Do your Geraniums survive the winter ? (Geranium)

Member Name: WHISTLINGTOADS

Product:	Geranium
Date:	06/08/01 (2585 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Geraniums , to , dye for

Disadvantages: First aid and, life saving essential, to keep them as long as her royal personage

Well, I've spent a small fortune on replacing my Geraniums over the years, only to find the right solution late in the day...tips for others I hope! In late September if you have Geraniums in the garden, lift the plants and re-pot in a mixture of John Innes 3 and Peat compost (they like good drainage).

You can take cuttings if you like at this point but you will need rooting compound in a small pot from the garden centre. Take off a shoot with say 6 leaves and trim the rooting end to a 45 degree angle approximately. Dip this end in the rooting compound and then carefully pot it at the edge of a pot of compost mixture. You can put up to 6 shoots like this in a pot. Water them and leave on a kitchen windowsill or a greenhouse for about 3 weeks making sure the compost doesn't dry out completely. If you see new shoots, then the plants have rooted and you can run down the street with your shirt over your head (I saw this on the TV football match!).

The new plants will need to be cared for like babies over winter or they will die. Do not let them get too cold or too wet, If you see leaves turning brown and mouldy, pick these off and throw away. If you leave them on the soil they will infect the plant and it will die. If you are lucky enough to afford heating unlike most pensioners, put these plants in the hottest place in your house and they will thrive and probably flower over Christmas. In Spring when the frosts have gone, you can replant them in your window box or garden and enjoy another season of beautiful geranium flowers.

Try a few different ones such as the trailing type, grown indoors on a ledge, in a hanging basket or on a shelf they look very stylish, the variegated type with cream and green or red and green leaves to match that fabulous decor from the recent BBC makeover programme, or the ivy geranium for those moments when you just need to pinch your cheeks sweetie! A perfect match for the limed kitchen units and pine c
hopping board....what did you want to nibble Jamie????

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