I used a lot of tlc on attempting to overwinter my Geraniums this year. But,
alas, they are turning mouldy already. What am I doing wrong? They're in
pots in the greenhouse and are about four inches tall.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 11:12:19 +0000 (UTC), "E Rigby"
wrote:

I used a lot of tlc on attempting to overwinter my Geraniums this year. But,
alas, they are turning mouldy already. What am I doing wrong? They're in
pots in the greenhouse and are about four inches tall.


I found the secret of over wintering geraniums on my office window
ledge was to ignore them. Over watering killed most the first year I
tried it.
--
Martin

You may find this site useful.

http://www.humeseeds.com/wntrng.htm

Regards,
Emrys Davies.



"E Rigby" wrote in message
...
I used a lot of tlc on attempting to overwinter my Geraniums this
year. But,
alas, they are turning mouldy already. What am I doing wrong? They're
in
pots in the greenhouse and are about four inches tall.

"E Rigby" wrote in
:

I used a lot of tlc on attempting to overwinter my Geraniums this
year. But, alas, they are turning mouldy already. What am I doing
wrong? They're in pots in the greenhouse and are about four inches
tall.

My guess is too much water and/or too damp an atmosphere, (or you are
somewhere particularly chilly & the frost has hit them, and the fungus
is secondary?). How often are you watering them?

Here is an extract from the Vernon Geraniums newsletter:

"- Keep the atmosphere dry, but not the roots. These plants do not go
into dormancy so they continue to transpire and so will need some
moisture to the roots, but not on the leaves. They will survive a
drought but they will not grow and thrive. Moist but not wet is the key.

- Light is very important as the winter days are shorter. If the plants
are indoors they need to be right on the windowsill - we were surprised
to learn that if the plants are just a metre in from the window they
will receive 50% less light. A quarter turn occasionally will stop them
touching the glass and cause them to grow straighter.

- The plants do not need to be kept hot to continue to thrive so they
are very economical - they just need to be kept frost free. We suggest
you set your thermostat at 5ºC (41F). If the frost gets in and freezes
through the stems then the plant will not survive."

They suggest using an electric fan heater once or twice a week to move
the air about when overwintering in a greenhouse.: I find simply leaving
the door open for a couple of hours at midday when it isn't frosty works
for me.

I try to make sure there is plenty of space between the plants too, for
the air to move about a bit.

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--