I love the smell of geraniums – it takes me right back to my parents’ garden. Though we are out of season for all but the last method, I thought it might be fun to look at the different ways of keeping geraniums over winter. I have tried the following three methods.
- When I have had space and good light, my favourite is to overwinter them in pots and grow them like a houseplant. I hose them down (in case there are pests I don’t notice), take them out of their larger outdoor container, put them in a smaller pot with fresh soil and bring them indoors. This also makes it easy to make extra plants – see idea 2.
2. Take cuttings from the plant and start new ones for next year. This pruning also helps the original plants branch out and be bushier. Cuttings should be taken just below a node on the stem and can be started in water and transferred to soil, or placed directly into the soil.
Above photo: roots are starting to form after being in water. Clean off any dried bits and plant in soil.
3. Overwintering by dry root method. This is great if you don’t have window space, or simply don’t want to care for them over the winter period. This also works if you’ve let them get too cold before bringing them inside in the autumn.
Dig them up and shake the soil off the roots. Stored them upside down in a cardboard box or bag in a cool dark place, such as a basement.
In early spring, bring them up and get them ready to plant. They have life in the stem still. Soak them in a tub of lukewarm water for a few hours, then clean them up and plant them.
This year, along with propagating from the plants I had last year, I am trying to start some new varieties and colours by seed. I have never tried this before, so will let you know how it goes. Have any of you started geraniums from seed before? I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me until now as I always start other types of seeds.
Everyday Cheer 