I try to change my window boxes with the season. I enjoy doing it, and it helps give our house a seasonal look. Our summer boxes were looking great in their prime, but we all know prime time is over. Unlike this late-fall flowery box above that sits in a French window, our season ends in early October.
The geraniums I bought for my boxes this year came from our local farmers’ market. They were wonderful all season long I think because I kept up with the dead-heading. Since they looked so great, I did a little research to see if I could keep a good thing going. And it turns out that I can. A high-five to that!!! And with a few simple steps, you can save your geraniums till next year, too.
And here’s all you do to prolong the life of your geraniums so you can reuse them next summer:
1. The first thing you do is dig up the geraniums, and get rid of as much of the dirt around the roots as possible. I also cut off any remaining blooms and trimmed them down some.
2. The next step is to hang them upside down in a basement or garage. They need to stay cool, and our unfinished basement is the perfect spot to be their home away from home.
3. Once a month you will take them down and soak the roots in a water for 1-2 hours. You don’t need a waterfall – a bowl or bucket of water will do. When they are finished soaking, hang them upside down again. Eventually, they will lose all of their leaves, but the stems will stay alive. I set a monthly alarm on my phone as a reminder.
4. Next spring you can take them outside and replant them as if they were newly purchased plants. They should “spring” back to life in no time. With any luck, maybe your window boxes will look as lovely and fresh as this Park Avenue window box does.
If they are too large for you window boxes, try planting them in clay pots.
Are there any plants you are trying to have survive the winter?
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Laura
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I also have heard of putting them upside down in cardboard boxes to overwinter them. But I wondered how they would stay alive (there was no mention of watering them) I definitely want to try to save them for next year…I end up buying geraniums every year. It would be nice to save some money. Thanks for sharing this tip!
Can the potted plants be brought inside or do you have to pull them up in this fashion for them to return?
Gamma Sherri,
I think my grandmother stores some of her geraniums, still potted, in her garage with success, but I’m going with this method. I hope it works!
I bring my geraniums in every Fall. But I leave them in the pots. I take all of the flowers off first. Next I give them a haircut of sorts by trimming them way down, almost even with the top of the pot they are living in. Once inside, I only water them about once a month, and I never feed them during this time. I would venture to say I have had about a 90%+ success rate doing it this way. I had not heard of bare rooting them before this post. Interesting!!
Thanks for the info, Chris.
This is a great idea. My mother-in-law taught me to bring them in and leave them in their pots but I l like this method better because it takes up less room. By the waterfall picture is just gorgeous.
@ Chris in Wisconsin…Mine are huge. Would I still cut them down to the top of the pot? I would really love to save them. They were so beautiful this year.
That is so cool! Thanks for sharing!
XO
Kristin