Growing Geraniums (Or Not)

Geraniums are one of my fav flowers in backyard pots. Mixed with perennial groundcover, the splashes of vivid colors brighten up the entire area.

Each year, I have tried to “save” my geraniums over the winter. I have tried wintering the plants by hanging the bare roots in an outdoor shed (no luck). And I have tried several times trying to save the plants in the garage (also no luck). Maybe they did not get enough water, light or heat out there, or maybe they just did not want to survive.

But this year, lo and behold, one pot of roots that was relegated to our garage for the winter FINALLY made it! And it is large enough to make a visual impact this week in our potted plant area of the patio.

Gardeners often like to experiment and keep over their geraniums from year to year. This is possible by taking cuttings in late August and rooting them … Plants can also be dug, trimmed back to one half their original height, repotted and placed in a sunny window for the winter months. Some people also save geraniums by digging them, removing soil and hanging from the rafters in the basement on hooks. In general this method will work under high humidity, 85 to 90 percent and cool temperatures of 50 to 55 degrees F, but modern homes are too dry, thus causing dehydration of the plant. Because there is no sure way of knowing if this method will work in your home, try it and if successful you will have plants next spring.

This information is from Ohio State University.

We put out about a dozen new geraniums this spring. We’ll see if they can survive the summer of 2008 and into the winter of 2009!