© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Connecticut Garden Journal
Connecticut Garden Journal is a weekly program hosted by horticulturalist Charlie Nardozzi. Each week, Charlie focuses on a topic relevant to both new and experienced gardeners, including pruning lilac bushes, growing blight-free tomatoes, groundcovers, sunflowers, bulbs, pests, and more.

Connecticut Garden Journal: Overwintering Geraniums

Pete B. flickr.com/photos/nyweb2001
/
Creative Commons

One flower that's often passed along from generation to generation is the geranium. Luckily, it's also easy to overwinter indoors, since it won't survive our winters. Here's how to keep it alive.

If you have a sunny, south-facing window, you can simply cut it back to about eight inches tall, leaving just the skeletal structure of stems. For a geranium in the ground, dig it up and pot the plant in a container filled with moistened potting soil.

Keep it in a cool, bright location for a week.

Then bring it indoors into a sunny window to grow.

It may get leggy in December and January with the low light levels. Simply pinch back the long stems, and eventually, come March with the longer days, it will bush out and flower for you even as the snow flies. 

Another way to bring a large geranium indoors if you don't have room is to take cuttings.

Take a four-to-six-inch long cutting from the stem end. Dip the cut end in rooting hormone powder, and stick the cutting in a plastic pot filled with a moistened potting soil.

Place the cutting in a bright room, and it will root in a matter of weeks.

For gardeners with no room, another way to store your geranium is to cut back the plant, dig it up, remove the soil and place the root end in a perforated plastic bag filled with slightly moistened peat moss.

Check the bag periodically all winter to make sure the roots aren't rotting or shriveling up. In spring, pot up the plant and let it grow.

Next week on the Connecticut Garden Journal, I'll be talking about mushrooms. Until then, I'll be seeing you in the garden.

Charlie Nardozzi is a regional Emmy® Award winning garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. He has worked for more than 30 years bringing expert information to home gardeners.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content