What is Overwintering?
Overwintering is the process of providing a safe environment for your plants, ensuring they survive over winter. A heated propagator, such as the Vitopod Heated Propagator, provides the heat and protection your plant needs to survive.
With large vents for humidity control, you can place the Vitopod Propagator inside your greenhouse, its clear sides and lid allowing your plants to take full benefit from the available light. By adding extra layers to the Vitopod, you can accommodate for taller plants.
Why Overwinter my Plants
Overwintering gives plants will get a head start when the daylight increases in February and start growing your favourite fruit and vegetables earlier.You can expect an earlier harvest of bumper crops from any overwintered plants as the start leads to an extended growing season. Plus, by protecting your fragile plants from the elements, overwintering could be considered as additional plant frost protection.
What to Overwinter
Overwintering is perfect for tomato and chilli growers, so prepare your plants for the move to a heated propagator. For more information on overwintering chillies, read our guide by clicking here.
Ornamental plants, such as fuchsias or geraniums, can also be overwintered. This is a great cost-cutting measure as you can keep your beautiful flowers going for replanting in the spring. This is an ideal way to protect your ornamental plants from frosts, ready for taking cuttings for the next season.
Our Gardening Angels like to use a Hydropod cuttings propagator for increased cuttings success rates. The Hydropod reduces the risk of damping-off, drying-out and fungal infections and helps to speed up growth.
When to Start Overwintering
You can typically start overwintering when night time temperatures drop significantly, which is normally around the end of October.Prepare your Plants for Overwintering
If you are an allotment grower, you will notice the ground is starting to frost over. By using a frost protection fleece to cover any rooted plants, you can keep them protected until they move to the propagator.
Before moving your plants to the propagator, trim back branches to around 10cm and harvest as much as you can. Chillies and tomatoes can be ripened off plant if necessary. By removing branches, foliage and fruit, your plant will require less energy to keep going and will be more likely to survive the winter.
If you are overwintering any plants grown in planters, carefully dig them out and repot them. Try to remove any loose compost and repot with fresh compost. You could also consider trimming back the roots on your plants and moving to smaller pots as this allows the plant to reserve and focus its energy.
Caring for Overwintered Plants
Once your plants have been moved to the electric propagator, you can begin supporting them over winter. A good source of light is essential for a plant’s survival, so ensure your propagator is positioned appropriately; consider placing the propagator within your greenhouse.As temperatures decrease, plants retain water for longer. Over watering will encourage damp and mould to develop around the plant. Check the plant every few days and only water if the surrounding compost is dry.
Maintain a constant temperature between 5°C and 12°C to keep plants alive and frost free. If the temperature surpasses 12°C, plants start to grow, which you won’t want to happen until spring. With the Vitopod Propagator, we recommend opening the vents fully over winter to allow airflow around your plants, helping to prevent bacterial and viral disease build up.
When to Replant your Plants
When the temperature begins to surpass 12°C consistently, typically around March or April, turn up the temperature in your Vitopod to encourage growth. When outdoor temperatures rise, your plants will be ready to move from the safety of your heated propagator and into their new planters. When you do move to new planters, it is very important your plants are not hit by the frost, so consider using some Frost Fleece to protect your plant in the early stages.
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