This quick little four minute video demonstrates how easy it is to pull your geraniums out in the Fall PRIOR TO A HARD FROST and overwinter them in your basement for the following Spring.
THIS IS ONLY FOR USDA GARDENING ZONES BELOW 9! If you are zone 9 or above, your geraniums will survive over the winter season, and you don't need to do this.

Here are some things I have heard from people over the years that you can avoid worrying about/troubleshooting:
- unheated garages are probably too cold if you are in a lower zone. I'm in zone 3, an unheated garage is too cold for my geraniums. Heated garages may be too warm... you are basically forcing the plant systems into a dormancy, so my recommendation is always the basement. My basement cold room works perfectly for me.
-In the Springtime when you replant them, use fresh potting mix and place the pot directly in the sunlight. Many people do this experiment and it doesn't work because they aren't getting enough direct sunlight in their windows. South facing is ideal, but East or West should work, you just have to water less and the process might be slower. Patience is required. Send me a comment and I'll give you a geranium patience pep talk! :)
- Halfway through the forced dormancy (around January), CHECK on your geraniums. Put a reminder in your phone or something, write it on your calendar, and just give them a nice little mid way check up/cleaning. More foliage may have dried up and you can get rid of unnecessary loose foliage in the bag to avoid troublesome pests or diseases. Pick a warmer day so you can do it outside (it can be a bit messy).
- Know that you may not get the same cultivar the following season from an annual you bought at a garden center. For example, I planted white and red plant systems and they all bloomed shades of red.

I'd also like to advise you to wait until the last possible day to do this. If a light frost is forecasted and you can cover your geraniums, do that!
Big geranium plants in the late Fall are literally LADYBUG HOTELS. Ladybugs LOVE nestling in the dried flower stalks and down in nooks underneath the big leaves. If you can, let this last as long as possible before you have to rehome them.

If you'd like a deeper dive into the rabbit hole of geraniums, I've pasted the link below for my geranium video, complete with plant profile, true geraniums vs. pelargoniums, and care tips.

[ Ссылка ]

Let me know if you are going to try this or have tried this in the past! Did it work? Did you love it? Was it worth it for you? It's worth it for me every year and I love watching them come back to life!

Love,

Plant speak

свернуть