Saving those Geraniums

 "Let me sit in a flowerpot. The spiders won't notice. My heart is a stopped geranium." -Sylvia Plath

 Geranium roots. What to do with the geraniums? 

 I've been cleaning up the pots of flowers. Little by little. 

 Watching the geraniums get more like sticks with each and every passing day.

 It was , and still is, this late last day of August, a terribly HOT summer. The geraniums did fabulously well. 

 This year I'm determined to save as many as possible.  If  some survive. Great. If some die off. And some will. Great. They can go into the compost. It's a win/win situation.

 So this is what I do to save Geraniums. They can be expensive to buy every spring. You won't save them all. But you should be able to keep some from year to year. 

Before the first frost, carefully dig up your geraniums, and shake all the dirt off the roots.

 Well,we have a few weeks to go before frost. But I want to get a head start. There must be a gazillion geraniums out there. I have a lot to save.  And there they sit. Staring at me.....In their pots.They can be overwintered as dormant plants

 Common geraniums have thick, gooshy stems that will help the plant to survive a long dormant period. Ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) and other narrower stemmed geraniums will not overwinter in the dormant state. Select healthy geraniums. 

 I wash off the stems and roots so that they are free from dirt.

 The Cat plant will not overwinter  like a geranium. Leave his pot so he can curl up in it for the remainder of the summer and into early fall.

 Gather all the geraniums you have cleaned and cut back  slightly. Keep as much of the root system as possible.

 I dry them off. They are particular to rot if left too wet. 

 “Long experience has taught me that people who do not like geraniums have something morally unsound about them. Sooner or later you will discover that they will even   speak sharply to cats. Never trust a man or a woman who is not passionately devoted to geraniums.” ― Beverley Nichols, Merry Hall
                                                     
 Many people used to keep geraniums in roots cellars. But since most of us do NOT have a root cellar, the basement will. do.  A garage will work as long as it does NOT freeze. Temps for storing should be cool, not warm, but not freezing. Somewhere about 45-50 F. ( 7-10 C.)

 You'll need some yarn, or light string, pair of scissors.  I cut certain lengths so I can tie up the geraniums onto a laundry drying rack.  Some people will store  geraniums,  in a paper bag. I don't have a million paper bags, or even one paper bag. So I do it differently.I just let them hang in the air......but if you wish to place them into bags as well, you can do that.

 I tie the geraniums, like little hanging dolls, upside down on the laundry rack. They will stay here till the s spring. Every so often you can mist their roots. They like that a lot. Some people will take the geraniums all down and place their roots into water. That's WAY too much work. So I just mist them.

 In early spring, plant the healthy plants in containers large enough to hold all the roots. Give them some water. Place in a sunny window, or in the greenhouse in pots. My mother would just place their roots in glass pickle jars with water to get the growth going. Then stuffed them into dirt when it was May. It may take several weeks to see new growth. Plant the geraniums outside when all danger of frost has passed.

"Such a morning it is when love leans through geranium windows and calls with a cockerel's tongue."-Laurie Lee (1916-1998)