Annual geraniums Pelargonium hybrids are amazing — they grow and bloom beautifully from spring to frost without a lot of fuss. Then you dig them up in fall, put them in a cardboard box or a paper bag to store over winter and these tough little plants will take off and grow again the following spring. Watch our video and read our article below to learn how to save your geraniums over winter so you can enjoy them year after year. Dig geraniums in fall before a hard freeze and shake the soil from the roots — no need to wash the roots or remove every bit of soil.
Set the plants in a shady spot and let them dry for a few days. This will help avoid mold or mildew during storage. You Might Also Like: How to save tender bulbs for next year How to clean up your garden in fall Sow seeds outdoors in winter How to collect seeds from your garden. One of the plants has tiny round brown spots on the leaves. Could that be a fungus? It sounds like it could be either a bacterial or fungal issue, which are both made worse by warm, wet conditions. There is no cure for bacterial diseases, but you can mitigate the issue by removing infected leaves and stems and by placing infected plants away from healthy ones.
Wash your hands after you touch the infected plant s. Hi everyone! I came to this page for the basic caretaking tips of my geraniums. My mom always loved geraniums she passed away in February so I really wanted to keep these thing alive lol! Long story short, the wit and wisdom section was right up her alley Just creeping out a little bit over here with not one but two Mary Alice's and then the naming of the four plants with the same name.
Was looking for japanese beetle resistant plants. Saw geraniums. So why have they eaten mine to the stem? However, geranium leaves contain a substance that can paralyze the beetles for up to a day, making them more vulnerable to predators or angry gardeners.
For this reason, geraniums are used as a bait plant to trap and dispose of hungry beetles. It's planted in the ground, not a pot.
My parents always planted Geraniums in pots, but they were always leggy and tall and never spread out. What is the technique for pinching them back? Do I need to do it with shears, or can I use my fingernails or should I say what's left of my fingernails since I began spring gardening. Also: When fall comes, can I uproot it, put it into a large pot, and bring it into the house over the winter?
Skip to main content. You are here Gardening » Growing Guides. How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Geraniums. By The Editors. Geraniums may be grown as houseplants or as annual flowers.
During the warmer months of the year between your local frost dates , they can be kept outdoors in a sunny location. When buying geraniums, pay close attention to color and size. Healthy leaves will have no discoloration on or below them and stems will be sturdy, not straggly.
Be sure to avoid any plants with obvious signs of pests as well. Common houseplant pests include mealybugs, whiteflies, and spider mites. Place plants in pots with drainage holes to avoid root rot. Use a well-draining potting mixture not heavy, clayey soil when planting in containers.
Geraniums do not like to sit in soggy, compacted soil. For maximum bloom, place the plants in an area where they will get hours of sunlight. How to Care for Geraniums Allow soil to dry to some extent between waterings, then water thoroughly.
During the winter, water much less, but do not let the roots dry out entirely. Geraniums do best when given a period of dormancy through the winter months, during which they use less water and do not grow much. See below for more overwintering instructions. To encourage blooming, deadhead spent flowers regularly. To promote bushiness and curtail legginess, pinch back the stems. During active growing months, fertilize every 2 weeks or so.
Use a water-soluble fertilizer at half strength. Geraniums can be re-potted in spring to encourage new growth—or if they look like they need to be refreshed. Overwintering Geraniums Geraniums that have spent the summer outdoors can be kept as houseplants, provided they get lots of sun. In northern climes, the sun may not be strong enough in late winter to stimulate buds on some varieties. Come spring, she will arise and begin to sprawl and bloom once again.
However, we can say that she will likely live a long and healthy life in your outdoor space. Share This: 0 0 0 0. Search for: Search. Keep Her Comfortable Rozanne and other true geraniums can do well in many types of soil and will thrive when planted in containers. Prune Her Properly Properly pruning Rozanne and other hardy geraniums will encourage new growth and keep them looking their best.
Let Her Hibernate Sleep is another key to a healthy and long life and Rozanne needs her beauty rest too. In areas where these temperatures are common, geraniums should be moved indoors before the weather gets cold and the first frost arrives. The roots can be protected outdoors in USDA zone 8 by covering them with straw, leaves or other insulation, and the geranium may come back the next year. In USDA zones 9 through 11, geraniums can be protected by covering them with sheets or tarps if a record-setting cold snap is predicted.
After geraniums have been growing for some time they may have long bare stems with a few leaves and flowers on top. If cut back to three or four buds above the ground during the dormant season after the geraniums have stopped flowering, in the next growing season they will start growing again from the base and be much more full with abundant flowers.
If you're looking to promote a bushier plant that isn't leggy, pinch the stems. During the winter months, geraniums require less water and in the spring, it's best to re-pot the geranium to encourage new growth.
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