Overwintering Geraniums Indoors

Bring geraniums indoors before the first frost, once nights drop into the low 40s °F, and keep them one of three ways: as potted plants in a sunny window, as rooted cuttings, or dormant and bare-root in a cool, dark spot around 45 to 50°F. Potted plants in a bright window are the easiest; cuttings take the least space; dormant storage works when you have a cool basement and no spare light.

All three methods give you plants ready for the porch again after your last spring frost. Saved plants are bigger and bloom earlier than fresh nursery packs, and your favorite colors carry over year after year.

These steps are for the common tender geraniums (zonal, ivy, and scented types, botanically pelargoniums). Hardy perennial geraniums, often called cranesbills, stay in the garden all winter and need none of this.

Before you bring them in

• Check for pests. Look under leaves and on the soil surface for whiteflies, aphids, and spider mites. Rinse foliage with a hose a few days ahead. See how to bring houseplants indoors without bringing in pests.
• Remove spent flowers and yellow leaves. They invite gray mold indoors.
• Pick your method based on the light and space you have.

Pruning safety: use clean, sharp bypass pruners or snips, cut away from your body and the hand holding the stem, and wear gloves if your skin is sensitive, since geranium sap can irritate. Wipe blades with rubbing alcohol between plants to avoid spreading disease.

Method 1: Keep them growing in a window

1. Pot up garden plants, or keep potted ones, in a 6 to 8 inch pot with fresh potting mix and a drainage hole.
2. Trim back by about a third to keep plants compact and reduce leaf drop.
3. Give them the sunniest window you have, usually south or west, or 12 to 14 hours under a grow light set 6 to 12 inches above the leaves.
4. Keep them cool, ideally 55 to 65°F. Warm rooms with low light make long, weak stems.
5. Water only when the top inch is dry. Overwatering in winter is the most common way to lose them.
6. Skip fertilizer until late winter, then feed lightly at half strength.
7. Pinch leggy stems in late winter to make bushy plants for spring.

Method 2: Take cuttings

1. Cut 3 to 4 inch stem tips just below a leaf joint.
2. Strip the lower leaves and any flower buds.
3. Let the cut ends dry for an hour, then dip them in rooting hormone if you like. Geraniums root readily without it, but hormone speeds things up.
4. Stick them in moist seed-starting mix or perlite in small pots or a cell tray.
5. Give bright, indirect light and skip the plastic dome. Geraniums rot under trapped humidity.
6. Expect roots in 3 to 6 weeks. Pot them into 4 inch pots and grow them on in a sunny window or under lights.

Cuttings are the best route for big, woody plants that will not fit on a windowsill.

Method 3: Dormant, bare-root storage

This is the old-fashioned way, and it still works.

1. Dig plants before frost and shake off most of the soil.
2. Hang them upside down in a cool, dark, dry place that stays above freezing, ideally 45 to 50°F, such as a basement or attached garage. You can also set each plant in its own paper bag.
3. Check monthly. If stems look badly shriveled, soak the roots in water for an hour or two, then hang them back up.
4. About 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost, cut stems back to firm green tissue, pot them up, water, and move them into bright light.

Expect a few losses. Discard any stems that turn soft and mushy.

Moving them back outside

After your last frost, when nights stay above 50°F, harden plants off over about a week. Start in shade for a few hours a day and add more sun each day before they go into full sun for good.

Zone and timing notes

• Zones 3 to 7: Bring plants in from late September to mid October, before the first frost.
• Zone 8: Usually late October or November. Plants sometimes survive mild winters outside in sheltered spots under frost cloth.
• Zones 9 and 10: Geraniums often grow outdoors year round. Cover them on the rare frost night.

Pet safety

Geraniums are listed as toxic to dogs and cats by the ASPCA. Chewing can cause vomiting, loss of appetite, and skin irritation. Keep indoor plants on shelves pets cannot reach, and call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 if a pet eats them.

Bottom line

Before frost, pick one method: sunny window, cuttings, or dormant bare-root storage at 45 to 50°F. Keep them cool, water sparingly, and pinch in late winter. You will have full, early-blooming plants ready to go back out after your last frost.

Related reading

• Moving citrus and tropicals indoors for winter
• Digging and storing dahlia tubers after frost
• LED grow lights for seed starting indoors
• Plants toxic to cats (ASPCA reference)

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