Protection in the bed or on the balcony

Hibernate the lantern flower in the bed

The lantern flower is a deciduous perennial from the genus of the bladder cherries (Physalis). In winter, leaves, flowers and stems slowly die off. The rhizomes in the soil, on the other hand, are hardy and sprout again in the next spring. On the way there, fading lanterns on dried stems in the empty garden set decorative accents and at the same time protect the roots from freezing frost. How to properly overwinter a lantern flower in a bed:

• Cut back in late winter: Perennial only in February / March cut
• Winter protection: Cover the root disc with leaves and brushwood before the onset of winter
• Winter location outside: protected from wind and rain in a corner or in front of a wall
• to water: Water the lantern flower in winter when it is dry on frost-free days
• Do not fertilize: do not use fertilizer from September to March

If you do not value the special winter aspect, cut back dead lantern flowers in the bed as early as November.

Hibernate lantern flower in a pot

Chinese lantern flowers are unpopular in beds because the perennials like to proliferate. Hobby gardeners thwart the invasive ambitions and plant lantern flowers in pots. When winter knocks on the garden gate, you have these two options to overwinter a lantern flower in a pot:

• Grant: Flowers in the pot overwinter in a frost-free room, such as a basement, garage or garden shed
• Winter protection: Place the pot on wood, wrap it thickly in fleece, cover the substrate with straw, bark mulch or leaves
• Winter care: water very sparingly, do not fertilize from the end of September to the end of March

If you hibernate lantern flowers indoors, cut the dead shoots back to ground level before putting them away. If you decide on a winter place in the open air, ideally postpone pruning to late winter.