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I bought 3 hardy Geranium in September last year, from a famous English Garden nursery, I hadn’t planted these as I didn’t want them to be attacked by snails, so left them in the original flowerpot they came in on the side, with the intention of planting them in winter.. I just checked them and they by all intentions look pretty dead. So wondering if it was the winter cold that took them out or should I fed them over the winter and died because of lack of nutrition? They cost over£20 for the 3, so pretty peeved they died.

 

Hi @GreenFingeredPete

I am guessing the pots were small since they were the ones the plants came in. Small pots are much easier to freeze than big pots or (especially) having the plants in the ground.

Having said that, are you sure they are actually dead, considering they are deciduous perennials? Deciduous perennials die back down to soil level and come back in Spring. So there might still be hope

 

Not sure they are dead at all and they might make a return, they came in a relative big square pot, like the ones you get hostas in.

 

That's good to hear @GreenFingeredPete Hopefully they will be alright. I don't have hardy geraniums myself, but if they are like the deciduous perennials I do have, they certainly look dead, but that's usually misleading.

 

You won't have starved them - plants don't need feeding over winter when they are dormant. I have two hardy geraniums in the garden - one (a pale pink one) has got a good few leaves on it, the other (Johnson's Blue) has disappeared completely. I'm sure it will return - it's always later to get going than the pink.

The trouble I have with perennials is forgetting they are there during the winter, and then planting something else in the space. Hence why I now have Heleniums fighting with a Viburnum Dawn.

 

What is the variety of the Yew @Loofah, and any idea of the mature height please?

 

Geraniums are usually herbaceous perennials. Remove the dead foliage @GreenFingeredPete and they should re-shoot when the weather starts to warm up. Mine look dead at the moment too.

 

Thanks Loofah. I had Taxus Baccata in a previous garden, so have an idea of it's growth rate.

 

Re hardy geraniums, some are quite late to show new growth, so I wouldn’t give up on them till at least May.

@Escarpment, I have sticks poking out of the ground to mark where some of my dormant plants are. Not elegant, but effective.

 

I have just ordered 2 bags of Miracle-Gro all purpose compost - 2 for £12 at Argos.

 

A picture of my 3 hardy geraniums, along with another that was bought elsewhere, hoping you are going to say what you have said already that they’re not dead.

 

I’d clear off last yr’s growth on the 3 without greenery. Then, sit back and wait!

 

They should be fine @GreenFingeredPete. You could remove all the dried stems now to tidy them up. The compost looks a bit green suggesting it’s damp, so I would plant them in the ground as soon as you can, as long as the soil is not frozen or waterlogged, otherwise wait until next month. They are tough plants and grow quickly once the weather warms up. They don’t attract slugs and snails in my garden, I avoid growing anything that does!