I finally have some geraniums that I think are worthy of winterizing. I'm in Zone 5, Chicago area. I have a basement. Can anyone tell me what to do with them?
I'm also in zone 5. I overwinter Geraniums in 2 ways: -move them inside in pots and put in a sunny window being careful not to over water. -pull them and place them in a coolish, dark place and ignore them until early March. Make sure you remove the dead leaves and any soil left on the roots. In March, check on them regularly until you notice some new growth and then pot them up and place in a sunny spot. It's that easy....really!
I've never had any luck pulling them out of the dirt and saving them that way. Maybe I'm just not doing it right I put my favorites in pots and put them in my office windows. The only draw back is I can't save very many because space is limited Deanna :-D
Never knew about this. Will try to over winter my geraniums for the first time this year. Thanks for the info.
When I pulkled mine I hung them upside down in a paper bag, and successfully had them re-grow in spring. I also do the windowsill method and in early spring take a bunch of cuttings and pot them up so i can spread them about a bit.
I've always been a little hesitent to do this. I have the room so I brought my geraniums inside the house last year. also did 2 cuttings off of them. I bought some other colors this year and intend on bringing all my geraniums in again this year.
I have container grown geraniums, plus potted ones, that have been "held over" several years now. They summer outside, recieve DRASTIC "haircuts" in fall, not much water thru winter months, begin blooming in March and continue on thru the next fall. Don't be afraid to cut them back (on an angle, not straight across) to about 6-8 inches in height, and dab the fresh cut ends with a bit of rubbing alcohol to eliminate disease. Sprinkle pelleted, time-released fertilizer on top of soil so it can be watered in at each application. Place the plants where they'll get sun, but NOT where it's overly hot: cool temperature conditions are secret to getting them blooming inside. If they get to tall, or leggy, simply cut new growth back a bit to force bushiness. To water without overwatering, wait til the pot feels "light" when you pick it up, then give a good drink from top and they'll be happy campers. Fall's the best time to start cuttings for the following year, can be done right after their "haircuts". Cut a growing end about 6 inches long ON AN ANGLE, right below a leaf node; trim off all but 4-6 leaves (working from bottom up); dip the cut stem in water then in Rootone, shake off excess powder and plant in a good starting medium. Within 6 weeks, cuttings should be well-rooted and on their way! I prefer LARGE styrofoam cups for this: punch 5 good-sized holes in the bottoms for drainage; fill to within 1 inch of top; bang cup a few times on table top to settle soil; make a deep hole in center with a pencil and put cutting in this, using pencil to MAKE SURE cutting has full soil contact completely around it. The beauty of the styrofoam cup is that it allows "air" to easily access the starting medium, lets the roots "breathe", and they don't take up as much room as 5 or 7 inch pots on a windowsill. Come spring, plants can be easily transplanted into containers or pots for placement where wanted. Geraniums are not on a timed blooming cycle like most other plants, they simply "do their thing" when they feel like it, and..as I mentioned..cool temps bring on their flowering. Be VERY CAREFUL with them tho', they ARE addictive and before you realize it you'll have 60 or more! Take it from one who KNOWS all too well!
I have several varieties of scented geranium and I put them in the window all winter also. Like others have said, be careful of over watering.
If you have the room, I think you're better off to overwinter potted plants vs. just the roots. I'm lucky now to have a heated potting shed and can keep my geraniums growing all winter long. But before I had that extra space, I bare-rooted them as many have discussed here, and had minimal success.
OH wow that is so cool, I had no idea you could hang them upside down in paper bags to keep them over the winter. I think I am going to try to get some cuttings as well. I have a really nice plant in a pot on my deck I would like to keep.
