Last updated on March 8th, 2022
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If you have a beautiful geranium in the spring, there’s no reason why you can’t store them for the winter and keep them going without having to start over the following season. Overwintering your geraniums doesn’t take a lot of space nor does it require you to invest a lot of time or money.
It is important to have realistic expectations going in though. The longer you keep your geranium alive, the woody or bare the stems become, and as this happens you will see a decrease in flowering. However, they do acquire a very unique shape about them, reminiscence of a Bonsai tree and as long as you are willing to forego some of the extra blooms and you invest in some pruning to promote new growth and get extra flowers, you can successfully overwinter your geraniums.
There are three ways to deal with geraniums over winter, firstly you can bring them indoors where they will usually continue to grow and may even flower, secondly you can cut them back hard for winter and store them in a greenhouse over winter, but with this process, they may need a little heat to stop the frost getting to their stems, or you can take a few cuttings and start again with new plants. Below we go over these three steps in more detail.
Growing geraniums indoors
Knowing how to make your geraniums survive the winter starts with bringing them inside. They can fare very well inside if they get lots of bright light. They prefer cooler temperatures though so it’s best to put them in a window where they are not too close to a draft, but the area stays cool and gets ample sunlight.
To do this over the winter you want to bring your geraniums inside before the first frosts. The reason for this is that you want to expose the plants to indoor temperatures so that they can adjust to the change in humidity and the environmental changes brought about by central heating. Consider that when you transplant flowers back outside you need to harden them off, give them some exposure in small doses to the outside elements. When you overwinter your geraniums you’re doing effectively the same thing but in reverse, preparing them for indoor conditions. Any frosts will kill geraniums.
Be sure to check your plants regularly for any signs of disease or insects. Once that is done you should dig them up (if they are outside) and put them in a pot after you prune them back by about one-third. Long-term this type of pruning will help them to survive the winter and replenish themselves in spring. After this is done you want to water thoroughly, however, after this point, you want to allow the soil the opportunity to dry out before you water again.
In order to keep your geraniums blooming more frequently, you need to give it a little drought stress. Some gardeners disagree with this and will recommend you keep the soil moist but not wet. This is something you can try and see what works best for you. What most people do agree on though is that they need good air ventilation and prefer a dry atmosphere because this helps to stop them from going mouldy and starting to rot.
As it lives indoors keep your eyes peeled for fungus gnats, aphids and spider mites. As long as your plant remains happy it may bloom very well and you can move it back outside come spring or let it stay inside where it is adding flowers to your home.
How to make geraniums go dormant for the winter
If you have a full-sized geranium you can make it go dormant for the winter, which basically means its stops growing and using energy, and then it comes back come spring with the warmer temperatures. If you are going to allow your geranium to go dormant you want a cool, unheated space to store it, usually a cool dry space such as a greenhouse or shed. The area where the plants are stored needs to remain cold but doesn’t go below freezing, for example, if you keep in it a greenhouse it’s best to have a heater with a thermostat set to around 5ºC or 41ºF to keep the frost at bay.
To do this successfully, you want to take your geraniums out of the pot and allow the soil to dry out. You should cut the plant back so that it’s half the original size and then top each of your geraniums with a paper bag. Place the bag in a cool dry area (or other cool location you have selected) and check on it every few weeks just to make sure it has not fully dried out. If it has you can simply spray the root area with some water and then put the paper bag back over it.
About six weeks prior to spring, right before the last frosts, you want to bring the geraniums back outside so that they get indirect light. If you stored them with bare roots you want to pot them first after you have soaked the roots to rehydrate them. It’s recommended at this point that you give them half the recommended rate of concentrate of plant feed and thoroughly water them (once they are potted) so that they can slowly come out of dormancy. If you plan to move them outside do not make the maneuver until all danger of frost is over, in the UK the end of May is usually about the right time.
Taking geranium cuttings for the following year
You can always overwinter your geraniums by taking cuttings and it’s an excellent way to start the year with fresh new plants in spring. Cuttings are a more effective way to keep a plant you already love without the risk of your geranium losing its floriferous qualities. More importantly, these small plants take up less space and they’ll provide you with more blooms throughout the subsequent seasons.
When making your cuttings, you want to cut from a healthy plant and then allow those cuttings to sit overnight. The next day you will notice that the end where you cut has produced a callus, and this is actually what is going to help your geranium to root.
When you are ready, place the cuttings inside your containers and after about one month you may start to see some root growth. Once they have established a good root system, you can pot them and grow them either as houseplants or move them outside once the risk of frost has passed.
