Over-wintering Geraniums

During the long, cold, dark days of winter, there is nothing I enjoy more than Geraniums happily blooming in a sunny window.

Now is the time to dig up the plants and place them in pots and move into the house.

Select a pot that has a hole for drainage, place a milk or coffee filter over the drainage hole in the bottom to keep the dirt from leaching out, or fill 2'' of gravel, rock, or broken clay pot pieces in a galvanized bucket or other pot of choice if it does not have a drainage hole.

Trim back the geraniums, but not to much.  

Remove the plants from the ground keeping as much soil around the roots as possible.  I mix equal parts of farm dirt with organic potting soil and then add a little compost or aged manure to the mix.  I have found that the purchased organic potting soil  does not sustain healthy plants so I always mix in my farm dirt and compost.  The soil can be a little on the heavy side.  This keeps the plants from drying out to fast.

Bring in plants of other perennial flowers and herbs, to enjoy over the winter.  Place in a sunny south-facing window for best results.  Trim often to prevent legginess.

Try herbs plants of oregano, rosemary, lavender, chives, sage, tarragon and other woody stemmed plants.  I have also successfully grown dill from seed in a windowsill.