I have been overwintering a geranium like you did for over 8 years now...a snipping I took from my grandmother's house when she passed away. I have 5 flowers starting to bloom. It always reminds me of her especially when it starts to bloom. After the blooms die off, I make several cuttings that I root for the following years garden. I made a cutting a couple months ago on an area that just got too leggy...it took over a month to root but it will soon be ready to pot up. Enjoy! Kim

Doris,Gramma and a few other older gardeners I know /of,use the bag method and it works wonderfully. I am not big on geranium growing, so I have never tried it myself,but will if ever I should catch the geranium bug! ;) Daisy,I say try it,you never know,it may work,considering you had others survive. Maybe even test it out on 1/2 of them,so you would only have to find space for the other 1/2 in your house. If it works out,than you know you wont have to take up that space again,if it doesn't,you may have to try storing them indoors,either as Doris does or another method, in the future.I wonder if you use the milk jug and mulch over the whole thing with leaves , grass clippings or whatever,if that would help your chances for survival? I am curious of the outcome,please keep us posted! :)

I just happened to find this forum and thought I would tell you my story. Mother used to shake the dirt off, drop them, leaves and all, into a open large plastic pail, leaving them in the garage all winter. In the spring, the stocks would start to change into a sort of translucent green or you would see little red nodules on the older stocks, signaling the time to replant. She would clean up all the dead leaves and cut off the dead portions of the stocks, put them into soil and start to lightly water. Outside they would go when it warmed up enough. She gave me some a number of years ago and while I have good success using her method, I've managed to keep some very old pelargoniums year after year but in a different way. I have three that I leave in pots. Stopping all watering as the outside temp gets colder, I bring them into the house when it starts dropping to about 40 - 45 degrees F. The coolest room in the house is best but I have kept them in rooms with the daytime temp as high a 65 F. Of course you want to keep them away from any heat source. I water, but very little and only when I see the plant asking for a sip. Trust me, you'll know. A fair number of the leaves will yellow through the winter season and I just pick them off when they appear. I pick off any flower buds and even do some pinching. As long as you keep them clean of dead leaves, they don't look too bad! I get them outside as soon as possible, when the days get longer and hotter. I won't put them out too early because the cold will slow the growth. I continue to pinch off the flower buds as this seems to trick the plants into growing more leaves...so they can form more flowers...that I continue to pick off. I'm watering more often now and fertilizing. When I think the plants are "green" enough, I let them flower. And boy...do they flower. My pride is a pelargonium "bush" that I estimate to be about 9 years old. It's almost 5 feet tall with a main stock that's two inches in diameter. Happy gardening everybody!

If there is ANY life in thar, I'd gamble on the one that has been left to dry out....hopefully, completely. That's how they are to be kept over winter....dry, dark, and as cool as possible....and I'll add lonesome. Pelargonium, along with a few others, are able to be let alone, kept moisture from, no light, no heat. When you return those needs to the plant when conditions favor, the plant recovers fully to bloom again. You should then give the plant fresh potting soil, a clean pot, water to drainage and the best sunlight you can find. The potted plant should have something between the roots and the bottom of the pot...something to keep the roots away from the bottom so t can drain without being soaked. Shards of clay, a chewed up pop can, or stones can suffice. It will, if there's life in it, show some start of budding within a week....two weeks and will carry on from that. Chances are there's not enough in the plant to bloom this year...bloom takes an awful lot of energy out of the plant so maybe this is good. Count on this recovery for next year. In that regard then, if it comes back treat it like a houseplant until fall when you do not allow it to be touched by frost. Instead, it goes into the basement, into the darkest area, where it is put and not ever touched by water or light or heat. Got an old fridge? That's an ideal place to winter over plants as long as you don't keep fruit in it. Then in February, bring it out, cut it back---if it has done anything, give it that fresh potting soil, water to drainage, the best window for sunlight and watch it take off. Do not let it dry out. Stick a finger down to the first knuckle...if it feels damp, let it go another couple days. Turn it every other day to ensure all parts get equal sunlight. Water to drainage only to keep it damp...never wet. As the plant grows water accordingly. The one that has been kept wet..and shows nothing is probably dead as a doornail but, given that plants come back when they show no sign of recovery, try giving it the same treatment as above. Sometimes, plants that have been kept in a wet or damp condition constantly show signs of mold or mildew. If this is the case, then spray a little "no damp"...a fungicide on it when you first water it. Thereafter, just keep it damp and always, when you water, water to drainage. Never let it dry out. Oh, one other thing. Never feed a sick plant. Food is only given a plant when it can use it, when its growing.