Geraniums?

Question

I've got lots of geranium plants this year. I remember my Mum shouting at me in years gone by for not taking care of long-lost ones properly during the winter

What exactly am I supposed to do with them? They are in pots at the moment - do I just put the pots in the shed? Or take them out of the pots and wrap them up? And in what?

I don't have a greenhouse or available space in the house for garden pots.... wondering if I should lift the plants out of the pots and wrap them or just put the pots in the shed? I'm in the South of UK.

Loads of great answers so far, though... thank you all!!

Answer 1

If you just trim them back,leave them in their pots,wrap them round with bubble wrap and keep in a dry,frost proof place.They will hardly want any water at all.I just cover mine with a old duvet.Never lost one last year but really we did not get many hard frosts.

Answer 2

Hi there, you do not need to unpot them, all you need to do is bring them inside for winter and place in a sunny window and water it about once per 2 weeks and keep well fertilized for nutrients. They cannot be kept outside in the shed for winter since there are very cold temperatures, geraniums love the warmth they are native to south america, They are considered a perrennial in hot countrys because there aren't any frosts, they are considered annuals here in north america because the snow will kill them, but if we were in a hot country we would be able to grow them outside all year long. if you wanna multiply your geraniums and give them to friend the best way to do this is in spring because that is the only time of the year that they can root, anyways what you wanna do is cut off a stem that is not woody because if it is woody the roots won't be able to penetrate threw the stem, put the non woody stem in water and change water every 3 days to make sure that the water is clean and in about 1-3 weeks you will see new roots appearing. When they have started alot of roots pot them up in a rich potting soil, your soil would be a great soil if you added perlite for drainage and a little bit of gravel and rich soil. I hope this helps. Oh and when danger of frost is past bring them outside and if you want plant them in the garden and repeat the process. They can live for decades.

Answer 3

Sorry, but I have to say that if you are talking about the bedding "geranium", they are actually called "pelargoniums". Geraniums are the hardy herbaceous plants, that are hardy so can be left in the ground all year round, with perhaps a cut back in the autumn.
Pelargoniums need to be kept frost free indoors, either as cuttings, or by digging up the whole plant. Best kept on the dry side over the winter, or you will encourage stem rot. Plus they benefit from a "rest" after the growing/flowering season.

Answer 4

We live in Sussex and have a lot of indoor and outdoor geraniums, as well as lots of other plants, which we try to manage under odd conditions. In summer the geraniums go outside in the back garden, where they are a sheer delight, but we also keep two or three on a fairly large indoor windowsill facing east, and they do well too. So we have them outdoors and indoors! (We are also, incidentally, managing slowly to track down more unusual and colourful breeds). In autumn (now) they all go into the garden shed, and so far we have been extremely fortunate, because in the spring/summer they have all flowered again. We try our best in a very amatuerish way.

Answer 5

Geraniums will grow well inside during the winter if put in a sunny winter and watered with a lil fertilizer through the cold spell. Take em back out in the warm part of spring. But if you don't want to do that. Pull up your geranium out of the pot and store in a cool, dry place until spring. Then transplant them back in soil come warm weather.

Answer 6

First, what ever you do don't let them freeze.
I cut them back and put them in my cool basement until Mid January, them I bring them up stairs and water them really well and find REALLY sunny spots in the house to place them.
When they get a good number of green leaves then I start adding 14-0-14 plant food to the water once a week until April.
Then I change food to regular 10-10-10 same as my tomato plants until I can put the geraniums back outside for the summer.

Answer 7

Here in the UK I keep mine in the pots and place them in an unheated greenhouse over the winter period. I reduce watering as soon as it gets cold and only water when they are very dry. I regularly take off the dead flowers and remove dead or yellow leaves, (alot of the leaves will die off). By next spring start to water regularly and you should see new green shoots appear, (you may have to be patient).
If the plants are spindly cut them back to a pair of strong green leaves on each shoot in Spring and then by the following Autumn the plants will be as big if not bigger then they were before.
Good luck.

Answer 8

Oh yea...Geraniums do not like temps below 32degrees f.

If you live in an area where it is consistently below 32degress f. I suggest you put them inside. You should fertilize geraniums about once per month. You should let the soil dry before watering again. Always dead head spent blooms...as this will help with new blooms.

Answer 9

It totally depends where you live.
I live in WI, where it might get as low as -35 F in the winter---so they need to be in the basement.

Google "overwintering Geraniums" for help in your area.

Answer 10

They need to be removed from the beds before first frost to overwinter them. Go to the website below for instructions.