Because most bedding plant geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) Originated in Africa, they can live on minimum levels of water. For this reason, they may be stored dormant through winter, hanging in a garage or other frost-free place. Usually grown as annuals, these geraniums really are tender perennials at U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, depending on their own variety. Where they need protection to survive winter, attempt enforced dormancy on just the plants using stocky, woody stems. Cranesbill or hardy geraniums (Geranium spp.) , which are perennial in USDA zones 3 through 10, typically do not have to be kept indoors for winter and probably would not survive the bare-root experience.
Choose a Location
Throughout the age when basements were dim and moist, gardeners generally stored their dormant bedding plant geraniums there, by hanging them out of nails driven into exposed beams. Today, most people need to work with an unheated attic or garage since most modern bathrooms aren’t shadowy and cold. If possible, pick a location where temperatures remain near 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter months. If no exposed beams are handy, then use hooks onto a pegboard or something of this sort to hang the geraniums.
Prepare the Plants
Getting bedding plant geraniums prepared for winter indoors starts with digging them up before the first autumn frost and shaking off all of hanging ground from their roots. If the plants have grown excessively tall, then cut them back to about 1 foot in height. After snipping off all lifeless and spotty leaves, then hang the geraniums upside down from hooks or nails at the location you selected. Tie a brown paper bag above the leaf and stem of every geranium with garden twine or string, leaving just the roots exposed. If you can not find anywhere to hang the plants, then an alternative is to store them upside down inside a cardboard box. If you set the box with its own lid loosely closed, in a dim spot and away from a cement floor, then the newspaper bags shouldn’t be necessary to maintain the geraniums in the dark.
Soak Their Roots
The geraniums’ roots will need to get soaked after per month. 1 month after you stored your geraniums, recover them from their hooks or box, then soak just their roots in water for approximately two hours and then spread the plants to dry. While the roots are still slightly moist, sprinkle them with a fungicide such as powdered cinnamon. When the roots are fully dry, then bend the plants to their prior place. Repeat the soaking and drying procedure every month. You probably will find the fallen leaves of the geraniums at the bottoms of their newspaper bags eventually. Provided that the plants’ stems stay company, the leaf reduction isn’t a problem.
Revive the Plants
Placing the geraniums for the new growing season starts in early to mid-spring. First, snip off all lifeless methods and other decayed sections. Then prune the plants to your 4-inch height. The inside of the stems must be green. Discard all plants which are brownish clear through, and soak the roots of their plants that are surviving for two hours at a solution of mild plant food, such as two tbsp of liquid seaweed 0-0-1 fluid combined with 1 gallon of water. After potting the geraniums in individual pots, water their soil, and place the pots to a sun-drenched windowsill or under the middle of a grow light. The plants must begin to leaf out within a couple of weeks.