Two months ago, I shot a video on how to overwinter geraniums. I'd never done it before but really wanted to try saving my plants for a change. So I did some research and then took you through the steps on how to do it.
As a quick recap, I dug up the plants before we had a frost in October and removed the soil, flower heads and flower buds. Then I placed a single red geranium upside-down in a paper sack and put eight pink geraniums into a box, and have been storing them in my basement. I wanted to try both the paper sack method and the box method, in case you're wondering why I'm doing both. I'm interested to see if there's a difference in how the plants do.
Well, it's time for an update! To be honest, I was nervous about looking in the sack and the box because it just seemed too simple for it to work. I needn't have worried, though.
As you can see in the photos, the plants look great. Sure, the leaves have turned brown but that was to be expected and in about February, I'll be removing them from the plants anyway. The stems still look vibrant and there was no mold to be found anywhere. I was even surprised to see some pale leaf shoots had sprouted (see photo below). Wow.
So if you are also overwintering your geraniums and you're a novice like myself, check on your plants to see how they're doing. If you see mold, clip those areas off the plant. If there's a lot of mold on a single plant, it might be a good idea to toss it.
And if you're like me in that you get busy and easily forget things, be sure to mark your calendar so you check on the geraniums every 30 days. I'd love to hear how your plants are coming along. Either comment on this post or drop me an email at inthegarden@live.com.
Stay tuned for another update in about a month...
