One of the (many) treats of springtime is buying geraniums. Red, pink, white, multi-colored: they all herald the arrival of warm weather.
While this is still true for me I now also await spring when I can go into my garage and release my potted geraniums from their plastic coverings (aka garbage bags!)

So, let’s step back a bit. After all, it IS still winter time.

Last April I showed you how I had overwintered some geraniums in the post
“(It’s Almost) My Summer Garden”

Take a look at the post, then come back here and look at this pot. Unfortunately, I forgot to take some pictures mid-summer when this pot was absolutely overflowing with healthy, gorgeous geraniums.  This was taken just two weeks ago:  there are five plants in here.

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This is what to do:
1. Separate your plants, gently (if you have more than one in a pot.)
2. Put a plant, or maybe two, in a smaller pot. They really don’t need much soil. The point is to let them dry out…totally and completely…and not let them freeze.
3. Cut them way back. I try to leave a small bit of green on each main stem, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I know, it kills me to cut them back when they are still flowering! But after all, it’s December 17th and time for them to go to sleep!

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Here I’ve separated two of them from the larger pot.

 

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Here’s another one. After separating I cut it way…back.

4. Wrap each pot in a white garbage bag. I tie it but leave it open for a little air circulation. Some people seal it completely, but I was afraid of mildew or mold growing during the winter.  This worked for me last year, so I’m hoping for success again.

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I keep them in our garage, off the floor. Last winter, of course, was very cold and the garage is not insulated. I’m not sure how cold it got for them: maybe freezing, but barely and not for long.

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This was about two weeks after bringing them out of storage. There is even a bud!

They survived beautifully last spring!
I hope you will try this and let us know what happens for you.

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