How to Winterize Dusty Millers

Overwinter Outdoors

• 1

  Trim the Dusty Miller to about 4 inches in height. This can be done after the first frost, if you'd like to leave the plants until the annuals in the garden have died off.

• 2

  Mulch the Dusty Miller with 6 to 8 inches of grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, peat mulch, and/or straw. Top with a layer of hay or straw, and secure the mulch with garden netting or evergreen boughs.

• 3

  Remove the hay and mulch in the spring after the risk of frost has passed.

Overwinter Indoors

• 4

  Trim the Dusty Miller to about 6 inches in height.

• 5

  Dig up the plant, making sure not to damage the root ball.

• 6

  Pot the plant in fresh potting soil. Use a pot about twice the diameter of the root ball.

• 7

  Wash the leaves with an insecticidal soap, to prevent outdoor bugs hitchhiking a ride indoors where they can infest your houseplants.

• 8

  Select a sunny location indoors for the pot.

• 9

  Water the plant every week to 10 days during the winter. Do not over-water.

• 10

  Move the pot outdoors for a few hours a day to re-acclimate the plant to the outdoors once the daytime temperature in the spring is above freezing. When the risk of nighttime frost has passed, you can replant the Dusty Miller in the garden.