Overwintering pelargoniums
 

Can anyone tell me the best way of overwintering pelargoniums? I had some in
the border which I have lifted, potted up and put in a cold frame and some
other potted ones in the porch that have stopped flowering. (The present Mrs
Jones has issued an ultimatum - she wants the space for her cyclamen and
azales which are flowering.) The pelagoniums in the cold frame have been
badly scorched by the recent frosts. I haven't got a greenhouse, the garage
is not really frost proof but I have got space under the house though but
they would be in the dark all winter. Any ideas?

Martin wrote:
On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 21:00:58 +0000 (UTC), "Trefor Jones"
wrote:

Can anyone tell me the best way of overwintering pelargoniums? I
had
some in the border which I have lifted, potted up and put in a
cold
frame and some other potted ones in the porch that have stopped
flowering. (The present Mrs Jones has issued an ultimatum - she
wants the space for her cyclamen and azales which are flowering.)
The pelagoniums in the cold frame have been badly scorched by the
recent frosts. I haven't got a greenhouse, the garage is not
really
frost proof but I have got space under the house though but they
would be in the dark all winter. Any ideas?


Ours are on bedroom window ledges. I used to over winter them in
an
office at work at one time.

Geoffrey Smith once said on GQT that we should wrap them in newspaper
and stash them on top of the wardrobe in the unheated unheated spare
room. I've never tried that ruthless approach, as I've always kept
them growing on windowsills all over the place throughout the winter:
they'll keep on flowering, though they may look a bit scruffy. Then
chop them back in late Feb, and use the new shoots as cuttings to
make fresh plants.

Mike.

In article , Trefor Jones
writes
Can anyone tell me the best way of overwintering pelargoniums? I had some in
the border which I have lifted, potted up and put in a cold frame and some
other potted ones in the porch that have stopped flowering. (The present Mrs
Jones has issued an ultimatum - she wants the space for her cyclamen and
azales which are flowering.) The pelagoniums in the cold frame have been
badly scorched by the recent frosts. I haven't got a greenhouse, the garage
is not really frost proof but I have got space under the house though but
they would be in the dark all winter. Any ideas?

Too late for this year, but next year you could take cuttings, which
would take up a lot less space than the big plants, which you would then
ditch once they'd finished flowering.

I have one in the porch which has been flowering continuously (including
all through winter) for about 4 years. It's not the most elegant
specimen, but it gives a welcome splash of colour.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Martin wrote:
On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 21:00:58 +0000 (UTC), "Trefor Jones"
Maybe the Geoffrey Smith approach would work if I were to put them in the
unheated space under the house. I'll give it a try for a few weeks and keep
an eye on them. I've already cut them down quite hard to remove the frost
damage.



Geoffrey Smith once said on GQT that we should wrap them in newspaper
and stash them on top of the wardrobe in the unheated unheated spare
room. I've never tried that ruthless approach, as I've always kept
them growing on windowsills all over the place throughout the winter:
they'll keep on flowering, though they may look a bit scruffy. Then
chop them back in late Feb, and use the new shoots as cuttings to
make fresh plants.

Mike.

"Trefor Jones" wrote in message ...
Can anyone tell me the best way of overwintering pelargoniums? I had some in
the border which I have lifted, potted up and put in a cold frame and some
other potted ones in the porch that have stopped flowering. (The present Mrs
Jones has issued an ultimatum - she wants the space for her cyclamen and
azales which are flowering.) The pelagoniums in the cold frame have been
badly scorched by the recent frosts. I haven't got a greenhouse, the garage
is not really frost proof but I have got space under the house though but
they would be in the dark all winter. Any ideas?

Mine are still out there at the moment, but have stopped flowering
now, so I will (given enough time) dig them up over the weekend.

My plans are - to remove the green parts ie leaves and tender shoots,
then to store the bare bones of the plants in a box in my garage. The
box will not be sealed so as to allow air circulation. I will inspect
the contents at intervals and in spring I will hope for the best. It
will be the first time I have tried this. As I now have around 15-20
plants it seems the easiest method of overwintering.

Bonus is I get to clean up the pots they were in. Then, maybe even
use the pot for some kind of winter display.

"Trefor Jones" wrote in message
...
Can anyone tell me the best way of overwintering pelargoniums? I had some in
the border which I have lifted, potted up and put in a cold frame and some
other potted ones in the porch that have stopped flowering. (The present Mrs
Jones has issued an ultimatum - she wants the space for her cyclamen and
azales which are flowering.) The pelagoniums in the cold frame have been
badly scorched by the recent frosts. I haven't got a greenhouse, the garage
is not really frost proof but I have got space under the house though but
they would be in the dark all winter. Any ideas?

The garage might be OK provided you keep the soil round the plant on the dry
side. Wrap the pots in bubble wrap or layers of newspaper. Put them all in a big
cardboard bow up of the floor and away from cold outside walls.

keep an eye on them just incase :~)

jenny

For the last three years I have been digging them up and putting them in brown
paper bags, storing them in a frost free closet in the garage. In spring I
replant them in pots. In a few weeks green shoots appear on the braches and
then grow rapidly. I avoid cutting off last year's leaves as long as possible.
This was a tip from Park Seed Co. here in the U.S.A.

Nancy Beckmann