Gardeners’ Forum: “Winterizing Geraniums”
Back to Gardeners’ ForumWinterizing Geraniums
Posted by Kathie on Sunday, October 1, 2006 11:55 AM ADTJust wondering what everyone does to over winterize their geraniums. I have so many, but do not have window space to keep them all in the sun. Any suggestions?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Wendy on Friday, October 6, 2006 8:00 PM ADTTry this: Once finished for the season, prune your potted geraniums (get rid of dead leaves, etc) and place them in their pot in your basement (let them dry out). Pay no attention to plants until March or so, then bring the pot out into a warm, sunny location, and water regularly. Within a few weeks, you will see new growth. Re-pot and enjoy for another summer! Or, try this: uproot the geraniums you wish to save and hang them (roots included)in a dark, dry place in your basement for the winter. In the spring, re-pot, and water regularly. I have had great luck with the first method and, on at least one occasion, did not even add new soil the second year (although I would recommend it). Good luck!
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Shirley Sniher on Saturday, October 7, 2006 6:41 PM ADTDig geraniums before a killing frost. Shake any loose dirt off the roots and lay them out to dry in the garage in a single layer for about 3 or 4 days . Then put the whole plant in a paper bag.I fold over the top and hang them (with pant hangers) in a storage closet in the basement.Around Feb. or March they can be brought out and potted up with fresh potting soil, watered and put in a sunny window. Don't be fooled by their dead appearance, they will soon start to send out new leaves from the life stored within their thick stems. You can trim them back when potting to a more pleasing shape. Works for me.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by joe obrien on Friday, October 13, 2006 8:09 PM ADTstay tuned - I have a tremendous amount of Geraniums that I grew from seeds and i hate the thought of letting them be slaughtered by a New York winter. I also dont have the space to place a lot of potted plants to sit for a few months. so i am going to try your method , assuming i can find a brown paper bag somewhere - everything is plastic these days !~ stay tuned I will get back to you in March or April regards Joe O'Brien staten island - new york
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Dean P on Sunday, October 22, 2006 11:24 AM ADTI use cardboard boxes to store my geraniums in. You can stack them if neededd, and I keep them in an unheated driveunder attached garage. It works really well with temps averaging 55-65. Remove dirt from roots and dead leaves. Probably 90-95% survival rate. Be sure to start checking them in mid-Feb. With any signs of green its time to repot them with watering and light until safe for outdoors. This year I am labeling w/plant details.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by p on Saturday, September 1, 2007 6:19 AM ADThelp! im a brit living in Rome,Italy..Do you think I need to take my geraniums inside for the winter? We don't get a frost. I was told that re potting would be enough, any thoughts?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Patty G on Sunday, September 16, 2007 1:39 PM ADTJust wondering how 2006's geraniums made out in 2007 spring? It is that time of year again and I have wonderul geraniums plants and want to keep them until next year
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Gail on Monday, September 24, 2007 3:08 PM ADTI Have a lot of geraniums in a barrel planter on my upper deck area, I have heard that you can invert a heavy black plastic pot over top of them for protection from the wind and elements and they will regrow again in the spring, have you ever heard of this being done?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by DKM on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 5:30 PM ADTAbout the Geramium is Rome: I lived in Southern Califronia most of my life. It has what they call a Mediteranium cilamte. Over the winter we didn't do much of anything to the geraniums. Basically ignored them. Left them in pots or in the ground. Come spring, we cut them back (got rid of dead/dry stuff). They always came out just fine. Many plants went through 10+ years like this. When cutting back, anything green was struck in the ground to root and make a new plant.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Susan on Monday, November 12, 2007 3:43 PM ASTI am trying the brown bag method of winterizing geraniums for the first time. 2 weeks have passed and there is still lots of green leaves on them. Do I wait or pluck them off? or cut the plant right back? I live in Ontario Canada.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Alex Mounsteven on Saturday, April 5, 2008 7:42 PM ADTi'm trying this for the first time and went with method two... i had four plants with a spectaular pink/purple colour i wanted to preserve... so i put them in a bag in the garage (hung upside down) until last week when i brought them in... i trimmed back the stems and planted them in 'miracle gro' earth... watered them well (once)... and put them in a window... its been 4 days.. and two of the plants have mould around the stem... *why*
