Cape baskets overwinter in 5 steps

Large flowers that stand out from the green adorn them Cape basket. The popular plants of the genus Osteospermum come from South Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and tropical, African islands and inspire with their intense flower colors and the maximum growth height of up to 50 centimeters, which the plant is ideal for summer Garden power. If you are one of those gardeners who keep a cape daisy, you should definitely think about wintering it.

Are cape baskets hardy?

The cape daisy is not a native plant. The majority of the taxa of the genus come, as the name suggests, from South Africa and grow there as evergreen, perennial subshrubs. In Central Europe, on the other hand, it is a plant that is usually kept in the garden as an annual because it cannot withstand constant frost. Cape cups are not hardy and die from a temperature of -5 ° C, which can quickly become a problem in Germany. For this reason, it is normal to dispose of the old specimens in October and buy new ones in the spring. But with the right winter protection, overwintering is not ruled out.

Wintering outdoors

Hibernate osteospermum outdoors?

You don't always need winter quarters for the daisy family (bot. Asteraceae). With a lot of luck, the plants can even be overwintered outdoors if they are in a favorable climate region reside. For example, if you live by the Mediterranean Sea, winter quarters are usually not necessary and the plants can easily survive the winter outside. In Germany, however, only the following wine-growing areas are suitable for wintering outdoors based on their winter means:

• Ahr
• bathe
• Hessian Bergstrasse (only to a limited extent)
• Middle Rhine
• Moselle
• Vicinity
• Palatinate
• Rheingau
• Rheinhessen
• Saale-Unstrut
• Württemberg (only to a limited extent)

Here the winter average is usually between 2 ° C to 3 ° C and at the Kaiserstuhl even between 3 ° C to 5 ° C, which is ideal for wintering. In general, the closer you live in southwest Germany, the better the climate is suitable for the cape baskets. However, the climate alone is not enough, because even in these regions the thermometer can suddenly drop. Therefore, when wintering outdoors, you definitely need to prepare winter protection:

• Cover the root area
• use mulch, brushwood or leaves for this
• Pack the plant carefully
• Use garden fleece, reed mats or a linen sack for this
• no bubble wrap, as there is a risk of heat build-up

This protection should be sufficient, but you must be aware that the cape basket itself is not winter hardy. Therefore, a bit of luck always plays a role in wintering outdoors. The plant is not guaranteed to survive.

Wintering in winter quarters

preparation

For wintering in the roost, you must first dig up and potted specimens planted in the garden. The substrate should therefore meet the requirements of the crop and be as follows:

• well permeable
• humus
• dry
• fresh
• nutritious

Conventional potting soil in high quality and uniform soil has proven to be a good soil variant. These should be fortified with one of the following drainage agents to improve permeability:

• Quartz sand
• Grit

If you use potting soil, it is advisable to mix in some clay. This makes the cape daisy feel good and can easily survive the winter at a sufficient temperature. When planting in the pots, do the following:

• carefully dig out cape baskets
• do not damage the roots
• Remove the roots from the substrate
• check for root rot
• trim roots if necessary
• use clean scissors for this
• Bucket should have a drainage hole
• Fill the bucket with sufficient substrate
• Insert cape daisy and fill up with substrate
• do not fill to the brim
• tap lightly to remove voids
• Finally, slightly moisten the substrate

After moving the plants to their pots, a pruning is imperative. Since the plants use a lot of energy to maintain the shoots, the pruning helps to distribute the nutrients without any problems. To cut before packing, do the following:

• Tool: secateurs
• must be clean and sharp
• disinfect if diseased plants have been cut beforehand
• Shorten to a third of the total length
• Dispose of clippings on compost

Be careful not to leave the plant outside after cutting. If there is a sudden frost break in the country, they can suffer major damage and even perish within a short period of time. Therefore, always transport the cape baskets to their winter quarters immediately after the cut and maintain them over the winter according to the instructions below.

Hibernating Cape Marguerite: Instructions

After you have prepared your cape baskets, you can now put them in the appropriate winter quarters and care for them throughout the winter. Care in winter must be tailored to the needs of the plant and at the same time protect against frost so that it does not perish. Follow these instructions when hibernating:

1. time

The best time to bring the cape baskets into winter quarters is before the first frost, which appears in most regions in Germany in early to mid-October. A temperature of around 5 ° C serves as a guideline. As soon as the nights cool down to this number of degrees, you should pot the plants as soon as possible and bring them into the house. On the other hand, you don't have to fear cool winds of 5 ° C, because the cape daisies tolerate them quite well.

2. Quarter

Although the plant is not hardy, it can withstand cooler temperatures quite well. This is important when wintering, because the quarter is allowed not too warm because the daisy family take a long hibernation. For this reason, the location must be as follows:

• Light requirement: bright
• direct sun not recommended
• Frost free
• Temperatures: 5 ° C - 15 ° C
• higher temperatures are not desired
• no permanent drafts

All frost-free rooms or buildings that can provide the Cape daisies with sufficient light and in which the temperatures do not fall below 5 ° C are suitable as winter quarters. Some recommendations:

• Stairwells
• Cold houses
• Winter gardens (unheated)
• Garages with windows
• Gazebos
• cool guest rooms
• cool dining room

Bedrooms are not always recommended. Although these are cooler than the rest of the apartment, they are often too warm during the night. A lot of light is necessary for the cape baskets, but no direct sunlight. They don't hibernate if they get too much sun, which negatively affects their growth in the following season because they have sprouted too much over the winter.

3. care

ventilate regularly

The important thing about winter quarters is the possibility of regular intermittent ventilation. Bad air can clog the Cape daisy, as drought has a positive effect on the infestation of pests such as spider mites. You don't need to ventilate every day, just periodically to improve the air quality.

to water

Reduce the amount of water added over the winter. The cap baskets should never dry out, but frequent watering can quickly lead to waterlogging. You should therefore always use the finger test to check whether the substrate is very dry. Pour accordingly. Remember: Osteospermum tolerates drought better than waterlogging.

Fertilize

There is no fertilization throughout the winter. In most cases, the substrate ensures an adequate supply of nutrients.

regular pest control

Check the substrate and plant regularly for pest infestation or possible rot. Act accordingly to get the cape daisy safely through the winter.

4. Wintering

From mid-February it is important to carefully accustom the cape baskets to the sun again. Although the plants are not planted or put on the balcony again until mid-May, after the ice saints, it is important to expose them to the sun. Since the plant is slow to wake up from its resting state, you should only ever expose it to a little sun. You can enjoy the full sun again in mid-May.

Before you move the plant back outside in May, trim again at hand level. This promotes sprouting and flower formation.

tip: Keep in mind that the overwintering of the Osteospermum species can often be a game with fire. Even if the winter protection and the roost are right, even small mistakes in care can lead to the loss of the plant.