Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Overwintering Geraniums

For the last few years I've tried different methods to save geraniums over winter. In a warm climate they can thrive year-round, but at my float cabin in Coastal BC it's a different story.

I buy geranium plants at the nursery in May and enjoy them all summer in my repurposed BBQ planters. But when frost comes in November they die. What could I do to save them and money at the same time? Follow the links to read the full stories.

Covering roots with newspaper and soil.
My first try to save was covering the roots with newspaper and soil. It was a moderate success, but I had to buy lots of replacements.

Experimenting with a plastic cover.
My next tries included adding plastic covers. On my first try I uprooted the geraniums and placed them in a large pot with a plastic cover. White flies enjoying the warm environment were a problem. The next year I left the geraniums in their planter and covered it with plastic. Both tries were again a moderate success, but not perfect.

Bareroot geraniums in the guest bathtub.
Not one to give up, I tried a bareroot method the next winter. The dormant plants were stored in paper bags in town. They revived nicely, but I put them out too early and they didn't adapt well to alternating warm days and cool nights. Back to the nursery to buy more to fill in the gaps.

Last winter I found a better method. I carefully removed each plant from the planter roots, soil and all. I trimmed the dead leaves and cut back long stems.

Removing geraniums from their planter.

I put the plants in a plastic tub and took them to town. I placed them next to a west facing glass door to get sunlight and watered them periodically from November through April. I waited longer to put them back out to avoid cold nights.

Storing the geraniums indoors for the winter.

Here's half of my overwintered geraniums in the repurposed BBQ planter. The blossoms have been amazing on the more mature plants.

Overwintered geraniums in a repurposed BBQ planter.

I didn't have to buy any new ones for fill-ins. I would say that was a total success. I bet you can guess which method I'll use again next year. Do you overwinter any plants? What have been some of your successful methods? -- Margy

16 comments:

  1. Quit a challenge ;-) Nice topic for this weeks letter. Wishing you luck with coming 'overwintering-activities'

    Have a splendid, ♥-warming ABC-Wednes-day / -week
    ♫ M e l d y ♪ (ABC-W-team)
    http://melodymusic.nl/23-G

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    1. Thanks Melody for working so hard to keep our meme going. - Margy

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  2. I think I will try over wintering some on our patio, it's mostly protected from frost - I really have nowhere indoors to try and over winter them. Unless maybe the garage window...(husband groans)

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    1. Just remind him that it makes things cheaper, in fact free if they survive the winter frost. - Margy

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  3. Lovely series of photos of geraniums for G!

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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    1. I haven't been able to do one for each letter, but this one worked out well. - Margy

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  4. You've really got big beautiful blooms on your geraniums! I don't think I've ever grown any but they are beautiful. I can't wait for the mums to show up at the store! Hugs!

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    1. I like them because they are so easy to grow and you can propagate them with cuttings. - Margy

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  5. After reading your post, I realize how fortunate I am that the geraniums live year round in our yard.I'm getting more confident about propagating them. I think the older the plants get, the prettier the blooms.

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    1. That's the way they were in Southern California for us. My mom propagated a whole row of them as a border in her back yard. She had a greener thumb than I do. - Margy

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  6. more flowers i fail to recognize!

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    1. Just enjoy the blooms, that's all that matters. - Margy

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  7. I love Geraniums! I have tried all the methods you tried and most times, they died. I usually wait till late June/early July for sales at gardening centres to buy my Geraniums. I love the bright red ones but oftentimes by the time I buy them those ones are gone so I get what ever is left. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised to get a beauty I never grown before. Those Trailing Geraniums are quite pretty too.

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    1. I usually get them early, but the best ones always go fast. - Margy

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  8. I used to put them in my cold storage, but there was so much going on. I just gave up! You're a trooper!

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    1. It worked so well last year I'm going to repeat the same process. - Margy

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy