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How to salvage your plants after the snow

All hope isn't lost. 

That snow was a rude shock but it wasn't the end of the gardening season. There's still plenty to do.

If you dug tender plants from your beds and containers, re-pot them now. If you covered plants, you may be able to salvage plants such as geraniums, spikes, oxalis, begonias, bloodleaf, flowering maple, lantana and spider plants.

Cut most of them back by half. Their root systems won't be able to support all the top growth--and light levels will be lower in the house and days are shorter.

It's fine to use the potting soil from your containers. Hopefully you save and re-use plastic nursery pots and trays as well. This is an exercise in frugality. You can save hundreds of dollars toward your next season gardening purchases.

Once you've finished re-potting, the trick is to find a bright window for them to live in for winter. They'll also thrive under lights. They'll never look as gorgeous as they were outside; the point is for them to survive.
Avoid fertilizing or over-watering them during the winter as this will encourage lanky, spindly growth.

Do your best to keep them alive and healthy so they can regain their glory next spring.

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