does the team think

[Barbara]

hi all, i have a sand-pit, for the little ones to play in, on my patio,
do you think i could use it to over-winter some trailing geraniums,
if i pot them on, and lie them on the sand then put the lid on will it be to dark, or dont they mind dark when theyre not growing.
barbara

[andy]

Personally, i think it will be too cold...even with the lid on and too dark. Geraniums will take a bit of cold but frost is a big no-no.

However, if we have a mild winter and you take the lid off in mild spells (day and night temp over 5 degrees), you might get away with it. Maybe you could get a bale of straw for a couple of quid and put it around the pots and crowns of the plants.

Keep the geraniums on the dry side but do give them enough water to keep them ticking over.

Good luck

Andy

[Plocket]

I've been pondering this one but firstly do you mean tender pelargoniums (geraniums) Barbara? If that's the case I think they will still need some light. Could you improvise though and put an old window or something over the sand pit because it does sound like a good use of the space

[Barbara]

plocket,
yes pelagoniums,
do you think plastic would do,? as i dont want glass near the little ones.

andy,
straw sounds good would shredded paper do the same job?
thanks for your answers

[Plocket]

Yes plastic would do - good thinking!

[Jardack]

I think you're braver than me cos my two would have the top of the sandpit and turf the plants out so they could play in the sand

Jardack
(who is no-help whatsoever really...)

[Barbara]

i was gonna take most of the sand out first, and put it in a box ;D

[Spruance]

The pelargoniums we most want to keep are just bunged in a pot and overwintered on the windowsill in the house. You only need water them occasionally, and they last perfectly well until the spring, when you can use the plants to take cuttings from.

Otherwise any others tend to be packed in a stout cardboard box with newspapers and old dried compost and overwintered under the staging of our - unheated - greenhouse. They seem to survive this treatment fairly well, although again the main objective is the production of cuttings come the new growing season.

[Deleted]

spruance said:

Otherwise any others tend to be packed in a stout cardboard box with newspapers and old dried compost and overwintered under the staging of our - unheated - greenhouse. They seem to survive this treatment fairly well, although again the main objective is the production of cuttings come the new growing season.

I also do a variation on this....bare rooted plant wrapped in newspaper and stored in a dry garage.

They also seem to be quite tolerant of the temperatures of a cold but well ventilated greenhouse. The wet/wind/cold combination or high humidity is what does for them in winter (more rot than anything).

[Barbara]

i bring in my pelagoniums and put them on window sills, and upstairs cupboards,in spare rooms i dont have any room for the trailing ones, thats why i thought this might work.
fingers crossed
thanks all for your replies