Geranium Safe Wintering Tips: Master These Points for a Smooth Winter

Geranium, also known as zonal geranium and fish geranium, blooms in brilliant red and is a common herbaceous plant for home potted displays and parks and plazas. As the temperature gradually turns cooler, how to get geraniums safely through the winter is something every fellow gardener should consider. Below, let's take a look at geranium safe wintering tips together.

1. Do a good job of keeping warm

The first thing to do when overwintering geraniums is to keep them warm. Geraniums like to grow in an environment that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Keeping the wintering temperature above 10 degrees allows them to overwinter safely. Therefore, for winter care it is recommended to move geraniums indoors to ensure they can grow normally.

2. Sufficient light

Winter temperatures are relatively low, and at this time the plant needs more light to withstand the severe cold. So during winter care, place it in a sunny spot so it receives more sunlight. Winter sunlight is mild and will not scorch it, so you can safely give it full-day sun exposure.

3. Control watering

Geraniums prefer a dry environment, so in winter their demand for water decreases even further. At this time, be sure to control the amount of watering and just keep the soil on the dry side. If the soil is too moist, it is instead unfavorable for overwintering. Overwatering may also lead to low-temperature freeze damage or root rot, so watering must be controlled. When watering, choose to do it at noon when the temperature rises again.

4. Stop fertilizing

In winter, geraniums enter a dormant period, when their growth basically stops. Besides a reduced demand for water, their demand for nutrients is also greatly reduced. So in winter, to avoid fertilizer damage from fertilizing, just apply a phosphorus-potassium fertilizer once before overwintering. After that, no fertilizing is needed throughout the entire wintering period until the plant revives after the beginning of spring the following year, when you can fertilize again.

5. A well-ventilated environment

When geraniums are brought indoors for winter care, besides the previous points, one more thing to note is maintaining a well-ventilated environment so as to ensure they can grow normally. If ventilation is poor, their leaves will turn yellow and drop, and in severe cases the plant will die. So when caring for them indoors in winter, be sure to keep them away from air conditioners and radiators to prevent the plant from wilting.

  The above is an introduction to geranium safe wintering tips. We hope it helps you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.