Overwintering Geraniums (Pelagoniums)

Hi. I know there is a lot of good advice on forum on the subject. When I overwinter the plant I normally cut down & take cuttings and grow them on during winter indoors.I take too many cuttings and get about a 50/50% sucess rate which is ok.
However this year I will not be taking any cuttings and on web there seems to be 2 different ways you can prepare plant for winter. One is you basically cut it right back almost in some cases just to a couple of stalks. The other is you trim plant back to about 1/2.Alan titchmarsh seems to just cut them any where let alone a node.
They will be stored as usual in a dry garage which is frost free and kept dry. Wondering if any views on the best way to go?? I would of though leaving some foliage on will also give them better protection during winter. Come spring they can be pruned again. Thanks for any advice.

 

Not something I often grow, but I think you've almost answered the question yourself @trogre - you can do either method.
I would have thought they'd need more light than most garages can offer though. My Mum used to keep them in our rear porch, which was very bright, but also had the boiler in it so they were often flowering every so often! She didn't cut them right back as far as I can recall, but it was a long time ago. She kept some on the kitchen windowsills too, but the light levels there were a bit lower. They all thrived.
A friend keeps hers in a porch too, but unheated. They all thrive as far as I'm aware.

Perhaps you could just try both methods if you have plenty of plants, then you can see what works best for you.

 

I just take the withering leaves off and put them somewhere dry, and I cut them back in the spring when they start regrowing. I always find the cut stems go moldy and then the plant dies.
Why are you not going to take cuttings this year ?

 

I do similar to @Michael Hewett (bit of a trim and tidy, remove any flowers) and they go by the back door, which is undercover. I have lost some in bad Winters but usually they come through ok. As I have quite a few young plants this year, I might take those indoors if I can find a spare spot.

 

I have just taken cuttings of of mine, which is a bit late maybe. The cuttings and mature plants go in the GH. I trim the mature plants to tidy them up and remove moldy leaves as they appear. If it gets really frosty and the temp is below zero in the GH I temporarily move the cuttings to our dining room. On Christmas day we are often sharing lunch with my cuttings and other tender plants.

I also have a rust problem on older plants so taking cuttings help keep the problem in check.

 

Thanks for replies. I am not taking any cuttings as decorating 2 bedrooms where cutting stay over winter so I will take cuttings next spring. Also I have about 40 mature plants at the moment but no doubt will loose some over winter in garage so next spring I can take stock and take some cuttings as needed.
Basically they will be dorment as so do you need to repot the older plants I got in pots into fresh compost to overwinter or wait till spring to prune & repot in fresh compost. I can understand if there were in a warm climate where they will continue to grow.Thank you for any replies.

 

Where abouts in the UK are you, @trogre? Down here, I leave mine outside, against the house wall. If the temp looks set to be below zero, I pop them in the garage overnight and get them out in the morning. You won't be able to keep a plant in the garage all winter if it has any top growth. That only works for plants that die back completely, eg salvias.

 

They will need light in the garage so is there a window? Also I leave mine in the pots as they are and really only keep the mature ones as a back up in case the cuttings fail. So I don't put new compost in them before winter. I also do water mine a little bit.

 

I find its the winter wet that does more plants in than winter cold. I might put some in the (unheated)conservatory this year, just to give them a head start. I'll have them potted up, as I've tried the lift and store with roots wrapped in newspaper, but found that method was too hit and miss for me

 

Absolutely - winter wet, or just any long term wet, causes more problems for many plants than anything @flounder.
I could never leave pelargoniums outside here, no matter where they were put. They'd need proper winter protection, and they couldn't even manage easily in a greenhouse unless it was guaranteed damp free to avoid that mould, and it would probably need to be heated. One which was open to the surrounding soil would be no use. It would have to be on paved ground, or a predominantly hard landscaped base, to prevent that dampness getting in, and ensuring their health.
Porches or conservatories would be the best site where I am, or just windowsills.

 

Sadly, I have concluded that zonal pelagoniums are barely worth the time/space to overwinter, because its relatively cheap to source nice plugs to grow on in Spring giving a range of options and uniformity. Results from attempting overwintering have been dis-appointing in the past.
I do however have a number of regals ,which seem easier to keep. I find its best to transfer to the cold greenhouse intact, clean them up in January and gently revive by light watering as soon as Spring occurs.

 

I also keep ivy geraniums and find they are much tougher all round. Cuttings are easy, they don't get rust and are more tolerant of wet weather.

A few months ago I bought some plug plants called florist geraniums from the Co-op. They were bone dry and neglected, but have since grown well and are now flowering in the GH. They seem to be a smaller and more delicate geranium and are rather sweet. I am going to have to bring them indoors, because they are so young. They will make good house plants for the winter.

 

Good to know re regals @infradig
I have just swapped the pots outside my front door for the winter ones and I always hate throwing away the bedding plants! The petunias and verbena fair enough, but there were some nemesias and the regals that I might just keep.

 

I only have the one variety ATM, as has been said seed raised zonals don't really seem worth overwintering, but there is no real reason not to.
Strangely I tried overwintering a regal a couple of years ago and it just died on me, didn't rot, just died.

I like to keep this one, I let it dry out the pot first before trimming back to make them easier to store.

 

Verbena would survive if kept frost free and easily roots if 'pinned down', or taken to root in water.