Deciding which plants will make the cut as fall looms

I live by a general rule that one shouldn’t discuss autumn until after Labor Day, but truth be told I’ve been thinking about it for some time. Trust me, I have no desire to rush the season, and as a confessed summer lover, I really have no wish for autumn to arrive, even though it may provide respite from the perpetually dry garden.

But I’ve had early fall chores on my mind for awhile. Chief among them falls under the planning category and it involves deciding on what tender plants I’ll attempt to overwinter. I can’t keep everything because I don’t have the space or the interest in caring for that many plants.

In some cases, I’ll take cuttings of easily rooted plants so I have them next year. At the top of that list is Plectranthus ‘Silver Shield,’ a glorious silver foliage plant that won’t survive the winter here and is far too difficult to find. Now that I have my hands on it, I don’t want to have to search so hard next year. I’ll take cuttings this week, but the robust plants won’t even show that a few bits have been removed. A cousin to coleus, it roots so easily I could probably just stick it in some potting soil, but I’ll use that old-fashioned trick of rooting them in water. Once I see some roots, I’ll pot them up and keep them under grow lights inside, although a sunny window would suffice as well. And I’ll continue taking cuttings through winter, not just to create more plants but to have a backup in case the mother plant fails.

I’m making other plans for Senecio Skyscraper. A gorgeous and fast-growing succulent, this new-to-me plant is already nearly 2 feet tall and I can’t bear the thought of just chucking it in the compost come frost. I’ll winter it in strong light wherever I can shoehorn it in.

And of course there are dahlias to be considered. I’m taking a ruthless approach to storing dahlia tubers this year. Any of them showing signs of disease or anything less than perfect health will get the heave-ho. I fear that part of my dahlia-growing challenges this year, in addition to issues related to the dry weather, have been carried over from less than perfect tubers. I’ll get new tubers for must-have varieties and enjoy the freedom of having fewer stored dahlias.

I’ve been making mental notes on which dahlias I’ll keep and which I’ll toss for several weeks now, and I’m including anything I don’t truly love on the toss list. There are too many great dahlias out there to bother growing anything that isn’t fabulous.

One of the secrets to overwintering plants successfully is to know when to call it a wrap. It’s better to move them inside when the temperature difference between inside and outside isn’t too dramatic, so as to reduce stress. And with some tender plants, one cold night can end any hopes of overwintering a plant.

But it’s also nice to maximize the outdoor light and the last of the summer sun. Hopefully we won’t need to think about having to bring plants inside for several weeks, but it’s always good to have a plan.