Pelargonium in Winter
Pelargoniums that have lived on a patio or balcony all summer will need to be over wintered in a different way to those that bloom indoors. The over wintering of shrub geraniums is very different again. Each group has it sown individual requirements, which are described below.If you have never tried over wintering your pelargoniums,you will be surprised at how easy it is.
Most people find it difficult to part with pelargoniums that have pro-duce veritable cascades of flow-ers throughout the summer and into the fall and, really, there is no reason why they should do so.Over wintering pelargoniums is not very difficult business provided you have access to the right place.The advantages of this method are that properly over wintered plant swill flower even better during the following year
and you will save on the cost of buying new pelargoniums.
If you are unable to over-winter pelargoniums in the traditional manner because of lack of space, there are pacesetting methods,
or you can try cutting the top shoots off your pelargoniums in the fall, before getting rid of them and rooting these cuttings as a second generation of plants.
Which plants overwrite?
•Only over winter completely healthy, pest-free plants. Before making any other preparations,therefore, you should check that the general health of your pelargoniums is good. Examine the top sand undersides of leaves .Pelargoniums which show
symptoms of bacterial diseases should be destroyed, so
that they cannot infect other plants.
•You can over winter zonal and hanging pelargoniums but long,trailing plants can take up a lot of space and will need more care when being moved and during storage.
•Pelargoniums in individual pots are specially easy to over winter,being easier to transport and store than plants in balcony boxes. When they begin to shoot again in the spring, they only need to be moved slightly apart so that they will obtain sufficient space and light for uninterrupted growth. Such over-wintering will usually result in beautiful, compact growth.
•Pelargoniums can also be over-wintered in a balcony box. often in combination with other plants.NB: Annual plants (for example,
Suitable places forever
General rule: The most suitable areas are bright and frost-free but not too warm. The most suitable of all is a small greenhouse but even light attics,light cellar rooms, or garages with access to sufficient daylight make good winter quarters for enlarger -Tums. Quite unsuitable places are warm cellar rooms, centrally heater:rooms, or dark rooms .Pelargoniums that have been OVE–wintered in small greenhouses start flowering from the middle spring onward because they have access to lots of light and are inappropriate cool temperatures .Plants that have over wintered in rooms with less light will produce flowers quite a bit later. How eve-do not be concerned: after six weeks outside, they will catch flowering and you will not be at to tell whether a particular paella-::-Unum was over wintered in a gee–house or on a windowsill. Give pelargoniums as much light assailed during the whole period 
ver wintering and try to keep t-e–close to a window.
My tip: If you have space ionone windowsill for a number plants, you can buy a collapsible shelf made of steel on the windowsill. This gadget has five shelves and can accommodate five filled flower boxes or many pelargoniums in pots, and will asteroid them with plenty of light.
is an excellent device for garden-ers who have very little space or who live in apartments.
The rules of over wintering
Preparations
Preparations for over wintering should begin at the end of the,emmer. Reduce fertilizing from on. The pelargoniums will:-dually become ready for theca:pro aching period of dormancy will not put out any more new roots. Examine the plants to see if–e are healthy and suitable for
over wintering. If everything is all-_ ht, it is time to decide where the:-E-st place for over wintering would:e. There are many suitable places
almost everyone could manage over winter a few plants.
Protection from frosts
Depending on where you live, the first frosts may arrive as early as-e beginning of fall. As pelargoniums cannot tolerate temperatures
below freezing, you should find a-:st-free place for them – for
their future over wintering area. Whether you leave the
harmoniums there, or take them*._ side again into the warm fall
ht, is up to you. From early fall onward, however, you must4e` an eye on the local weather t-e:casts for frost warnings, so that you will be prepared of time.
Care before dormancy
When the plants have been settled permanently in their cool, bright quarters, they must be tidied toughly. Flowers and dead
leaves should be snapped off by hand . The over-
wintering of hanging pelargoniums becomes a little easier if they are cut back a little with scissors. This will not harm the plant at all and will prevent the plant from becoming damaged when it is moved and during the rest period.
Dormancy
With less sunlight and cooler temperatures, the pelargoniums will now sink into a kind of hibernation phase, in which they will remain until the end of winter. Then, as the daylight hours increase noticeably,a new growth phase will begin and the plants will begin to send out new shoots.
Care during dormancy
The optimal over wintering temperature is about 39-50° F (4-10° C).Pelargoniums can tolerate
temperatures of 36-37° F (2-3° C)for short periods of time but if this goes on too long, their leaves will turn reddish ,
This, however, will return to normal again when the temperature rises.On no account should tempera-tues sink below 32° F (0° C) as pelargoniums cannot survive freezing.
• Water sparingly during this entire period (approximately once every two weeks). As the pelargoniums will now receive less sunlight than in the summer, they will also need less water. If you water too much, long, weak shoots will form,which are susceptible to disease and break off easily.
Stop fertilizing as the plant should now be entering its dormant phase
•Occasionally break off dry leaves and old flower stalks.
•Regularly, check for pests and diseases. If there is any infestation,spray your pelargoniums with commercially available
preparations.
Pruning after dormancy
The middle until the end of winter,at the latest, is the period during which you should cut back over-wintered pelargoniums (see illustration). The right place to cut is always the green part of the stalk.Use a sharp knife or scissors and always let three or four leaf axils remain on the green stalk. It is from these leaf axils that new shoots will grow after pruning.
