Geraniums (or pelargoniums, as the plants are called botanically correct) beautify many balconies in summer. But what to do with the extremely temperature-sensitive plants as soon as frost threatens? We present a way to overwinter your geraniums in a burrow instead of throwing them away.
Geraniums are not frost hardy
Geraniums do not tolerate frost
First of all: geraniums come from the always hot and dry desert regions of Southeast Africa and are therefore absolutely not hardy in our latitudes. It is also often read that the plants should not be exposed to temperatures below 10 °C, which is not true. On the contrary: geraniums should even hibernate at temperatures between five and a maximum of ten degrees so that they do not sprout prematurely. But it must not get colder, because frost is deadly for the sensitive plants.
Overwintering geraniums in a burrow?
But what to do if you have no way of overwintering geraniums indoors? If you live in a region where it doesn't get colder than a few degrees below zero, you can bury your specimens in a hole in the ground over the winter. This should be at least 80 centimeters deep and padded with leaves, straw, etc. The geraniums are cut back heavily before burying.
tips
However, this type of hibernation is not recommended, because it only works in really mild winters. You can also overwinter the geraniums in the basement, in the stairwell or similar.