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Standard Geraniums
Hi all, I have bought a standard Geranium for the patio this Summer. What is the best way to keep them over Winter?
I have a greenhouse which I can keep heated or it can go by the back door which receives a good amount of light but no-where near as good as the greenhouse.
Do they require any other special treatment?
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Just bumping this up as some knowledge would be awesome
I did not know there was such a thing and after seeing the post bumped decided to look it up and yes there is a nursery doing standards.
I can only assume they will be able to take the cold though not heavy frost so a greenhouse would possibly be the best winter cover for it although heating a greenhouse is a very expensive business. The only special treatment I imagine would be water and feed the plant dead heading as needed.
This is all guess work from my experience with Geraniums and Pelargonium of which I have many, just never thought of making a standard.
Frank.
A friend who was a gardener at a stately home used to grow a few of these - they would be over-wintered in the orangery.
If a heated greenhouse isn't available I would take it into the house, either in a frostfree conservatory or failing that on a windowsill - I would keep the soil on the dry side and just keep it ticking over.
Hope you've got a big windowsill.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Verdun - above-mentioned stately home also had 'climbing pelargoniums' in a frostfree glass 'porch' over one of the doors out to the garden, The gardener/friend said they were old varieties that had been grown there for generations - she'd not found them available to buy anywhere.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Would I need to cut it back at all? Or would I leave the stem intact and just pinch out any dying leaves?
Logic seems to tell me that I should just let the stem grow.
Let the stem grow, pinch off any seed head and dead flowers trim into shape with scissors in other words be gentle just adjust the head shape . Quite often if you have a South facing brick wall out of the wind that will be enough to keep it with probably a bubble wrap when frost is on the way, I put pot plants next to the wall to over winter and it works.
Frank.
Thanks for advice guys! Puts my mind at ease, glad It's in in the greenhouse in this awful weather!