Peter Dowdall: Winter quarters beckon for frost-tender plants 

You’re taking a gamble by allowing frost-tender plants remain the ground at this time of year

Frost-tender perennials like this dahlia should be lifted from the ground and brought in for the winter months. Picture: iStock

The October garden requires a bit of work. You’ll discover you need to take up many plants — these could be plants that need a break or that may have passed their best — and fresh new specimens will need to be planted. I guess it’s a bit like Dáil Éireann at election time.

You’re taking a gamble now with anything frost-tender by leaving them in the ground at this time of the year and the odds lengthen with each day as nighttime temperatures dip and the risk of an early frost increases.