Geraniums

If I bring in 2 potted geraniums that I had growing outside, will they overwinter in my house??
If so, what care do I give them? Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of direct and/or bright light to give them.

Thanks for any help

I have overwintered mine in a cool room in a sunny window. You have to be very careful not to overwater them in the winter as they rot easily. They seem to go semidormant. You also may want to cut them back a bit. I have beautiful blooms until Spring.

I also know that lots of people just shake the dirt off the roots hang them upside down in a dark basement until spring.

KathyJo, when you say 'dark basement', do you mean total constant darkness?

I have grown them indoors with good results using a grow light. I don't fertilize them much so they look a little lighter in the leaf color.They will bloom under the grow light but just not as full or as often.
I do cut mine back by about a third of the growth and am very careful with watering as KathyJo stated, they do seem to rot more easily this time of year.

You can store them in a brown grocery sack dry and I have had some come back but not all types have worked well for me using this method.

Then I take them back out in the spring.


Let us know what works for you.
MsC

I was hoping to not have to use valuable space under the grow lights. I think I'll try a bit of both and see what happens.

Mine overwintered in an east window with not so great lighting. I would say that scented pelargoniums, "geraniums' like a little more heat through the winter. Has anyone else found this?

Yes, I believe they can take total darkness. They can go into hibernation. I have not tried this personally.. Just read lots about it.

It would be interesting to see how everyone does. We should followup in the Spring.

I have a Vancouver Centennial that has made it through in a cool bedroom window. But it only survived. I have heard it can take more heat and light. Right Now I have it and my others in a very small greenhouse, which I know I probably won't heat through our cold cold months here. I hope I don't shock them too much in the cold months by bringing them in.

RikerBear, I would think in your climate you could raise some beautiful regal pelargoniums.

Either I'm doing something wrong, or it's just WAY to 'moist' during the late Fall and Winter season....not to mention 30 degrees (mostly)

Last year I did over winter a nice size plant of rose scented geranium in the house, it smelled wonderful, too. I did have it under a single growlight and pretty close to the plant. It was on the same shelf with some brug cuttings I was babying until spring. Soo... if you have one that you really don't want to loose maybe you can try that.
I can't seem to grow the Ivy geraniums here.. I buy them enjoy them and when they start to die I just cry. I think our humidity is just too high for some varieties.

I do have pretty good luck with the old standard Martha Washington varieties, they end up looking like trees they get so big...

Just curious what kind of potting medium & pots do you guys use on them?

I am going to re-pot my two geraniums and bring them in next week before we have a frost.
I hope they fare better than my three begonias that I brought in three weeks ago. They are fading fast!!

Wish them good health!

I bring mine inside and wack them back severely!! They send out new shoots and I have to wack them back again mid winter. I often root the stuff I wack off. The one year I didn't cut them back they grew really tall and unmanageable. Be tough and cut them back!! Mine are in front of a slider - good light, but no sunlight during the winer.

I have a bunch of geraniums, regular and scented that I keep potted up and they spend all summer outside that way. I take cuttings at the end of august for our garden club's fall plant sale and prune back any ugly. they then go into my sunroom with large eastern and southern exposure and into my plant window seat in my bedroom with southern exposure. I water them every 10 days or so and they continue to grow slowly and bloom for me all winter. Don't overwater. they will rot out. This year we had a lot of rain and I had to put some under the bench they sit on to keep the excess water out. Any more rain and they would have had to be covered by plastic or hang out in the garage for a while. My Vancouver Centennial is 8 years old. I have a couple of minis that I have had for 5 years or so. I think the scenteds root the easiest.

I bring my geraniums in, trim them down about a third and place them under the basement stairs, as is, til spring. They always come back when I place them back outside in the spring.

This is a web site with information regarding wintering Geraniums..

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1999/9-17-1999/geroverw.html


Anna