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amandajuel88

How can I keep my geraniums dormant over the the winter?

AmandaJuel88
10 years ago

Can anyone give me some good tips on how to keep my geraniums in my basement to plant next year??

My late grandmother always had red geraniums on her front porch year after year and no one in family can remember how she actually did it!

The only thing they remember is that they were covered in the dark basement over our MN winters. Maybe not even taking them out of the pots.

I've read about taking the soil off and putting them in a dark cool place but I'm hoping there is an easier way to leave them alone and have them bloom again next spring!!

Any ideas would be awesome!!
Thanks!

Comments (6)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    10 years ago

    A simple search on this forum will turn up multiple threads on this topic! There is more than one way to skin a cat, so a variety of methods are mentioned. All work more less with the same effectiveness so select your favorite and go for it. Over wintering geraniums is very easy......you can even treat them as houseplants for the winter.

    Here is a link that might be useful: forum search on overwintering

  • AmandaJuel88
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for your response! I've done too much researching, here and google, so I decided to ask hoping to get the quick and easiest way to dormant from someone first hand. Unfortunately for me, there's not much room for them indoors. Wish me luck :)

  • Patty zone 5
    10 years ago

    I put a mixed pot of geraniums and a spike plant in our attached, unheated garage one year. I didn't do anything with it but by February, I noticed new whitish green growths starting that were very spindly from lack of light in the garage. I moved the plant to a sunny location in front of patio doors inside my house and started to water. I cut off all dead or weak material. The pale growths soon turned green and eventually became healthy branches. It did take a while for it to fill out but it did. Before that though, in early spring the nurseries started putting out their very lush, healthy geraniums which of course I purchased some of as well. Eventually my overwintered pot caught up in terms of lushness. I was glad because that next year, I could not find the same variety for sale and it was a fave of mine. Overwintering it was very rewarding and I still have it. Now I just keep it growing inside over the winter.

    This was absolute minimal care for most of the winter. It did require some indoor space and more attention from the end of February on though.

  • Brian Brodber
    8 years ago

    I pulled my geraniums out when it got cold last winter, shook off the dirt, cut them back and put the plants in a brown paper bag in my basement. I spritzed them with water twice over winter. In spring, they actually started to spring in the dark. I planted them and had spectacular geraniums all summer long.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    8 years ago

    Here's a recent thread from the New England forum that gives a range of options. I think what works best varies on the conditions one has available. My cellar is warm and dry in the winter due to a wood stove, but my kitchen is less dry than the rest of the house and sits between 60 and 65 all winter and has bright light which is why I am most successful there. Others with different conditions find other situations work better for their conditions, so figure out which is most likely to work with what you have available.

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