Got Geraniums? 9 Essential Things to Do in September to Help Them Survive Winter and Produce Bigger Blooms Next Summer
Geraniums are among the most beloved flowering plants for gardens, patios, balconies, and front porches. Their colorful blooms, attractive foliage, and relatively easy care make them a favorite among gardeners of all experience levels. With the right attention in autumn, you can help your geraniums survive the colder months and return with vigorous growth and beautiful flowers the following summer.
September is an excellent time to start preparing geraniums for winter in regions where temperatures begin to drop during autumn. Rather than waiting until frost threatens your plants, taking a few simple steps early can make overwintering easier and help your plants stay healthy.
The good news is that you usually do not need expensive equipment or complicated gardening techniques. Careful pruning, proper watering, suitable storage, and regular inspections can make a significant difference.
Here are nine essential things to do to prepare your geraniums for winter and encourage fuller, healthier blooms next summer.
1. Inspect Your Geraniums Before Bringing Them Indoors
Before moving your geraniums inside, examine each plant carefully. Plants that have spent the summer outdoors may carry insects, diseases, or damaged leaves that could become problems during winter.
Look closely at both sides of the leaves, the stems, and the soil surface. Check for small insects, sticky residue, unusual spots, webbing, and soft or discolored plant tissue.
Pay particular attention to common pests such as aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. These pests can multiply indoors, where natural predators and outdoor weather conditions no longer help keep their populations in check.
Remove dead leaves, faded flowers, and any clearly diseased plant material. If a plant has a serious pest problem, isolate it from other houseplants while you determine the best treatment.
You should also check the drainage holes in each pot. Geraniums need well-draining soil, especially when they are moved into cooler conditions and their growth slows.
Helpful tip: Clean the outside of the pot and inspect underneath it for insects before bringing the plant indoors. This simple step can prevent unwanted pests from spreading to your other plants.
2. Prune Long or Leggy Stems
During summer, geraniums often develop long stems, uneven growth, and faded flowers. Before winter storage, a little pruning can help make the plant easier to manage.
Use clean, sharp pruning shears to remove dead, damaged, or diseased stems. You can also shorten unusually long shoots to create a more compact shape.
If you plan to keep your geranium actively growing indoors in a bright location, moderate pruning is generally sufficient. Remove weak growth and cut back overly long stems while leaving enough healthy foliage for the plant to continue growing.
For plants that will be stored dormant using a bare-root method, more substantial cutting back may be appropriate. The exact amount depends on the plant’s condition and the storage method you choose.
Avoid removing too much healthy growth from a plant that is already stressed. Severe pruning combined with low light, cold temperatures, and poor watering can make recovery more difficult.
Always remove dead or diseased material promptly, and disinfect your pruning tools between plants when disease is suspected.
3. Decide How You Will Overwinter Your Geraniums
One of the most important decisions is choosing where and how your geraniums will spend the winter.
Common garden geraniums, especially those sold as zonal or ivy-leaved geraniums, are generally tender perennials that cannot reliably survive freezing temperatures. In colder climates, they are often grown as annuals unless they are protected indoors.
There are three main approaches.
Option A: Keep Them as Houseplants
This method works well if you have a bright window, sunroom, or other suitable indoor location.
Before bringing the plants inside, inspect them for pests and remove damaged foliage. Place them in a location with plenty of natural light and temperatures that remain comfortably above freezing.
A sunny window is often suitable, although growth may slow during winter because daylight is shorter.
Option B: Keep Them Dormant in a Cool, Frost-Free Space
Some gardeners overwinter geraniums in a cool, frost-free basement, garage, or storage room.
Depending on the conditions, plants may be kept in pots with minimal growth or stored using a dormant, bare-root method.
A cool location should not be freezing, excessively damp, or completely unsuitable for the plant’s storage requirements. Check the plants periodically for shriveling, rot, or other signs of trouble.
