Winter Storage for Ivy or Seed Geraniums

Choosing Plants to Overwinter

• Inspect your geraniums carefully before bringing them inside for winter storage. Inspect both the tops and bottoms of leaves for insects and, if necessary, wash them off or spray them with an insecticide. Never attempt to overwinter diseased plants as they rarely store well. Also discard all plants with shriveled or rotted stems or roots.

Bare-Root Storage

• Because of their succulent stems, geraniums have the unusual ability to survive winters indoors by going dormant until the weather warms again in the spring. Dig geraniums before frost arrives and gently remove the soil from around the roots. Place the plants in individual, open paper bags in a cool, dark area, such as a dry basement or, alternatively, hang them upside-down from the rafters. Temperatures should be between 45 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity should be low. Whichever storage method you use, soak the roots monthly in water for one or two hours; let the plants dry thoroughly before putting them back into their paper bags. In spring, cut the stems back to one-third of their length and replant the overwintered geraniums outside once all danger of frost has passed. If early bloom is desired, you can re-pot them in March. Place the pruned, re-potted plants in a sunny window and water them once thoroughly. Water sparingly, after that, until the plants begin new growth.

Potted Plants

• You can also lift your geraniums from their garden site and pot them up for use as an indoor plant during the winter. Shake off the heavy garden soil and re-pot them in containers filled with commercial potting soil. Prune the plants back by two-thirds and water them thoroughly, then place the plants in a cool, sunny location. Don't fertilize until the plants show new growth, which may take as much as a month. Pinch stem ends once or twice, during the winter, to encourage compact, well-branched growth. Geraniums that overwintered indoors as potted plants can be moved outside once all danger of frost has passed.

Stem Cuttings

• Geraniums root easily from stem cuttings. Cut off a 3- to 4-inch section from the end of a healthy stem with a sharp knife then remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting. Dip the cut end into a commercial rooting powder or liquid to encourage fast root establishment. Fill a container with moist, well-drained commercial rooting mix, sand or vermiculite. Then insert the cutting, firming the mix around the bottom half of the stem. Place the container in a clear plastic bag and put it in a well-lit area, but not in direct sunlight. Make sure the rooting medium stays moist but not soggy. You can root multiple cuttings in the same container, but they should be moved to individual pots once rooting is well-established in three to four weeks. Remove the plastic and place the rooted cuttings in a sunny window. Pinch them back occasionally to encourage branching. Fertilize the new plants monthly.