Winter Pansies and Geraniums

Hi,

Two questions:

Q.1. Am I too late to put in winter pansies? I put some in about end Sept beginning Oct and they just looked so awful, almost dead, so I pulled them up in the week. Last year I put some in and they just kept going and going right through till Feb/March, just couldn't stop them flowering. If I AM too late, is there anything else I can put in some tubs over winter?????

Q.2. I've put my geraniums in the garage over winter, do I have to feed them or do anything special to keep them nice for next year?

Help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Peacelily. I am no expert in geraniums and there will be plenty of decent advice for you here. I prune mine and leave them in a sheltered part of the garden and they do quite well. We have fairly temperate winters in Ireland. Do not feed them until spring but you need to give them some water I think. I have heard of people leaving them bare rooted over winter but this has never worked for me. You will need to give them light though for them to grow come early spring then start feeding.

 

No its not too late for winter pansies, our Parks flower beds have just been planted with them (I only sent them out last week).

 

I am lazy with geraniums and leave them outside, close to the back door. If they survive winter so be it, if not I get new ones in Spring.

See, very lazy!

 

Never really liked the hot house geraniums, but I love my hardy geraniums. They last so long in the spring to a good month in summer, and get bigger and bigger.
I leave my pansies alone and hope for re-seeding, but with my winters its hit or miss.

 

The difference here Red is that our milder climate now means Pelargonium geraniums can survive outside all winter and even Begonias in favoured areas.
Having said that, if they were left in the Parks flower beds I would be out of a job!!

 

Ok. Recalling past moments when I did have some Pelargonium geraniums, they got leggy. But it was near frost, so I toasted. Do yours get leggy, I would think then to crop them some to retain a certain look.
Just wondering.

 

I agree RS. I took cutting last winter and they were very leggy, even with me constantly hacking bit off them. I've no greenhouse so I had them on the bathroom windowsill so they were in the way mostly. I planted them out this year but they didn't bloom that well-a result of a bad year or the cuttings being inside? Don't know.

 

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.