I'm a master gardener – how to help your geraniums survive winter and the job that’s essential to do before frost | The Sun

WITH the weather cooling down and winter well on its way, there’s never been a more crucial time to prepare your garden. 

And before the inevitable frost hits, your geraniums should be front and centre of your mind. 

According to a gardening expert, late September is key to ensuring the plants survive the upcoming winter – and there’s a few steps to follow to get this done properly.

TikTok user Envii, aka @enviiuk, explained: “We’ve come to that time of year where we need to take the geraniums inside – just so that they can survive the winter really.

“So you need to do this before there’s a frost.”

The social media user then launched into the method, showing three simple steps that will mean the plants can thrive again next spring.

Read More in Gardening

BLOOMING EASY

Five ways to protect your garden from storms, including what to do with trees

SO SIMPLE

Gardening fans show the best way to banish ivy for good – and it costs nothing

Taking one individual flower at a time, he said “What I’m going to do is strip all the discoloured leaves off and strip all the flowers off.

“Because I don’t want them to flower now for the winter. I just want them to be rested.

“I’m going to take each flower – even the ones that haven’t opened up – and take them off.

“If you turn them to one side, if they want to come off, they’ll just snap straight off.”

Most read in Fabulous

SHOE KNEW?

I tried the scary ballet pump trend – it was an epic fail, I feel so embarrassed

REAL DEAL

I’m a council estate icon & confidently wear my rollers & dressing gown outside

QUICK DRY

My rainy day hack means your clothes will dry within hours just by hanging them

LIKE A VIRGIN

I’m a virgin, 36 & haven’t even been kissed – the thought makes my tummy flip

Once the flowers had been removed from each, Envii told his 36k followers to pay attention to the root of the plant. 

He continued:  “With really long roots, you can trim those off as well. 

“It won’t hurt the plant.”

And there’s one final thing to do before they are to be put away for the duration of the winter months. 

The gardener went on to point out a plant where the green stem had turned brown with a hole in the middle. 

He then said: “The other thing as well is that if you’ve got any dead growth with a hole in the middle, that’s where the infection and disease can get in.

“So what you should do is clip it off and then there’s healthy tissue – that’s not going to rot or anything.”

Once he’d completed his three-strong checklist, the green-fingered pro demonstrated how he planted each of the geraniums into a small black pot, again one at a time. 

FABULOUS VEGAS: JOIN TO CLAIM £100 BONUS PLUS 50 FREE SPINS

He continued: “All I’m going to do is top that up with compost and gently put it in.”

But once this is done, where should organised gardeners store their geraniums?

The man said you can follow one of two very simple options. 

Firstly, he explained: “You can take them inside into your house and put them on a cool windowsill.

“You don’t want them above a radiator – you just want them in a cool area where there’s ventilation.”

But he said if you have an unheated greenhouse, that’s an even better option.

Whether you choose the house or a greenhouse, the social media user’s next piece of advice is the same regardless.

He concluded: “I will give that just a little bit of water but then it won’t get watered again until next spring when I want it to come back to life.

“You just want it to be dormant. Check it every so often, remove any leaves that are dying.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

TO THE MAX

Pepsi brings out new 'best ever' flavour – but not everyone agrees

BACK TO BASICS

Will Best reveals HUGE change to new Big Brother as iconic feature scrapped

“If all the leaves fall off, don’t worry, it should come back to life once you water it.” 

Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: [email protected] and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line

Source: Read Full Article