geraniums

I think we can take it that it is perlagoniums that are being referred to.

I wish everyone would specify whether they are referring to pelargoniums (which is what I believe tho OP is asking about) or geraniums.
Geraniums are completely hardy. They die back but in spring always sprout again. You might know them as cranesbill as the seed head is rather bird like.
Pelargoniums (which some people wrongly call geraniums) usually need protection and only survive the winter outside in very mild areas. Any touch of frost destroys them. All of the recommendations above from Gransnetters should give reasonable success. The key is good drainage, little water in the winter and protection from frost.

I cut mine back, pot them up and keep in an unheated greenhouse, water very sparingly. If a heavy frost is forecast I cover them with gardening "fleece" over night & uncover again in the morning. All survived last year.
In previous years I did the same but kept them in the conservatory. I am in the South East - so reasonably warm.

Yes, if mine don't survive I plant more but most of them bloom and expand for a few years.
I could never start potting them up.

I leave mine in the ground, let 'em die, and start again next year.

My good gardening days are past. Easy way only for me now.

This is news to me. My geraniums stay in the ground. I have too many to put in the shed. Much too big for indoors.

Geraniums are really good any where in the garden. I tend to grow the small "Alpine" type.
Then some big ones that are very useful in very dry areas . They are hardy.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

I'm in Lincoln so take all my plants in pots (except the absolutely heavy ones) into my garage Nov time each year.

I am very lazy and although you are supposed to take the fibrous begonias out to dry I just leave them in the pots and they still come up every year when I replace with fresh potting compost. The same with the lilies I have in pots.
It's worked for me.

Merryweather, I sprinkle cuttings with cinnamon powder to prevent rotting. They do best in free draining compost so I add grit to it.

It depends on how hard the winter is. In the South east last year was pretty mild but if it is a hard one below freezing for longish periods even covered in fleece and in a cold greenhouse they will not survive. Always take some plants in and use trimmings for cuttings as an insurance. I have today potted up cuttings and they will overwinter in the spare bedroom.

Living in the icy north I have no hope of leaving them outside but I bring them indoors and they last for years on the window ledge. I also take cuttings. They are the easiest things as they always sprout in a jamjar of water.

I’ve potted as much as I can and put them in my zip up greenhouse thing. I may have over watered them though. It’s in a sheltered position and gets the sun most of the day. Fingers crossed.

I’m awful with cuttings though. Would root powder help? I may be over watering/ infrequently watering/ being a tad rubbish.

We bought a large plastic cold frame, which we put up on our patio every autumn and put our pelargoniums in there, in their pots. I trim them back a bit first.Ninety per cent of them survive the winter although some of them do look a bit past it come the spring. They nearly always revive, given a drink and a good trim. I take a few of the prettiest ones and the bougainvillea indoors for the winter and treat them like house plants and they brighten the house up. I cut back the fuchsias and leave them outside to fend for themselves and they always come back in the spring, though it may take them a while to get going.

I overwintered my pelargoniums last winter by taking them out of their pots, wrapping the rooted ends in newspaper and plonked them all in a plastic carrier bag which I hung up in the canvas hood that covers the back of our boat. Repotted them in the spring and they’ve given me a lovely display all summer. Just one puzzle - last summer they had white flowers, this summer the same plants gave me pink ones! How very odd!

I tend to pick a few healthy ones and bring them indoors, In spring I take cuttings and they usually do okay. When we had a greenhouse I used to keep them in there, watering them sparingly and they did really well.

It does depend where you are. When I lived in Glasgow I had pelargoniums in my kitchen windowbox and they survived the Scottish winters because they were kept dry and sheltered by the over hanging eaves of our bungalow. I used to leave them alone and only cut off the dried, dead bits in spring.

In London now I have 2 pots of blood red ones and they have survived on my east facing doorstep for the last 2 winters without any problem.
My non hardy fuchsias have survived here as well.

Thanks for the sugggestions. I think i will try and take some cuttings to be safe, then do as many say, trim them and put in an old grow bag filled with fresh compost and leave in the greenhouse. Fingers crossed they survive the winter.

I put non hardy fuchsias in a bag of soil in an unheated greenhouse.
I put my pelargoniums in a bin bag of good compost and put them in the garage.
Other plants I cover with wood chips and hope for the best.

I over winter all my pots in an unheated greenhouse & they are always fine- to be fair I do live in South East & garden fairly sheltered.

If they are not pots but in the ground , you could do this if they are in pots as Well . Trim them back but don't go to mad . Then put some horse manure around base , then put some straw around them .

I have geranium in the garden. I take cutting and pot them in the green house.

I’ve tried just bunching them up altogether in both greenhouse and garage. Take out in spring and pot up. About 50/50 survival rate so worth a try.
Might try keeping a couple of good bushy ones going on kitchen windowsill this year.
Watch this space?

I have several in pots, so I will trim, repot into something smaller and store in the shed which is unheated but with windows. These along with some of my more delicate fuchsia usually survive the winter. I give them a misting of water on a occasion, gradually increasing as the weather gets warmer. I also have a few cuttings indoors.

We trim ours and put them in the garage.