WINTERING GERANIUMS

How do you winter your geraniums????? I know some of you folks have different methods. Can you share....

Deann

I just dig mine up and put them in a pot. Cut them back severely and put in a cold room in front of a window. I've been doing this with several pots for years. If I need more, I let the cuttings sit for a couple of days and pot them up for the next season. I once tried digging them up and putting them in a dark, cold room. Lost every single one of them.

Deann,

I took mine out of the pots and put them in clean pots with fresh potting soil. I then pulled off any old blooms or leaves that weren't good and gave them a good soaking drink. I have a long narrow bench in front of a big east facing window and I just lined them all up on that bench for winter. They pretty much bloom off and on all winter. There is a method where you take them out of the soil and hang them upside down in the dark. I did that years ago but will need to look up the directions for you as I'm a tad rusty on that. It worked out fine too.

Brenda

How to Overwinter Geraniums
This article was published originally on 9/17/1999
Byline:
by Richard Jauron, Department of Horticulture
Geraniums are popular bedding plants, blooming from May through frost. However, the first hard frost doesn't have to be the end of your geraniums. They can be overwintered indoors by potting up individual plants, taking cuttings, or storing bare- root plants in a cool, dry place. Regardless of the method, the plants should be removed from the garden prior to the first frost.

Potted Plants
Carefully dig up each plant and place in a 6- to 8-inch pot. Prune the geraniums back to 1/2 to 1/3 of their original height. Water each plant thoroughly, then place the geraniums in a bright, sunny window or under artificial lighting. Geraniums prefer cool indoor temperatures. Daytime temperatures near 65Å¡F and night temperatures around 55Å¡F are ideal. (Geraniums become tall and spindly when grown in warm, poorly lit areas.) During their stay indoors, water the plants thoroughly when the soil becomes dry. Occasionally pinch the geraniums to produce stocky, well- branched plants.

Cuttings
Using a sharp knife, take 3- to 4-inch stem cuttings from the terminal ends of the shoots. Pinch off the lower leaves, then dip the base of each cutting in a rooting hormone. Stick the cuttings in a rooting medium of coarse sand or a mixture of coarse sand and sphagnum peat moss. Clay or plastic pots with drainage holes in the bottom are suitable rooting containers. Insert the cuttings into the medium just far enough to be self-supporting. After all the cuttings are inserted, water the cuttings and medium thoroughly. After the medium is allowed to drain, place a clear plastic bag over the cuttings and container to prevent wilting of the cuttings. Then place the cuttings in bright light, but not direct sunlight. The cuttings should root in 6 to 8 weeks. When the cuttings have good root systems, remove them from the rooting medium and plant each rooted cutting in its own pot.

Bare Root Plants
Dig the geraniums and carefully shake all the soil from their roots. Then hang the plants upside down in a cool (45-50Å¡F), dry place. An alternate method is to place 1 or 2 plants in a large paper sack. Once a month during winter, soak the roots of each plant in water for 1 to 2 hours. Most of the leaves will eventually fall off. (The paper sack method is much cleaner than the hanging method.) In March, prune or cut back each plant. Remove all shriveled, dead material. Healthy, live stems will be firm and solid. After pruning, pot up the plants and water thoroughly. Place the potted geraniums in a sunny window or under artificial lighting. Geraniums that are pruned and potted in March should produce green, attractive plants that can be planted outdoors in May.

Most annuals, such marigolds and petunias, are relatively inexpensive compared to geraniums. Gardeners who plant large numbers of geraniums can reduce their gardening expenses by overwintering their geraniums indoors.



This article originally appeared in the September 17, 1999 issue, p. 121.

Year of Publication:
1999
Issue:
IC-481(23) -- September 17, 1999
by Richard Jauron, Department of Horticulture

Brenda

Thank you so much for that wealth of information....don't know why I did not ask you in the first place.....

Deann

sarve

Thank you for your suggestions....appreciate it....you guys at Dave's are the best...

Deann

I have been wintering my Geraniums for several years. I just bring my potted plants indoors. Trim off dying foliage as it occurs. In Feb or so I cut back to 3-4 inches and by warm weather (June if we're lucky) they look like I bought them at the nursery. If a stem breaks off, I just stick them in the dirt and they grow. Too easy
Yvonne

I pull mine from, the pots and knock the soil off of the roots.
I place it PAPER grocery bags sorted by color. Place in an unheated crawl space. About mid March I prune them back and pot them up. Place in a sunny window or under lights keep well watered.
Harden off and transplant back outdoors about mid May.

I have some that are 5-6 years old.

I only have four big pots of geraniums so I just unpot them and repot in new soil, trim up a bit and give them a good watering. I have a bench in front of an east facing window I put them on and they live and bloom pretty much all winter. If I want more plants I take cuttings.

I had mine in a huge pot. I just let my hubby rupture every mussel in his body to bring the whole thing in for the winter. (by the slider in the basement) It has done well for the past couple years and I really enjoy the flowers in the winter.

This year I let it go. To Hubby's relief! I feel a little bad about the flowers.