Did you cover your geraniums during the winter Months or left them to the elements after cutting them back ?
Can we clarify what we're talking about ...
Hardy geraniums (in shades of blue/violet/pink) need no winter protection. They die down naturally and don't need cutting back.
Pelargoniums ... sometimes erroneously called bedding geraniums .... these are frost tender and need to be taken up and kept in a frost free place over winter
Then just follow the advice that myself and Dove gave you previously Marvin.
Make sure you get them undercover before they get too many frosts and cold, heavy rain. Getting waterlogged and cold will do more harm than dry cold. A little frost now and again does no harm, but prolonged ones that are well below zero will see them off. Better safe than sorry
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Also in SE, posted on here, to ask if anyone had left the dahlias in the ground and mulched them. I have so many have never managed to overwinter them before, when lifting them, so leaving them this year. One trick I learnt this year from a dahlia expert in Garden News from a dahlia grower/shoer expert, was to plant them up in pots of compost in March, shed,greenhouse, garage whatever you have, cover the tops to exclude light, I used plant saucer larger than the pots, keep covered for 10 days, them remove, they shoot much quicker and the foliage darkens up when they get light, they were about a month ahead this year.
Also in SE, posted on here, to ask if anyone had left the dahlias in the ground and mulched them. I have so many have never managed to overwinter them before, when lifting them, so leaving them this year. One trick I learnt this year from a dahlia expert in Garden News from a dahlia grower/shoer expert, was to plant them up in pots of compost in March, shed,greenhouse, garage whatever you have, cover the tops to exclude light, I used plant saucer larger than the pots, keep covered for 10 days, them remove, they shoot much quicker and the foliage darkens up when they get light, they were about a month ahead this year.
Thank you for this information I will try this advise I will remove them from winter storage in April plant them in Compost keep them in my garage for a further 10 days under cover before transferring them to the ground Subject to the weather conditions at that time.
I’m planning to leave my dahlias in their large terracotta pots and fleece them. I’m now thinking the tubers might rot as they’ll get too wet over the winter. Maybe I should cover the top of the pots with plastic and fleece?
I loved my dahlias this year and would hate to lose them. The pots are too big to move when full of soil.
I unknowingly left some of my dahlias in the ground last year . One was the Orange one which I obtained from Lyn (thanks again Lyn) it s been beautiful .!!! I had mulched a shrub next to it and the mulch had spread over. This year I'm going to do the same with them all with the addition of a upside down large terracotta plant pot . The ones which I have in manageable pots will be put in the outbuildings.next spring and repotted into new compost.
I definitely wouldn’t leave a dahlia in a pot outside for the winter. The soil could freeze causing excess water to soak into the tuber, it’s not the cold as such, mine are ok in the open ground, it’s the wet. Why don’t you take the tuber out of the pot and store it for the winter.
Gran that must have made quite a big tuber by now, that was years ago! Glad it’s done ok.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I have seen YouTube ( American) videos that claim you can over winter pelargoniums bareroot in a frost free/dark area. Has anyone tried this or is it bound to fail? Thanks.
My granny used to wrap pelargoniums in newspaper and over winter then under the bed in a spare bedroom. Spare bedrooms were a lot cooler in those days and the plants went dormant. I think most houses are too warm to do that nowadays. It would work in a frostfree garage. There’s always a few losses doing if that way but if you have no frostfree greenhouse etc it’s better than nothing.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Sorry these are the one I Mean
Dovefromabove said:
Make sure you get them undercover before they get too many frosts and cold, heavy rain. Getting waterlogged and cold will do more harm than dry cold. A little frost now and again does no harm, but prolonged ones that are well below zero will see them off. Better safe than sorry
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you for this information
I will try this advise
I will remove them from winter storage in April plant them in Compost keep them in my garage for a further 10 days under cover before transferring them to the ground
Subject to the weather conditions at that time.
I loved my dahlias this year and would hate to lose them. The pots are too big to move when full of soil.
I had mulched a shrub next to it and the mulch had spread over. This year I'm going to do the same with them all with the addition of a upside down large terracotta plant pot . The ones which I have in manageable pots will be put in the outbuildings.next spring and repotted into new compost.
Why don’t you take the tuber out of the pot and store it for the winter.
Gran that must have made quite a big tuber by now, that was years ago! Glad it’s done ok.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.