You buy geraniums at the garden center in the spring and plant them in pots or in the garden bed. Then relax and enjoy the blooms all summer long. Come the fall with cooler weather and the plants are starting to go over do you dig them up and toss them on to the compost heap? Nine out of ten people would answer “Yes” and they would be making a big mistake. In this article by Lee Anne Stark that I found over at Dave’s Garden.com she explains how with a little care you can keep the plants over the winter and then replant in the following spring.

Too often I see Geraniums treated as annuals. Allowed to die in the fall and then mulched or thrown in the trash. This is not necessary, a few simple steps and your geraniums can last for years.

My grandfather on my mom’s side was a gardener. So was his father before him. I remember once when I was a kid being sent into the basement to fetch Grampa. They lived in an old, old house and the basement had narrow little stairs that were hard to navigate even for a small child. The floor was dirt. This was my first time venturing down there and I was nervous to say the least. It was bright, very bright, and had a strong earthy smell. I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and stopped in awe. The entire basement was filled with homemade tables and above every one was a series of lights. It was green down there!! Now I knew why my Grampa spent so much time there in the winter. It was alive with summer things. There was another room down there too and that is where he was. I ducked in and stopped again. The ceiling was covered with hanging, dead looking stems with roots on them. This is the secret I learned and will share with you today.