: Mix the potting soil for the physalis cuttings with 20 to 30% perlite to ensure better aeration of the shoot base. This significantly reduces the risk of rot and the cuttings root faster and better.

Overwinter physalis in a pot

Mature physalis from the garden are overwintered in pots, as this makes them handy and easy to move. The pot with the physalis plant is placed indoors from October and the plant overwinters in a bright, cool and frost-free place at 10 to 15 °C. The conservatory or a well-insulated garden shed with a frost guard are ideal for this. If there are still unripe fruits hanging on the plant during the winter, they should not be removed, as the berries usually still ripen on the plant. You can enjoy these rare delicacies during the cold season. To prevent drying out, the physalis should be watered regularly with small amounts of water.

Notice: Physalis can be overwintered in the apartment if there is a sunny, bright and, above all, cooler location. If the physalis is too dark and too warm, it suffers and quickly sheds all its leaves.

Overwintering physalis in the garden

The perennial Andean berry cannot be overwintered in the bed because it is too sensitive to low temperatures. Even with winter protection, she would not survive. You should therefore dig up the Physalis plants for overwintering before the first frost in October and move them to a sufficiently large pot. Place it in the chosen winter quarters and water sparingly over the winter.

Tip: When planting out next year, you should definitely wait for the ice saints in mid-May. Only then can the physalis go outside again.

Summary physalis overwinter:

• Winterize the physalis in October before the first frost, avoid temperatures below 10 °C in the long term.
• Cut back the Andean berries by half. If necessary, cut cuttings, put them in nutrient-poor soil, let them root lightly and moistly.
• Dig up and pot the plants in the bed. Put the physalis in the pot in a bright, cool place (10 – 15 °C) for the winter.
• Even in the winter quarters, water regularly but little to avoid rot.
• Plant out next year from mid-May after the ice saints.

After planting out the overwintered physalis in May, summer will soon follow and with it the care measures on the Andean berry. Tips on the right one Care of the Physalis can be found in our special article.

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