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Overwintering Geraniums ... (or pelargonium) and begonia

Sara I will be watching this thread with intrest as it's a question I would love the answer to. I have a lot of pink geraniums as beding plants in my garden and would like to repot and take into a unheated greenhouse to over winter.

I'm not worried about my Fuchsia as I think I bought the wrong one's this year.

all my fuchsia did well in flowering but didn't grow in hight (they remained about 4" tall( but hay they where only £1.25 for 12)

James

Posts

  • TraceyA2TraceyA2 Posts: 116

    Yes I await response in anticipation too. 

     

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Not sure I can answer about all plants here but pelargoniums just need to be kept frost free over winter and quite dry. If you don't have many, you can put them  on a window sill, or a greenhouse if you've got a lot. Most people take cuttings and overwinter them in the same way, as they often do better than just keeping the original plant, and you get lots more plants for free. Even my mum used to manage it and she could kill plastic plants!

    I don't grow fuchsias or begonias but I assume it could be similar for them, although I always thought begonias were annual. Some fuchsias ar hardy but I assume you have the half hardy ones James. Someone else will know the answer for those!

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • thanks Fairy

    question the Perargoniums (red) in my town are all been dug up and I was just thinking about going out and taking some cuttings from them before they go to the compost bins is this steeling and would I get into trouble. or do you think I should just go for it I pass at least 6 big flower beds on my school run also with a display for about a mile of fence pot thing's with red Perargoniums, the fench pots have gone and one or two beds have gone so I was going to go tomorrow before they all go what do you think.

    its been bugging me for about two months now and I just can't get it out of my head

    James 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Not sure I'd risk it James. How about contacting the council and asking if you can have some when they're lifting them? 

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • I think I will like I said “been thinking about it for ages" so there must be a honourable barrier there I don’t even like getting anything for nothing when it’s given to me I would rather give than receive any time of the day but it’s been bugging me I will ask I even thought about adding surveillance to the flower beds LOL

    James

  • Rosie31Rosie31 Posts: 483

    Seems to me you can't do any harm by bringing the pots in! 

    If your begonias are ones like mine, that grow from great big tubers underground rather than a system of small roots, then you might find they die right back.  So if your begonias die right back then lift them up and see if there are tubers in there (size of a golf ball or bigger).  If so, you can take off any remaining top growth (it should fall off easily) and pack them away in the dark;  in dry compost or vermiculite maybe; then in spring re-pot them and let them grow away again, hopefully better every year.  I've got some absolutely fantastic begonias in my flower beds that I've lifted each year for the last three years, and in summer they now become ENORMOUS plants with monster flowers - really great.

  • thank you

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