Geraniums

Hey all,

Any advice on over wintering geraniums? I have some in an outside pot and what with rumours of frost coming this weekend (not to mention winter itself), any tips on how to safeguard it? I've tried wrapping them in cellophane but they always seem to die...

 

A similar question was asked not long ago. Thread attached.

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/geraniums-t24327.html

 

Hello archdoodler I always leave mine in the pots but I trim them down to about 3-4in and store them in my entry at the side of the house it is covered, And dry and frost free it has a perplex roof at the bottom end, so there is light coming in, I have room for about 15-20 pots/plants and I rarely lose any, but be careful with the watering, as there will rot if they get to damp, in fact I let mine go as dry as poss and just damp the compost now and again hope you have some luck with them
I have been doing the same type of overwintering with my fushias but I want to know if I can put them deeper in the ground rather than taking them all up

 

Am I right in assuming you leave the lowest leaves on, and chop everything above that off? I ask because I too am unsure how you get them through winter, and Geraniums are fairly new to me.

 

Yes clue I leave 4-6 depending on how big the stem is some plants have a single some have more have a go you will soon get used to doing it always a bit of trial and error I find but thats the beauty of gardening :gnthb:

 

If Geraniums are kept cool (ie only just above freezing) they go totally dormant during the winter and don't require any water or light. You need to keep them fractionally damp so as not to totally dry out, but you could keep them in a shed with no light. However the problem is that when they warm up in spring they will need the water and the light. So if you keep them in a dark place you need to inspect them regularly for any signs on new growth. They probably don't need any leaves either as they are dormant. They will grow new ones in spring. In fact you can overwinter them as bare roots, but I found that not quite as reliable. I would certainly leave a few leaves on over winter. They may not be needed, but can't do any harm.

But if you keep them in the house, where it is warmer, they may not go totally dormant. In which case they need some leaves, and also need light and a little water.

The above applies to the normal zonals. Regal pelargoniums will continue to grow, albeit very slowly, at temperatures down to freezing. They don't do completely dormant.

 

I have just brought mine into the greenhouse, They are rather large and still flowering profusely. I'll leave them till the end of this month (as they look rather nice in there) then chop them down as suggested above.

 

I gather that the ones planted by councils are all thrown away at the end of the season. I saw some council employees digging them up, and they told me I could take as many as I wanted. Luckily I had a plastic bag with me.

 

Periwinkle - I think it all comes down to labour costs.

We spend time and energy looking after plants, which we don't cost because it is our hobby. But for councils it is easier and cheaper to buy new plugs each year.

The same goes for the containers that the council plants come in. A council head-gardener told me that it is too expensive to wash and reuse the containers, so they are all sent for recycling. As the council received nothing for the old pots, I was told to help myself to as many as I wanted - it actually saved them money if I took them away. This came about via some friends of mine that lived next door to the head-gardener, with both houses opening out onto a small council yard, where they kept the old pots. But it was not my local council and both the friends and the head-gardener have now moved away. So my source has been cut off.:( There were millions of very small pots, but the really useful ones were the large and very large pots.

 

Was going to say that Peter, and add that most councils very likely don't have the facilities to over winter hundreds of geraniums. The cost in manpower and (in their view) unused space would be prohibitive.

Our council are quite good that way though. The main public beds are grasses, of all sorts (miscanthus, fountain, carex) mixed with perennials like Asters, Red Hot Pokers, Day Lilies, Rudbeckia, Lavender, Helenium and other long flowering varieties. I guess it saves them a forutne in the long run and look very effective. They also grow wild flower borders on all the roundabouts and other public areas. Something must work, Horsham is a Gold Winner in Britian in Bloom on a regular basis!