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Too often I see Geraniums treated as annuals. Allowed to die in the fall and then mulched or thrown in the trash. This is not necessary, a few simple steps and your Geraniums can last for years.
My Grandfather on Moms side was a gardener. So was his father before him. I remember once when I was a kid being sent into the basement to fetch Grampa. They lived in an old, old house and the basement had narrow little stairs that were hard to navigate even for a small child. The floor was dirt. This was my first time venturing down there and I was nervous to say the least. It was bright, very bright, and had a strong earthy smell. I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and stopped in awe. The entire basement was filled with homemade tables and above every one was a series of lights. It was green down there!! Now I knew why my Grampa spent so much time there in the winter. It was alive with summer things. There was another room down there too and that is where he was. I ducked in and stopped again. The ceiling was covered with hanging, dead looking stems with roots on them. This is the secret I learned and will share with you today.
Grampa always had Geraniums in his gardens. Pelargonium x hortorum. The common Geranium. Sold in garden centres everywhere, usually for as little as .99 cents each. When I say Geranium I am speaking of the Pelargonium. There are over 200 varieties of this common garden plant. They are grown for both their beauty and for their tolerance of full sun conditions. If kept dead-headed they will bloom continuously. They like to be moist when it's hot and dry when it's cool. Too much fertilizer will cause too much foliage and not enough flowers. Very easy to grow and available almost everywhere. This is the reason I believe they are treated as a throw away garden plant. Stop throwing them away!!
I am saddened every fall when I see piles of these wonderful plants at the dump. My Grandfather would be too. It is so easy to keep them over the winter. Zonal, Scented and Ivy Geraniums are the best suited to winter storing. The Regals (Martha Washington, etc.) need special care and cool temperatures to bloom. Regals are best if kept in their pots in a cool room for the winter.
To store garden Geraniums over the winter you need to dig them up before the first frost. Shake all of the soil away from the roots. Now you have a couple of choices. First choice is to cut the stems down to about 3 inches. Place them upside down in a paper bag and hang from the ceiling somewhere cool and dry and dark. Second choice is to hang the entire plant somewhere cool and dry and dark. Ideally in the 45 to mid 50'sF range.
Check them once a month to make sure the stems are not getting too shriveled. If they seem to be, then take them out of their bags and soak the roots in warmish water for 1 hour. In March, remove all of the dead branches from the ones you hung up whole and pot them up. The ones you pre-trimmed should be showing signs of growth.
My Grandfather always hung the entire plant and I still do to this day. Right about now they are starting to grow new shoots. Those of you living in newer homes with heated basements might have a problem here. If you're lucky enough to have a root cellar that will work too. Crawlspace maybe? As long as the temperature is right.
I know people who plant 30 or 40 Geraniums every year. Every Fall they throw them all away. Such a waste. With this method of storing them through the winter you could have them for years. This coming Fall, before a frost hits, dig up your Geraniums and give it a try. It is so easy and so rewarding. Grandfathers always know best.
Thank you to Happenstance, Kell, kniphofia, mystic and philomel for their wonderful photo additions in Plant Files.
About Lee Anne Stark
I am an avid gardener who shares my gardens with 2 other equally avid gardeners. I garden for fun and relaxation, never paying attention to the rules!! During the long, cold winter months I occupy my time playing with over a hundred house plants, my six cats and two dogs.
Posted by misty93 (from Hanover
(Canada)) on September 16, 2008 at 3:38 PM:
YES!
I must have had a "seniors" moment - I used to hang my geraniums in the basement - in a huge cardboard box (used old wire hangers for hooks) so when the leaves fell off it would not be such a mess. They always survived. We lived in an apartment for a year and I tried it there, but it did'nt work. I guess the air was too dry.
I'm soo glad I can do this again & save a bundle next year.....Thanks a million
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Subject: Wintering-over Geraniums
Posted by Napergal (from Naperville, IL) on September 5, 2008 at 7:14 PM:
I wrote about this a year or two ago in another thread ...my grandmother always used to do this. When she said "put them in the root cellar", I thought ...Hmmmm? Our garage is insulated but not heated ...probably about the same temp. as a root cellar during the winter. I have had success doing it every year for a long time. I am a very frugal gardener and am always looking for ways to propogate and increase without spending a fortune at the garden center!! Every year, I lose a few, but I take cuttings and start a few new ones also, so it balances out. I always have enough to fill my two railing planters on my deck each spring without having to buy them!! I am in Zone 5, I think, ....northern Illinois!! I cut mine back, shake off soil and put in cardboard boxes on a top shelf in the garage. Around the end of January, I start peeking to see if they are OK. Usually by February, they are starting to send out some tiny leaves ...amazing, without any light, or water!! Then I take off any dead, dry bits and pot them up and put them in a sunny window and start watering and fertilizing them!
Sandy
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Subject: Geraniums made easy
Posted by ARWadoo (from Srinagar
(India)) on September 2, 2008 at 3:24 AM:
Hello
Thanks for the information . It hase made life of the geraniums and the planter easy Could the details of upside down storage be illucidated please regarding place of storage and min temperatures etc
With regards
A,R,Wadoo
...
Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on September 2, 2008 at 7:35 PM:
Hi,
I store them in my basement at temperatures between 40F (4C) and the mid 50F (10-13C) range. My Mom stores some in an unheated closet. The most important thing is humidity. Remember to check them occasionally, once a month, it is important to soak the roots overnight if they are drying too much.
