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Tried to overwinter my geraniums...
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Posted by marial1214 Z 6 PA (marial5511@rcn.com) on Thu, Jun 7, 07 at 12:06
| Well I just went down into the basement to check on my red geraniums which I put there last October before the frost came. I've never had any luck overwintering them except when I lived in France and kept several of them in a sunny window and watered them once per month. Even though some died, some did live and came back but they were indeed smaller.
For some reason back here in the US it doesnt work for me. My mom said to put them in a garbage bag with a wet paper towel and keep them in the garage. I never tried that method. Last year I placed them on a plant stand in the basement. They looked sad & dead all winter. Today, June 7th, I went down there to see if I could salvage them but they were all dried up. Above the plant stand are two crawl windows so a small amount of light does shine through but basically it's a pretty dark room. The temp is lower than on the living floor, it's cool but it's not cold by any means. It's so cool that in the winter, in order to use the treadmill I must turn on the little electric heater. Otherwise it's too cold to walk on the machine. I hope that gives an idea of the temp.
They were all brown and dried up. It's pretty late to bring them out since it's June, I sort of expected them to be goners but I was hoping....
....so I'm off to buy some more for the season. Any idea what kind i should buy? Must they be "zonals?" Does it matter what kind? I'm talking about the basic red ones.
THANKS! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Tried to overwinter my geraniums...
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| There are several ways to overwinter geraniums. The easiest is to bring them inside and put them on a window sill. Cut them back so they are not trying to support so much foliage. If you want, root the cuttings in water over the winter. I feed mine all winter to bring on some cheer in the winter months but you dont need to by any means. Keep them on the dry side. If you dont want the whole plant in the window, take cuttings from the mother and either root them in water or put them in a small pot with some potting soil and put that in the window and root them. Take the mother plant out of her pot pull off all the soil and let her dry like that for a day or so. Dust the roots with sulphur to prevent fungus and put the whole plant in a paper bag in a place that does not get too cold, the back of the garage (against the house) is usually a good place and leave until spring. Plant her again in spring and feed as usual. You 'should' get the plant back again, but no guarantees. The cuttings on the other hand should fill in just fine. Good luck. Kat |
RE: Tried to overwinter my geraniums...
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| I put mine in our spare bedroom, water them once a month and hoped for the best. I did lose some, but most of them lived until I put them in the garage. My vet though keeps his out in a sunny window all winter long and they even bloom for him. I think that is what I'm going to do this winter with mine. |
RE: Tried to overwinter my geraniums...
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| I have kept Pelargoniums over the Winter on a bright well lit, frost free, window sill. Turn the plants regularly and keep them on the dry side, i.e do not overwater and make sure the plants do not stand in water. Check the plants regularly for pests and fungi. It is a good idea to spray plants against fungi and pests before bringing them into the house. I have used ths method for several years without problems. |
RE: Tried to overwinter my geraniums...
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| What is the best way to winter Geraniums? I also want to winter my spikes (common name) and have no idea what I should do... any ideas? |
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