Although geraniums (botanical name “Pelargoniums”) are hardy and easy to care for plants, you need to take special care of them during the winter so that they bloom beautifully during the summer season.
With abundant flowering and a fabulous color palette, geraniums are very popular in homes. They start to flower in February and adorn our balconies in the most beautiful way. We still enjoy them during the fall, but these flowers must hibernate during the cold period, because they do not resist frost or snow. How to protect them so that they survive the cold of winter? Follow the leader.
How to preserve geraniums in pots during the winter?
Geraniums are magnificent, colorful perennial plants that adorn gardens, but also terraces and balconies. In winter, it is important to take care of them properly to help them flourish in the spring. There are various ways to overwinter geraniums. With newspaper, a cardboard box, a paper bag or a sunny windowsill, you can store them easily. Thus protected, these flowers will be able to keep their freshness and bloom profusely during the hot season.
A simple change of place will do the trick. Move them to a room where it will be cool enough (around 10°C) but sufficiently lit. If you have enough space, bring your pots home and place them on a medium-sized windowsill. Make sure the living conditions are optimal: each geranium requires uniform light and watering every 3 to 4 weeks.
Little tip for safe wintering
Have you ever considered hibernating your plants in a paper bag? This method is relatively unknown, but the results are very surprising. As a bonus, your geraniums will take up less space, because this tip requires their removal from the pots. Once wrapped and secured in the paper bag, you should place them in a cool, but not necessarily sunny, room. Your flowers can thus overwinter in the garage or in the basement (the temperature must vary between 5 to 10°C). Instead of a paper bag, you can use a cardboard box. As for maintenance, simply put the roots in water several times during the winter and check for the presence of mold.
NB: it is better to wrap the roots so that they are not exposed and do not dry out.
How to overwinter pelargonium seedlings?
As mentioned, the geranium is a subtropical flowering plant that does not tolerate too cold temperatures and does not tolerate frost at all. But, in fact, you have a choice: either you opt for total overwintering where your plants will be dormant, or you plant seedlings indoors.
Here’s how to do it:
Cut the shoots in the fall. Plant them one by one in pots where they will take root and show their first buds in spring. Otherwise, you can also put the shoots in a container of water, which you will place on the windowsill in a warm room. Make sure to replace the water every week. Once the seedlings take root, you can plant them in the ground in early spring where they will begin to flower.
