I have a huge geranium plant planted in a pot and would love to try to save it. However, I really have no where to sit it indoors. I'm afraid the red pedals will fall on the carpet and stain it if they are stepped on. I know I've seen on this website suggestions about how to save them when dormant for the next growing season. Can someone give me those instructions again please?
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You can clean all the dirt off the roots, put the whole plant in a paper bag then in an open plastic bag, and put them in a cool place, basement, garage, workshop, anywhere that doesn't freeze. They'll look dead in the spring, but they'll leaf out once they're exposed to light, soil, and some water.
Good luck!!
I live in Indiana and have saved my geraniums for many years by bringing them inside (in their pots). I used to line them up in front of a patio door, covering the carpet with heavy-duty clear plastic purchased by the yard at a local fabric shop. After moving to another home, I now place them wherever I can find a spot where they'll get enough light over the winter.
They bloom on & off all winter, and I enjoy tending them during the dreary winter months. If the plants are too gangly, I trim some branches back before bringing them inside. I put some liquid fertilizer in their water every few weeks when spring comes, and move them outside again when the weather warms up (leaving them in their pots).
Some of my plants are quite old--I've never lost any plant by doing this. I have transplanted a couple of them into larger pots as they've grown bigger. I am always the first person in the neighborhood to have pots of geraniums lining my sidewalk each spring. If it turns cold again, they can always be brought back inside for a day or two.
I have done exactly what you described for many years. Never had luck with the paper bag method but with room to bring them in and some light, I too have wintered over and kept the same plants for years! It does require some space and effort but certainly is worth a try.
We save our geraniums by trimming then down and putting them in our root cellar; bring them out in April where it is warm and they start growing back.
When I use to live up north, Ct. I would dig my geraniums up every fall, bring them into the basement and HANG them upside down from the rafters. They sure got to look pretty dead looking, but when spring came they started to put out green, that was my signal to take them down and pot them up.
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