Important: Never cut into the woody part of a stalk as these parts of the plant rarely put out new shoots.
Repotting
I recommend planting pelargoniums in new compost after their third over wintering at the latest.When doing this. carefully loosen the plants, together with their com-pete rootstocks, tip them out of
their over wintering pots. and then remove as much soil as possible from the roots without damaging them. After that, plant your pelargoniums in standard potting compost .
New growth
In spring, as the daylight hours increase, temperatures will begin to rise. The pelargoniums will react to this with increased formation of healthy, new shoots and leaves.
A little care is now required in order to prepare the pelargoniums for their move outdoors:
•From the last month of winter onward, water more often.
•Every eight days, add a growth-promoting fertilizer (one with larger percentage of nitrogen) to your watering can.
•If you have individual pelargoniums in pots, make sure they are
not standing too close together.The tips of their leaves should not touch each other. The plants need space in order to grow vigorously.
•The place in which the pelargoniums are kept should be aired often as this will make them more resistant to disease.
•If you pinch out the shoot tips or cut the shoots back a little, yo,_,will obtain bushy, compact pelargoniums.
This pinching out can be done by hand using your fingernails to takeout the tips of the top shoots.This stimulates growth in
the lower buds, which will soon putout more shoots. Cutting back means cutting off some of the particularly long shoots. These can then be used as cuttings.
Slow-growing pelargoniums should have their shoot tips pinched out. Fast-growing varieties, such as the hanging casa:pelargoniums, will respond to CL.7-ting back by ceasing to produce only a few long, trailing shoots a-:instead, will branch out and grove more compactly.
At the end of dormancy: After tn€-last cold snap in spring, put your pelargoniums outside.
Space-saving over wintering methods
The following are two fairly uncommon methods employed by sc–hobby gardeners. Be warned that not every pelargonium will survive
Over wintering in a plastic bag
•Water the pelargoniums we
•Cut each plant back to about 6 in (15 cm).
•Carefully remove the plant .together with its rootstock an: -surrounding soil. and put it in bag. Freezer bags are especially as they are quite tough.
√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√Ǭ¢Tie the plastic bag up tightly so–at no moisture can escape. This hill prevent the pelargoniums from:ling out.
√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√Ǭ¢Use empty flower boxes (a box in/1 m long will accommodate:out seven to ten plants) to store7.9, plants, or suspend them from a-cashing line” stretched across or-E-.ar a window heck the moisture occasionally add water if necessary.
√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√Ǭ¢From the first month of spring’.ard, begin planting the pelargoniums in pots again.
√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√Ǭ¢Over wintering temperatures be 43-50 F√É‚Äö√Ǭ∞ (6-10 C√É‚Äö√Ǭ∞). The-t’s will need lots of light!
Over wintering in paper
• Remove dead flowers and
as and take the pelargoniums their containers.
• Leaves and stalks should be dry tile soil around the roots
should be only slightly moist.
•Lightly shake some of the soil off the roots. Do not remove all of it!
•Wrap each pelargonium individuals (roots, leaves, and flowers) in newspaper.
• Place these packages in a box
them over winter in a frost-ace in the cellar.
At the beginning of the last month of winter, take these pack-ages out of their winter quarter sand cut back the shoots.
•Plant the pelargoniums in fresh standard potting compost handstand them in a warm room.
•As soon as new shoots become visible, give them as much light as possible!
Indoor pelargoniums
Over wintering in a warm room
In their subtropical countries of or i-gin, pelargoniums do not have period of dormancy and they will continue to flower all year round.This is why they may produce an odd flower even in winter if place din the window of a warm room. If pelargoniums are kept in a warm room all winter, they must be fed and watered regularly.
Over wintering methods for obtaining lots of flowers
Fancy-leafed pelargoniums These should be over wintered like pelargoniums on patios and bal-
conies.
Scented-leafed and wild pelargoniums
Keep them near a window in a warm room until the end of winter, then stand them in a bright, cool room Satan optimal temperature of 41° F
(5° C). Keep them cool in this way for about four to six weeks but do not water or feed them during this time. It will be sufficient just to spray the leaves with water quite frequently. During this cool period, flower buds will form
•After four to six weeks, put the
pelargonium’s in a warm room again, in front of a window, but still do not water them. Carry on spray-in them instead.
•From early spring onward. beg into water them carefully and feed them very sparingly, putting only half of the recommended dose of liquid fertilizer in the water.
•From the last month of spring onward, continue with normal care.
Regal pelargonium’s
These plants will need a cool period of four to six weeks, just like the scented-leafed and Wilde. During this time,they should be watered sparingly.From early spring onward, water more and give a normal weekly dose of liquid fertilizer in water.
Geraniums in the garden
Every year in the fall, the parts above ground will die down and the plant will produce new shoots again in the spring.
In late fall, cut off the leaves and shoots that look brown approximately 8 in (20 cm) above the ground. Make sure you do not cut the above ground parts right down to the soil, enabling moisture from the soil to seep into the heart of the roots via the exposed cut surfaces,which would encourage decay.
This rule applies to all garden shrubs. The robust geranium will not need any more care than this .Winter protection will not be need-ed. From early to mid-spring, the shrub will start shooting again.When the new shoots have reached a height of 2-4 in (5-10cm), sprinkle a handful of bio-fertilizer around the plant, then work the fertilizer into the soil. so that it will dissolve better,
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