Last year I kept mines on the windowsills but it was a bit too messy as there were quite a lot of them and we only have one sunny window. This year they are staying in the unheated conservatory - and so far seem to be enjoying it as they continue growing and some even flower. Let’s hope for a mild winter 🤞
I see you are in Bristol which is, in my experience, on the wet side of the country. Cold and wet aren't a good mix for pelargoniums so if you can keep them under cover as much as possible then you stand a reasonable chance of saving them for next season. I overwinter scented pelargoniums (rarely watered) in the greenhouse and keep zonals in the house if there is room. They provide some nice winter colour and can be used for cuttings in spring.
A plastic greenhouse won't offer much protection but then a glazed structure can get pretty cold once we slide out of autumn. It will stop the problem of the plants and soil getting wet and then becomming chilled overnight.
Reserecting this for spring advice- it was indeed a hard winter.
So having brought all my non-hardy geraniums indoors over winter and I cut them back in November, I'm wondering about the next steps. Do you cut them back in the Spring? Or just leave them bushy? I assume they can go outdoors in the ground well after the last frost. Thinking June here up north. Tempted to put them in the plastic greenhouse mid May.
They flowered again in November after cutting back and made a nice indoor display.
So I have just snapped off the unhealthy looking leaves and pinched out a few tips just to make mine bushier, but won’t cut them back. I’m going to repot them all when the weather gets a bit warmer again.
I generally had good luck with mine over winter, I did lose a few though when my greenhouse blew over!
I generally had good luck with mine over winter, I did lose a few though when my greenhouse blew over!
Now that isn't something one normally factors in.
Exactly! My own fault though, I have two of those plastic greenhouses and thought they were well secured but went out in the garden one evening to find them on the other side of the garden filled with snapped plants and leaving a trail of destruction. The greenhouses have now been hammered into the brick wall at all four corners.
Absolutely! If they went anywhere now I’d be devastated. My neighbours must have thought I was mad when I hammered them into the wall: I held onto the frames and pulled for all I was worth to make sure they weren’t budging!
It is if you have one of them @Ceres , why do you think they are called blow away's 🤣 like you @holly.bea mine was pegged, pinned and tied to an inch of its life.
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This year they are staying in the unheated conservatory - and so far seem to be enjoying it as they continue growing and some even flower. Let’s hope for a mild winter 🤞
So having brought all my non-hardy geraniums indoors over winter and I cut them back in November, I'm wondering about the next steps. Do you cut them back in the Spring? Or just leave them bushy? I assume they can go outdoors in the ground well after the last frost. Thinking June here up north. Tempted to put them in the plastic greenhouse mid May.
They flowered again in November after cutting back and made a nice indoor display.
Any further advice much appreciated.