How to Winterize Geraniums

Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment we're going to talk about how to winterize geraniums. I love my geraniums, I've got some in hanging baskets and some in the garden. But they won't make it over the winter if I leave them outside. So in order to winterize them, it's very simple. I just dig them up and put the ones out of the garden right into containers and I trim it back to the point where there's still some growth, not just to the very bottom, but I make sure there's at least four or five little branches that are coming up with little nodes. So you want to leave at least some nodes on it or new growth or some leaves even. And then I just trim it back to that point and just throw it in the greenhouse under plastic. And they don't do a whole lot all winter long, they just sit there. And they're pretty moist because they're under the plastic and you can leave them in the garage and do the same thing. Just make sure they don't get too dry, just water them just a little bit over the winter. In my hanging baskets I do the same thing, I just trim out pretty much all the foliage leaving just a little bit of growth on the bottom. And then I let it go dry but not completely dry and I just leave it in the greenhouse covered with plastic. And then the next year like next spring, I will putt them outside in April, May, whenever it's 70 and above everyday for a week. It can get down to even 50 degrees at night, but you need those warmer summer days for them to do anything. So then I just hang it back up with my hanging basket and plant the other plants back in the ground and they'll grow for me immediately and I've been successful at saving them now for about 5 years and I'm pretty excited we had our worst winter in 40 years and they were in an unheated greenhouse under the plastic and they're still alive. So I'm confident that I can enjoy them this summer as well.