Remember back in the spring I promised to show you how to overwinter your Geraniums?
Well, it's time!!
Autumn has landed on the mountain top with a vengeance, and now we are heading straight into winter. We had our first dusting of snow last week, and the temps this week are dipping into the low 20's.
Time to put the garden to bed!
I spent all day Saturday doing just that....along with my trusty helper, Bee.
Have I mentioned how very much I love my sweet helper Bee??? Oh I have? About a million times?
Sorry about that, but seriously, this is one of the best investments I made for my house!
I hitched up Bee's trailer, and we headed off, gathering up all the pots and dumping them in the garden bed next to Papa's Garden.
I do this every year in an attempt to improve the soil in that bed, and it seems to be working.
I dug up the Geraniums from each pot, and sorted them by color in my trusty little Tubtrug.
I have the Tubtrug in two sizes, it's an amazing little workhorse and I use it nearly every day I'm out in the garden! I also have an insert for the smaller one that's like a flexible rubber colander, so I can hose off my veggies after I take them out of the garden. Love these things!
After digging up the Geraniums, I shook off as much soil as I could off the root ball, and removed any dead or dying leaves.
Next I put the Geraniums into a large cardboard box, root side UP. I use three different boxes, one for each color, clearly labeled with the color of the Geranium. I saved the boxes from the spring, as they were still in great shape.
I close the flaps loosely so air can still circulate around the Geraniums and put them in a cool place.
I put my boxes in the lower level, where I keep the temps at around 60 degrees all winter. You can check on them every now and again and remove any dead/rotting leaves or branches, but honestly I never looked at them again after I stored them. I pulled the boxes out in the spring, potted up the Geraniums in fresh potting soil, and put them under my grow lights with my seedlings. It wasn't long before they started showing signs of growth, and I was so happy I had gone to the trouble of saving them!
This process couldn't be simpler, and about 75% of my Geraniums made it through the winter using this method. The overwintered Geraniums were amazingly strong and hearty, far bigger and more robust than any first-season Geraniums I would have purchased at a garden center. Plus, my garden center charges around $5 per Geranium, so overwintering them really makes financial sense!
Of course, some day I'd love to have a greenhouse, but until that time comes, I'll be doing this every fall.
I've been getting the deck ready for winter as well....the umbrellas and throw pillows are stored away in the garage, the bird feeders are back in place, and the birdbath is on the table right outside the dining room window with a birdbath heater in it, so we can watch the birds drinking while we eat our weekend breakfast.
I left some of the patio cushions out for now, in case we get an Indian Summer and I'll want to spend time outdoors. Soon enough I'll have to store them away as well, and truly settle myself into winter mode.
I do love when the trees are bare and my mountain view is exposed once more - isn't it lovely? However, the flip side is that my house is once again visible from the road, which isn't ideal.
Now that the garden is put to bed for the season, it's
time to spend some time relaxing in front of the fire with a good book
or favorite show. There's nothing wrong with that, after a busy, busy season in the garden!
After a few months of snow and ice I'll be looking forward to spring once again, starting my seeds and potting up those Geraniums. But for now I'm going to relish those moments of rest and relaxation!
I would never have thought about this! What a thrifty thing to do but it also must be very satisfying to take them over year to year. We don't have a cool space to do this, only a room temp house and a cold barn that is actually kind of open air but I have kept a pink geranium blooming in my kitchen window now since last summer and it cheers me up all through the winter. Your Bee does look like such a great helper, must save you lots of steps and time.
ReplyDeleteSummer seems all too short, especially on your mountain top, but a change of seasons is one of God's great gifts, isn't it? And you do better than anyone I know in enjoying each season's gifts!
I truly do enjoy each season in its own way, Dewena!! I have tried to overwinter my Geraniums in the past, but this is the first method that actually was successful. The first season I tried in my garden cottage, with a small electric heater for the coldest nights, but it was just too darned cold. Then I tried in the garage....but also too cold! So last year I did some research online and bingo, this is the method that worked!!
DeleteEverything's looking great up on your mountain, my mountain friend! Enjoy reading all about your garden adventures, whether it's spring planting, summer growing, harvesting and even 'putting it all to bed' time. Your home is looking nice and cozy, getting ready for the cold season. And oh my goodness, how COLD it gets there, I just shiver when you tell us the temps!!--I am very spoiled with our warm oceanside winters!--but I do so love to read of the parts of our country that DO GET the pretty snow flurrying about in the frosty air! Hope you're having a great week your way!
ReplyDeleteYou truly are spoiled with your warm winters, but I do rather enjoy all four seasons here in the mountains....of course by March I'm ready for spring, but I'll take the rest while I can!
DeleteThis is so perfect! I just saw a post on Pinterest with red geraniums in a red milk can and I thought, next year, I'm doing this! Of course, I need to know how to hold on to my geraniums though. I remember my mom used to put them in brown paper bags and tuck them into the dark crawl space all winter. I *think* it worked, but I don't remember. Off to pin this so I copy you!!
ReplyDeleteThe paper bag method would work also, Kim, for sure - same concept! I have so many of them that I use huge boxes....I look forward to seeing your red geraniums in the red milk can next summer!
DeleteThis post is perfectly timed, as I need to try to overwinter mine this year. My problem is no place in my home is at the right temperature, the basement is too warm staying around 68-72, but the garage is may be too cold in the deep winter. Any advice?
ReplyDeleteI imagine the garage would be too cold, Carole - is there a guest room that you keep the heat down and door closed? Otherwise I'd just try it in the basement and see what happens - what do you have to lose?
