by KYW's Phran Novelli
Did you know you could keep your annual geraniums for next year? You can take cuttings to start as new plants if you know how; you can repot them to bring inside, but it’s even easier to let them go dormant.
To do it, you want to dig up your geraniums before they freeze outside, cut them back about halfway and gently remove big clumps of soil from the roots. Then, hang the plants upside down in a cool garage or cellar - around 50 degrees is good, which is about the same temperature for storing wine. The leaves will drop off, but don’t worry - and it’s smart to soak the roots in a bucket once a month or so (so they don’t’ dry out), then rehang the plants.
When the weather gets warm, pot up your dormant geraniums and water them, and most of them should spring back and start growing again - so you can fill up your flowerbeds and window boxes without spending a penny.
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