geraniums

[Matheous]

Can I leave them out in the Winter?
I live in the Northern UK -which is actually Scotland....!

[YvonneM]

No any frost will kill them. They have to be protected by taking them indoors

[coachman570]

only leave them out if they are of the hardy variety, if not atke them intp a greenhouse that is insulated or heated for the winter otherwise you will lose them all

[WendyS]

No, afraid they're not winter hardly. Even down here in the south of England mine get killed by the first frost. Sad though it is to have to remove the last vestiges of colour from the garden, if you want to over-winter them indoors, dig them up now and pot them in moist compost. You can probably leave them outside for another couple of weeks if the weather is warm, but to improve their chances of indoor survival if you don't have a greenhouse and intend to keep them on window ledges. I suggest you prune them hard back. The roots will be shocked at being dug up and repotted and the less bulky the plants are, the better chance they have of surviving this shock. Once indoors, water them lightly. The major problem keeping them indoors over the winter tends to be whitefly building up on them which can sap the plant's energy, so if you see this happening, shower them off.

[lafrancaise]

Do you mean pelagoniums rather than geraniums? There's no problem leaving geraniums out.

[maviscoull]

we live in scotland too ( aberdeenshire ) and my mum ALWAYS takes her geraniums into the greenhouse at winter.

[YvonneM]

Lafrancaise
Where do you live South of France cos your answer is not true geraniums die in the frost and thats what we get in England and Scotland

[Matheous]

OK guys -thanks for the advice.....I have spoken to my boss(wife) and she seems to have some reservations about bringing them indoors..... now I'm thinking about a plastic cloche type of thing as we don't have a greenhouse.
I might even get one large enough to take my three potted begonias also?

[wendyl]

Obviously the Essex coast is not the same in Scotland but I have quite a few Geraniums (Pelargoniums not Regal type) that have stayed outside for several winters My greenhouse gets full with other pot plants. Have you tried keeping them almost dry wrapped in newpaper in a frost proof shed or garage the most important thing is keeping on dry side and removing most leaves (same with Fuchsia I have several non hardy plants which I remove all leaves from and put in sheltered spot under some trees/shrubs) don't usually do till late October though, find with cooler damp Sept/Oct they are still flowering as well or better than in very hot dry periods