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by margaret on Friday, September 26, 2008 8:09 PM ADTdoes anyone know if you can winterize ivy geraniums and if so how do i do it?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Vanessa on Monday, September 29, 2008 11:10 AM ADTRead the discussion so far, an Ivy Geranium is treated the same way as a regular geranium. Here's what Veseys has to say on the subject: http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/about/website/faq/#question22
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Virginia Bain on Monday, October 20, 2008 3:29 PM ADTI have winterized my geraniums by brown bag before and it works well. If you can't find paper bags just use newspaper to wrap each geranium in and wrap twine or string around the stem part and hang them upside down in the basement.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by rosemary on Monday, October 27, 2008 2:07 AM ADTI love the idea of storing the geraniums in a brown bag over the winter. My basement is where my oil burner is and may be to warm?? If so I will try my garage. Just half of them the bag/way the other half in pots just to make sure I don't lose them all.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by edie hampton on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 3:33 PM ASTI live in the seattle area temp in winter around freezing,got 25 georgeous geraniums could I put them in unheated garage for the winter?w/no light water or not?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Betrty on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 1:38 AM ADTI didn't know how to winterize geraniums so I took them out of the dirt and put them in glass jars filled with water in my basement which is cool and near natural light. Will these plants rebloom in summer when I repot them in dirt? One geranium has buds so I was hopeful until I read that they needed to be in paper bags! Need advice.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Irene on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 2:46 PM ADTI have a home that does not have a basement, how do you suggest I prepare geraniums for winter storage?Your help will be appreciated Thanks
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Phyliss on Sunday, September 27, 2009 9:43 AM ADTI hang my pots in my basement sunroom and have had mixed results. My question is should I water them over the winter?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Loretta on Monday, September 28, 2009 10:29 AM ADTI too don't have a basement and live in a very small home with no closets! But after reading all the suggestions I'm going to try this: dry the geraniums (it's raining today) wrap each individually in newspaper then place in a cardboard box in a room that is used very little and is on the cool side and is quite dark.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Joan Erickson on Thursday, October 1, 2009 7:14 AM ADTIf I put mt geraniums in a brown paper bsg for the winter do I need to water them?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by lois monroe on Monday, November 2, 2009 5:41 PM ASTI have dug up the geraniums after two frosts, put them in pots and sat them in the basement on pallets. I want to try method one but I noticed some small worms as I placed them in the pots. Will this make any difference since I will not be watering them?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by sharon weiner on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 6:12 PM ASTI am trying to save geraniums over the winter in NJ. They are from my mom who recently passed away and I would love to keep them blooming for years to come. Suggestions? Have a garage no basement
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Pauline on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 3:06 PM ASTI had success by accident. I left the geraniums, out of pots in a bin in my hallway over the winter. It was dark and coolish and I never watered them. They started to leaf and bloom in Feb/March and are still very much alive.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by darlene on Sunday, November 22, 2009 1:39 AM ASTI took my geraniums out of the pots and placed them in a open container in the garage. They are starting to turn black especially the leaves. Should I save them or is it to late? I live in Central New Jersey.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by janara on Monday, March 22, 2010 7:19 AM ADTi have bullseye scarlet geraniums in pots which were very green and flowring in summer but with the heavy snow they have died. is the any way they can grow back.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Joanne McCallum on Sunday, May 9, 2010 9:23 AM ADTI have 6 large pot Geraniums I stored in brown paper bags. It is May and we are still getting frost. When can I just plant them outside in the garden. What do I do now? We live in Saginaw, MI
