Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Will geraniums come back next year?

I had a beautiful "ivy" geranium. Can I cut it all the way down and [put it in the cellar? Will it come back? I live in CT

Will geraniums come back next year?
I really suggest just keeping it as a houseplant and winter it near a window. It's not a perennial in CT so without light in your cellar, I think it would die. I've had the same geranium for 8 years in a pot that I bring outside in the spring and bring inside in the fall.
Reply:Yes you can do that but also, you could over winter it as a house plant. Ivy geraniums make nice hanging plants - as long as you have enough good light.


If not, cut back and store in frost free area.
Reply:From Bachman's:





"Zonal, Scented, Seed and Ivy geraniums are the most likely to winter successfully indoors. Often you will read or hear about storing geraniums bare root and dormant in the basement over winter. The success of this method will depend on the place you have to store them. When people had cold cellars or pump rooms, it worked quite well. The temperatures were cool but it was humid. Most modern basements are much too dry and too warm. To try this method, dig the plants up before a killing frost in the fall. Cut the branches back about half way. Remove as much of the dirt from the roots as possible. You will have to do this carefully, because geraniums are rather brittle. At this point, they were traditionally hung from the rafters until spring. If you don't have rafters, you can bag them separately in paper grocery sacks. Leave the sacks open for ventilation. Check on your plants every month of so to see if they are getting too dry and shriveling. If necessary, spray them with water. If they get so dry the stems begin to shrivel, take them out and soak them for an hour or two in tepid water. Remove them from the water and allow their surfaces to dry before putting them back in the paper bags. Plants that have been over wintered in this manner may take several weeks to begin growing again in the spring. Soak the geraniums, roots and all, in water overnight before planting. To get an early start, they can be potted up indoors several weeks before the last frost and transferred into the ground later. When planting directly outdoors, be sure to wait until after all danger of frost."





Hope this works for you!!
Reply:Maybe....I've seen them do that but usually not. Good Luck!
Reply:Sorry but I'm almost sure geraniums are annuals so they will not come back.
Reply:It should. We ahve done it with geraniums for many years and have probably had about a 90% success rate. (We've actually kept them in the garage.)





Just as a note, do not keep them moist, that is a sure way for the roots to rot.
Reply:I live in TN and put my geraniums in brown sacks in the basment for all winter, I usually cut them down in the spring when i bring them back out. I'd say your geranium will probably come back
Reply:I will say it will, if you keep in the warm place for the winter. Don't water too much when you keep inside, and when the weather gets warm again, put them back outside again. I usually keep them in the garage for the winter, and plant them back in the soil when the soil temperature is warm enough for them to thrive.
Reply:It sounds like you'll do the correct steps to have them come back. Don't let them dry all the way out and don't let them freeze, and be careful with the light.
Reply:It should if you keep it just moist enough to tell there is moisture there and put just a touch of sulfur powder on the tips where you cut them off to prevent rot.


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