Easy ways to Overwinter Geraniums

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Several easy ways to overwinter your geraniums aka pelargoniums successfully. Overwintering your geraniums is a great way to save money. 

Want to overwinter your geraniums (aka: pelargoniums)? Today I am sharing some easy ways to keep your zonal geraniums alive over winter. 

Though if you like to grow them as annuals and don’t mind replacing them year after year then go right ahead.  No judgment here. 

Plus you can grow them easily from seed and have tons of geraniums without going to the work of trying to keep last year’s plants. 

Related: Easy start seeds for masses of flowers on a budget

note: this post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase via any of these links I will make a small commission at no cost to you

• Keep geraniums in pots over winter
• Take and root cuttings
• How to winter geraniums indoors
• Overwintering geraniums in a cardboard box
• How to Prepare Geraniums for Winter Storage

How to Overwinter Geraniums Grown in the Garden

Unless you live in Zone 10 or 11 your geraniums will not make it through the winter planted out in your garden.  

When preparing your geraniums to keep overwinter it is recommended to start 6 weeks prior to the first freeze. If you don’t have that long try this anyways. Before your first frost or freeze cut the geraniums back by half before digging them up.  Be sure and only keep healthy plants.

Give the plants a thorough washing with a garden hose outfitted with a spray nozzle like this one linked here.  This will help remove pests.

Let dry thoroughly. Then give them a nice spritz of this 3 in 1 spray to combat bugs, fungus and mildew.  

If keeping geraniums overwinter indoors, you need to rinse the soil from the roots (critters can be hiding in the soil), trim up roots if needed, and pot the geranium up into a container using a fresh potting mix.  (remember most potting mixes can have fungus gnats)

Related: How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats

After preparing them you can bring them into the house as a house plant and treat them the same as the container-grown geraniums. (instructions below) or use the bare root dormant storage method related next.

 Dormant Storage Potted Geraniums

I grow my geraniums in pots and containers all summer and this method is one I share in the video.  

Before the first frost cut the geranium plant back to a nub just above the soil line.  It won’t hurt the plant.

You can also leave part of the plant as you do in the preceding method.  The 3 in 1 spray will help prevent problems but I have better success in cutting the plant all the way off.  

Place in a cool, dark but above freezing space until Spring, like an unheated garage or basement.  Around 45 degrees is optimal but they can survive lower as long as the temps are above freezing. Check periodically to see if it needs water and cut off any spindly growth.  My basement is dry and so is the air so giving them a spritz of water once a month seems to be enough.

Around March, despite there being no light in my basement the potted geraniums begin to send up new growth. It is white because of the lack of light. This is the time to remove them from the basement or garage. Yours may begin this process later depending on conditions.

I place mine in my unheated greenhouse to continue growing but you could bring them indoors to a warm well-lit location or put them under grow lights.

How to Winter Geraniums indoors

I have seen people winter geraniums indoors and I even tried it and had one blooming in the studio cottage one winter.

To overwinter in the house, clean the geranium plant with the spray hose and give it a good spray with the 3 in 1 protective spray.  

Because many insects can be hiding in the soil it is a good idea to remove the geranium from the soil. Completely clean all soil from the roots, trim the roots back if overly long and pot up in fresh potting soil.

Since most potting soils can be infested with fungus gnats you should also treat the soil with mosquito bits.  Place it in a bright space like an eastern or southern-facing window.

In the spring when the temperatures stay above freezing then slowly acclimate the pelargonium aka geranium to the outdoors just like you would with seedlings.

Is your plant too big to bring into the house?  Then you can do this…

Take cuttings to overwinter geraniums

If you want to use this method then do start at least 6 to 8 weeks before it gets very cold. The warmth and length of day can have an effect on how well your cuttings root unless you do this inside under grow lights.

Geraniums root very easily from cuttings.  I have an entire post dedicated to it here, How to Root Geraniums from Cuttings.

You can put a few cuttings into a smaller pot that fits on your windowsill or keep them on a rack with grow lights. 

Once you have roots you can pot them in 4-inch pots which can fit on most windowsills.

When Spring arrives you might find the cuttings so successful that you will have plenty to give away as gifts. \

Pot them up into larger containers or plant them out in your garden. 

Overwintering Geraniums in a Cardboard Box

This is a method several have used but I have not yet. 

Take the geraniums out of the soil whether in the ground or in containers. Remove most of the soil from the roots. 

Let the plants air dry in a shady spot for 24 hours. Excess moisture will lead to mold and mildew.

Place the plants in a cardboard box or even a brown paper bag.  One gal I know loosely wraps them in a newspaper.

Keep them in a dark room or area that stays about 40 to 50 degrees. It needs to be dark to induce dormancy. Check them during the winter months.

Some say to spritz the roots with water once a month and another person claims you need to soak them for a good hour or two yet another says they do neither.  I am sure the method may depend upon how humid the environment is where they are stored. 

Replanting Geraniums in Spring

Remove geraniums from the dark area they have been stored in around March/April. Cut off stem to about 2 inches or so. If the stem is brown all the way to the roots then just toss it out. Unless there is some green on it, it is a goner.

Fill 4 inch pots with a good potting soil and plant the geraniums in the pots leaving the stem stub above the soil line. Water in well and place in a warm location with very bright sunlight or under grow lights. In a few weeks you should see new leaves and growth.

Overwintering Geraniums in Unheated Greenhouse

One other way of overwintering geraniums in an unheated greenhouse. Bring the potted geraniums into the greenhouse before the first freeze. Water only as needed during the winter months. Watch for mold and mildew and treat with the 3 in 1 spray if needed. A gentle fan blowing can keep the air dryer to prohibit mildew.

Keeping in an unheated greenhouse works only if the greenhouse interior does not freeze. I had an insulated but unheated greenhouse in a prior home and though we got below freezing temps the sun came in during the day and heated the greenhouse quite well. The insulation kept it warm overnight. Most folks don’t have this option but I wanted you to know it is a possibility if the conditions are right.  

Do you have a favorite method of overwintering your geraniums aka pelargoniums?

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Happy Gardening in winter!

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