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Genny Olson on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 1:31 PM ADTI am going to try and keep them over the winter. If I put them in brown paper bags, do I have to hang them. Can I just lay them down?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Lila on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 4:26 PM ADTThere are three ways to save your zonal geraniums from year to year. 1.The HousePlant Method: Prune the geraniums back to ½ to 1/3 of their original height. Then carefully dig each plant and place in a 6-8" pot (cut back roots to fit). After potting, water thoroughly and place the plants in a bright, sunny window. Geraniums prefer a cool indoor temperature. Geraniums will become spindly when grown in poor light and warm temperatures. During their stay indoors, water the plants thoroughly only when the soil is dry to the touch. Occasionally pinch or prune the geraniums to maintain stocky, well-branched plants. 2.The Cutting Method: Using a sharp knife, take 3-4" cuttings from terminal shoots. Strip the stem of all but the terminal bud and one leaf. Dip the base of the cutting in a rooting hormone. Stick the cuttings in a seed medium (sandy) in small pots with drainage holes. Place cuttings just deep enough to be self-supporting. Water thoroughly. Place a clear plastic bag or plastic dome over the cuttings. Place the cuttings in bright light, but not direct sunlight. Rooting should occur in 6-8 weeks. Plant the rooted cuttings in 3-4" pots in well-drained (sandy) potting soil. Fertilize new cuttings every 2 weeks with 10-52-10 at half strength. Care for the rooted cutting the same as for the potted plant. (You may also take cuttings in February by following the “Dormant Method”) 3.The Dormant Method: Cut away half of the growth with sharp scissors. Dig up the entire geranium and plant in a 6-8" pot. Store in a cool, dark spot at 7-10C(45-50F). Unfinished basements, unheated garages are ideal. Water only enough to keep the soil from becoming completely dry. All of the leaves will fall off, and the stems will become woody. In February, when light levels are increasing, trim the stems by one third and bring into a location with lots of direct sunlight, and very warm temperatures (your warmest window). Water just enough to moisten the soil. Allow the top 2/3 of the soil to dry out between waterings. When the new growth appears, remove the plant from its pot and shake off the old soil. Repot using new soil. Fertilize every 2 weeks with 20-20-20. This newly awakened plant can now become your stock plant, take cuttings once shoots are at least 4 inches long.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Karen Mathiason on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 2:49 PM ADTI have saved "winterized" my 20 geraniums the last 3 years w/great success. In the fall when it starts to get fairly cold outside, I bring all my geraniums in, knock off all the dirt and then lay them flat on my pea rock in my crawl space under the house. I "forget" all about them till Feb., trim them, and repot them in small nursery pots, water them faithfully, and put them in my south window for warmth & sun. By the end of May it's time to show them off outside.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Connie Westberg on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 5:30 PM ASTI wanted to keep my geranium in my kitchen over the winter. Do I just cut it back or what?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by toni lawson on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 11:10 AM ADTI have a mother plant that I'm putting to bed for the 5th time.. I bring her in (in original pot) put her in a corner in the basement without much light and leave her until Feb/Mar and bring her up to the sunny window, water and fertilize, cut back to 1/2 her size, and wait for summer to take her back onto the back deck.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Tina on Sunday, November 27, 2011 10:08 PM ASTI have plenty of room, do I need to remove the plants from their pots or can i leave them and water occasionally?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Ronald Emmerson on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 1:25 PM ASTI lift my geraniums before the first frost, cut them back ruthlessly to about 3", pot them up in appropriate sized pots, and keep them in a frost protected greenhouse. They show new shoots within 2 - 3 weeks, and then go on to flower. This way I have flowering geraniums all winter, even with snow outside on Christmas Day. After May I plant them out again in the garden. Does nobody else do the same?
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Cheryl Smith on Sunday, February 12, 2012 2:27 PM ASTThank you all for your questions & replies. I have 3 very small geraniums that I cut back & potted for show in my bay window all winter here in NH. I was wondering about how soon to put outside. I think I'll harden them & plant Memorial Day weekend when all my other planting begins.
re: Winterizing Geraniums
Posted by Debbie Martin on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 4:51 PM ASTI have successfully gotten my geraniums through winter by keeping them in the house.Though I did not trim them when i brought them in for winter (I thought they would die ), they have green leaves and occassionaly some blooms, At this point, how far back should I trim them?
