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Post by Village Idiot on Oct 9, 2006 21:03:06 GMT -5
This is a sad post, whose baseline stems from how boring Kim and my lifestyles happen to be. It seems that how to save our geraniums has become quite the topic of discussion in the Frank household.
We've always tossed out our geraniums in the fall and have bought new ones on the spring. We know that doesn't need to be done, and we have come to the conclusion that we can save the previous summer's geraniums until next fall.
I want to do what my grandma always did, which was to dig them up every fall, shake the dirt out hang them upside down in the cellar all winter, and replant in the spring.
Kim wants to keep them growing as usual, (they're all in pots), indoors. Because of space, that would have to occur in my office.
We've been yelling at each other all night, and the neighbors are getting tired of hearing us. Any advice, one way or the other?
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Post by iamjohnne on Oct 9, 2006 21:05:06 GMT -5
Flowering houseplants take alot of work. Hang em in the cellar and be done with it. Prepare to buy new ones in the spring anyway.
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Post by sekhmet on Oct 9, 2006 21:10:41 GMT -5
I actually don't think that the geraniums will bloom all winter ... sigh. But Todd my dear, you know that the most important thing is not the bloody plants.
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Post by knobtwister on Oct 9, 2006 21:11:15 GMT -5
Just spend twice the effort to do it both ways and then find out it doesn't matter.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2006 21:26:25 GMT -5
Buy the neighbors out and force them to pay higher rent if they complain.
Sorry Todd. I generally try to avoid domestic disputes for the sake of my health.
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Post by Village Idiot on Oct 9, 2006 21:35:35 GMT -5
Well, I know that knocking the dirt off the roots and hanging them upside down in the basement works. I grew up doing that for my grandma's geraniums, and they got quite big over the years. There was the interim when I didn't do that, when we were in Africa, and when we lived there we had geraniums for hedges, they were so big. Which means that both methods work.
Kim and I live boring, sedentary lives, and have chosen to make geraniums an autumn concern. I like that. It's a heck of a lot better than worrying about what some other married couples do. We're going half and half.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2006 21:53:59 GMT -5
Hm, how about a compromise. Save some in your office, dig the rest up in the spring.
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Post by TDR on Oct 9, 2006 22:43:44 GMT -5
Why not put em in the bedroom? The smell is aphrodesiac.
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Post by epaul on Oct 9, 2006 23:04:43 GMT -5
Zonal Leaf Geraniums (they actually aren't true geraniums, they are from the species pelargonium, but were mis-named by a couple Englishman that discovered them in Africa that thought they looked like Geraniums) can do pretty well when potted up and brought inside for the winter.
If given a sunny window and cool temps (65 is perfect, 75 isn't) you'll have healthy plants with blooms.
And it is true, the smell is aphrodesic. I try keep a few plants going all winter.
Paul
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Post by Cornflake on Oct 10, 2006 0:33:27 GMT -5
My suggestion is to send them to me. Out here it's almost time to plant geraniums / pelargoniums. They'll bloom for a while now in the fall and then start again in February and continue through June. Then I'll be happy to mail them back to you, provided you supply the postage.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2006 6:48:34 GMT -5
Funny you should bring this up. My partner/girlfriend/significant other and I are trying to figure out what to do with the geraniums in the winter. The problem we have is that we live in an apartment building in the city, and we've got these huge terraces with hundreds of geraniums. But there's no place inside to put them.
Suggestions?
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Post by sekhmet on Oct 10, 2006 7:44:45 GMT -5
Brian, send them to Kim and Todd, they need something to argue about. (joke)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2006 7:58:42 GMT -5
Brian, send them to Kim and Todd, they need something to argue about. (joke) Great idea. Todd can take care of them over the winter, using them as the "control group" in his big geranium experiment that will contribute significantly to horticultural science. Then he can send the living ones back to me in spring. I like it.  |
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Post by aquaduct on Oct 10, 2006 8:00:51 GMT -5
Todd,
As a happily married city kid, I'd recommend some strategically placed concrete.
No need to thank me.
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