Like many people, I’ve spent much of this year trying to garden as sustainably as possible and reduce both waste and costs at the same time. Having just returned from a holiday, to a garden that’s looking decidedly past its best, while snipping away at dead bits my thoughts have turned to how I could ensure that the less hardy plants I’ve enjoyed this year are not ‘disposable’.
For the first time, I’ve grown a pelargonium that despite our very dry start to the growing season and awful, wet summer has absolutely thrived. At a cost of less than £5 from the local garden centre, it’s given a surprisingly beautiful display of delicate pink flowers that sit above attractive variegated foliage. As this isn’t a perennial and very susceptible to frost I’m going to try to get it (and some of its babies) through the winter so that it can be enjoyed again next year – after all, who doesn’t love free plants?
A greenhouse would be a perfect cold weather home for pelargoniums and many other varieties of tender plants but I don’t have one so here are the options that I’ve considered for protecting pelargoniums in winter, which may help you too.
1. In from the cold
The first and easiest option, if you have space, is to bring your potted plant indoors.
Before doing so take a few minutes to check the following:
· The plant is healthy
· Any dead, dying or unruly leaves and stems have been snipped off.
· It doesn’t have any bugs living on it.
If your plant is in the ground, carefully dig it up and transfer it to a pot towards the end of September (about a month before the first frost). Use soil suitable for flowering container plants and take the opportunity to trim off and very long roots.
Once inside, place your plant in a bright location such as on a sunny windowsill or in a porch or conservatory that doesn’t drop below freezing.
Pelargoniums enjoy temperatures of between 12-18°C and will continue to grow, although more slowly down to 5-7°C.
Unfortunately, if it drops too much and the stem gets frozen then the plant will die.
Once settled in its new home, water sparingly to keep the roots moist but not wet while it continues growing. Most varieties can survive a period without water but they will not thrive in the same way.
Ensure that fresh air can circulate around your plant so that it isn’t prone to mould.
Gently pinch out any new shoots that appear over winter and towards the beginning of May (a few weeks before the last frost) start to prepare the plant for life outside by putting it in a sheltered spot for a few hours each day and give it a little spring fertiliser to give it a head start.
2. Take Cuttings
If, like me, you don’t have enough room for all of the plants that you’d like to bring inside, taking cuttings offers a space saving alternative along with the added benefit of some more of your favourite plants for next year to enjoy or share with friends and family.
If your plant has grown very large and you want to do both, you could also cut it back by about a third before bringing it indoors, allowing it to re-grow over winter and also have a selection of cuttings this way too. If you have no space for the parent plant, you can either leave it in the most sheltered outdoor spot you can find and see what happens or pop it in the recycling/compost bin.
To take cuttings, follow these simple steps at around the end of September and then over-winter as above:
Choose a healthy, thick main stem from your plant and cut a length of 8-10cm just above a leaf joint.
Remove any buds and all leaves from the bottom half of the cutting.
Cut the stem just below a node - this is where the plant’s growth hormones are
You can dip the base into rooting powder but this isn’t strictly necessary if you don’t have any as pelargoniums do take root quite easily.
Repeat the process and place up to four cuttings at the edge of a pot filled with a peat-free compost.
Water the compost and stand pots uncovered on a sunny windowsill.
After approximately two weeks, roots will begin to grow and a good root system will have developed within about six.
In April, carefully take each cutting out of the pot and transplant into individual pots, composting any that didn’t root successfully.
Water each pot when necessary and then start to acclimatise them to the outdoors during the day before planting them outside after the last frost.
3. Whole Plant Storage
I’ve tried this with other plants and the success rate really depends on the severity of the winter and your storage location. I’d recommend you don’t try it for your most precious plants but give it a go if you want an easy option and wouldn’t mind too much if the plants don’t make it to spring. Some years they do just fine and others they don’t.
Keep the plant in its pot, check and prepare it as above and place it in a cold space such as a shed, garage or basement that does not usually dip below 2 to 4°C.
The idea is to let the plant go dormant for the winter without letting it freeze or the soil dry out. The stems and foliage can be cut back and/or protected with straw, wool or any other natural mulch and even an extra thick blanket, if there is a chance of freezing.
Check on the plant every month or so and remove any dead or decaying parts. Water only very lightly when the soil is completely dry and towards the beginning of May start to put it in a bright, sheltered spot outside for a few hours each day and give a little spring fertiliser to give it a boost.
4. Bare Root Storage
Pelargoniums can be stored in this way as they have thick, succulent roots, which survive well as long as they don’t dry out completely or become diseased.
This option involves removing your plant from either its pot or the ground when it is dry and gently shaking off the soil from the roots. Leave it for a day or two to allow the remaining soil to dry and repeat the process until the roots are as soil free as possible.
For this process, you will need to ensure that the storage location and equipment is dry to prevent mould and again a space such as a shed, garage or basement that does not usually dip below 2 to 4°C is ideal.
I find that either loosely wrapping the plant in newspaper or popping it in a paper bag/small cardboard box is a good option for storage as you can easily see if these start to become damp but some people like to hang them from hooks to allow air to circulate.
Check on the plant every month or so and remove any dead or decaying parts. It should look firm and healthy, not withered or soft. It will need to be soaked in water for an hour or so every month and then left to dry out before being re-wrapped as if the roots dry out completely, it will die.
Towards the end of April, to revive the plant and encourage it to start re-growing plant it with a leaf node just below the surface into a pot and gradually start to reintroduce it to the light indoors. New growth should start to appear on approximately 2 weeks, when you can give it a little spring fertiliser to help it on its way. Gradually introduce it to life outdoors as described above.
Comments