DeleteI don't have a place to store the geraniums, but what a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad, Penny! I was so happy that so many of them survived last year, what a simple way to save some $$$ in the gardening budget!
DeleteYou have such a wonderful place. I do envy that outdoor space. It is not as cold here as the weather you are having, but fall has definitely set in. Time to start spending time reading while sipping hot tea. xo Laura
ReplyDeleteI do love my outdoor space, Laura, although by this time of year I'm ready to cozy up by the fire with a good book! Come spring you can't drag me inside!
DeleteThank you for the geranium tips. I had no idea I could overwinter them and hate to keep buying plants. I'm curious, what zone do you live in? Enjoy the Fall. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in zone 5a, PJ - what about you? I hope you'll give overwintering the Geraniums a try!
DeleteI'm 8b-9a. I'd actually buy more geraniums knowing this idea. They're so bright, colorful and easy to deadhead. Now with a fenced yard, the deer/critters won't eat them either.
DeleteI love your sweet little Bee. I bet it gets you around easily. That is so cool about the geraniums. I never new that and now I have learned something. Thank you. Have a great day today.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
Bee is definitely my best gardening friend, Kris - she truly saves me so much time and energy, as well as soreness and exhaustion! I was mowing my 2 acres with a push mower for a while, then I was hiring someone....now I don't have to, I can do it myself easily, so it was a good financial decision to make that purchase!
DeleteI love your cozy spot on the deck. I bet you guys spend a lot of time there. I haven't had geraniums for a few years. Not sure why.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
I'm surprised you don't have Geraniums, Brenda - they would love your hot summers and probably still be quite happy on your patio at this time of year!
DeleteYou are my geranium soulmate! I have been overwintering my "old girls" for years. I live in WA state so it doesn't get that extremely cold here. Mine are happy in my garage in their pots and every year they give me so many more blooms than any new plants would dream of. Thank you for sharing your method!
ReplyDeleteHa ha Janice, Geranium soulmates for sure!! I tried the garage thing one year, but it's far too cold here. That's ok, as long as I found a method that works I'm a happy gardener!!
DeleteYou are such a true and hard-working gardener, Debbie. I consider myself a city landscape gardener, yet I recognize the waste of not overwintering some of my plants (with guilt). I'm still working on putting my gardens to bed - a little more than halfway there. It's a process, but I also love the clean appearance after it's all cleaned up. We still haven't had a hard frost yet, but it could be any day.....
ReplyDeleteI like the clean appearance after its all cleaned up also, Rita, but I also recognize that my little birds and critters need the cover from predators in the winter as well....so I'm kind of torn!
DeleteI have never thought about saving them, I just cut them down and leave the roots so the hole stays open for next year's flowers...it took an hour to dig each hole and I don't want to do that again so I leave the root ball for the next time. Interesting...may have to give this a try!
ReplyDeleteWow, your soil must be super tough and rocky like mine, Benita! I don't have any Geraniums in the ground, just in pots, so it's a bit easier for me - dump out the pots, shake off the dirt from the Geraniums, and pop into a box!
DeleteThank you! I love my geraniums and have successfully kept them for a few years - I also take my dad's geraniums when he throws his out at the end of the season. So I have a lot! I normally put them in window boxes and clay pots for indoor viewing in winter but now I have too many. I will try the box with half of them and see how it goes. :) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had much luck with Geraniums indoors in pots, Gigi, but you're tempting me! I have a bazillion houseplants in my home already, I guess they are sucking up all the good window spots, ha ha! I did pot up a basil plant and put it on a bench under a window, so hopefully I'll have fresh basil for my pasta and pizzas all winter long!
DeleteI sure didn't know you could over-winter Geraniums. That's so neat. Your home way up there in the mountains is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Henny! Yes you sure can! Not all of them will come back, but even at 75% success rate, which is what I had last year, it still saves a ton of money at the garden center in the spring!
DeleteI had no idea about geraniums and be able to do this. I don't plant them anymore because I never have good luck with them. What would I be doing wrong??
ReplyDeleteSo happy I discovered your blog. You're my gardening Queen.
Love your mountain view. Enjoy your down time next to the fire.
Cindy
Hmmm what are you doing wrong? Well, they need bright sun - either full or part sun I seem to have luck with. They need to be deadheaded, which is super simple - you just snap off the dead flower stalk at the base. Other than that, they are the easiest annuals ever! Are you planting them in pots or in the ground? Maybe your soil isn't great? I plant them in pots - Miracle Gro Moisture Control soil. I feed them a little for the first month or so to get them started, and then just water them when I think they need it. That's it!!
DeleteYour method is just too easy! Geraniums are one of my favorite flowers but I stopped buying them because I hated throwing them away and my attempts to overwinter them failed. Thanks for letting us in on your method.
ReplyDeleteNext season you can go back to geraniums again, AnnMarie!
DeleteMy first-generation geraniums never get very big, and I always wondered if overwintering them would get me hardier second-season geraniums. Good to know that it would! Thanks for sharing this simple method, gonna try it! I can put them in my basement. (I do have a greenhouse but it will be too full of other plants this winter. Question though: I have one of those fancy-leaved geraniums in a pot. Do you think I could just cut it back a bit and overwinter it in the greenhouse, still in the pot?) Anyway, love your slice of paradise there on the mountain, and thanks again for sharing this tip!
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi, Yes that would definitely help! I would try overwintering your fancy leaf geranium just as you said, in the pot in the greenhouse. It should do just fine!
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