I live in zone 7, Tennessee. I have my geraniums on my enclosed porch, it faces west and I keep the glass open all summer. I have 2 geraniums that I have had on my sun porch for several years & they bloom all year long. I never knew this could happen but I am so pleased. Katherine
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Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on September 1, 2008 at 6:44 PM:
Well done!!
I've tried to keep them growing during the winter, but our winter Canadian sun isn't strong enough...keeping them dormant, for me, leaves me room for more house plants...LOL
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Subject: as a kid up north
Posted by wormfood (from Lecanto, FL) on September 1, 2008 at 12:50 PM:
my mom would hang them upside down and put them in the back part of the closet. She said the darker the greyish/black mark on the leaf, the hardier the plant. And each year the mark would get darker.
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Subject: Very Timely!
Posted by sandstreet (from Kinderhook, NY) on September 1, 2008 at 8:32 AM:
Never heard of this, and I will definitely try it! This is my first year growing geraniums in planters and they have done very well. I look forward to replanting them again next year (and saving some $$).
Hmmm, maybe I can grab some of the geraniums growing down at the Post Office before they're thrown out with the first frost .... :)
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Posted by jacobinia (from Roanoke, VA) on October 26, 2008 at 12:29 AM:
I have some beautiful geraniums this year. I'm looking forward to having the same ones next year, thanks to you.
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Subject: Just what I needed!
Posted by Procrastinator (from Havelock, ON) on August 27, 2008 at 1:04 PM:
Was going to try and find an article on how to store geraniums. Now I have one and it is better and easier than any I have read before. Thank you!
...
Posted by AlandJudy (from Eau Claire, WI) on October 18, 2008 at 5:09 PM:
I am in zone 4 and our low temps in winter get way below zero, so no storing in the garage for me. Also, our basements tend to be 60 degrees or above. My mother puts the whole plant in the dark and brings it upstairs to a sunny window about February and starts watering. She seems to have pretty good luck. I think I'll try one that way and a couple hanging upside down and see which works best.
...
Subject: thank you thank you thank you
Posted by bonjon (from Raleigh, NC) on August 27, 2008 at 11:27 AM:
love geraniums but could never get them to stay alive all winter even though I've been told they are hard to kill! Well, been killing 'em for years! now I can try this. Great info - I've been trying to keep them alive in the pots.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on August 27, 2008 at 3:09 PM:
This is the first I've heard of this--amazing, thanks!
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on September 2, 2008 at 7:55 PM:
Thanks heaps for this info!!
Fitsy
...
Posted by threegardeners (from North Augusta, ON) on September 2, 2008 at 7:57 PM:
Glad I could help!!
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Subject: Great tips, thanks!
Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on August 27, 2008 at 4:08 AM:
Last year I tried my hand at overwintering some pelargoniums. I didn't cut them back, but rather hung whole plants, minus the soil of course. Out of six plants, two came back and are doing well this season. If only I'd known to give the roots a soak when things were looking too shriveled. I know better for next time, thanks to your article. :)
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Posted by onewish1 (from Denville, NJ) on August 27, 2008 at 5:57 AM:
Thank you... I will also give this a try ... my crawl space has pipes in it... they don't freeze... totally worth giving it a shot
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Posted by DonShirer (from Westbrook, CT) on August 27, 2008 at 9:08 AM:
For the last five years I have taken a slightly different tack. Before frost, I dip cuttings with two or three leaves on them in rooting hormone, put them in damp sterilized soilless mix and stick them on top of a shelf in a room with dim indirect sunlight and water them once a week. By spring they have grown to full size (and have probably even produced a few blossoms during the winter months for table decorations) and can be planted out. While not all of the cuttings take, enough do that I increase my stock of pelargoniums each year. If I were really ambitious I could probably chop up the young plants in February for more cuttings to multiply the population further.
...
Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on August 27, 2008 at 3:49 PM:
I always mean to root cuttings, too. I'll have to do some of both this year. I wonder if the top of our fridge would be good as long as I keep them watered? Then again, there's a heat vent right by the fridge and it might be too dry for them.
...
Posted by tjdean0046 (from Northwood, IA) on November 5, 2008 at 3:39 PM:
I have all my plants still in dirt, I need to take tm out or can I leave them in if I have a shoplight on them and keep them watered. has any one done that and what was the results. or do I need to take the dirt out and trim them down?
Theresa from Iowa
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Posted by gardenwife (from Newark, OH) on November 5, 2008 at 8:14 PM:
I had some I'd brought in still in their pots and neglected over in a corner of our living room. They dropped their leaves and looked pretty pitiful, but didn't die. Come spring, when I watered those two containers, the plants bounced back and became healthy again. They're pretty resilient plants.
Grampa always had Geraniums in his gardens. Pelargonium x hortorum. The common Geranium. Sold in garden centres everywhere, usually for as little as .99 cents each. When I say Geranium I am speaking of the Pelargonium. There are over 200 varieties of this common garden plant. They are grown for both their beauty and for their tolerance of full sun conditions. If kept dead-headed they will bloom continuously. They like to be moist when it's hot and dry when it's cool. Too much fertilizer will cause too much foliage and not enough flowers. Very easy to grow and available almost everywhere. This is the reason I believe they are treated as a throw away garden plant. Stop throwing them away!!
cut the stems down to about 3 inches. Place them upside down in a paper bag and hang from the ceiling somewhere cool and dry and dark. Second choice is to hang the entire plant somewhere cool and dry and dark. Ideally in the 45 to mid 50'sF range. 
