Re: Scented geraniums
- Subject: Re: Scented geraniums
- From: M*
- Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 09:08:29 -0600
Marge Talt wrote:
>
> Sad to say I am afraid they are gonners:-( While they will take
> quite nippy temps, freezing temps as low as 16F are too cold for
> pelargoniums and fatal damage occurs.
That's what I figured. I can't go by what the Botanical books say
because they always seem to underestimate how cold most plants can
take. Last winter we had the coldest winter on record, not in low
temperatures but in duration, days below freezing. My scented geraniums
took 23 degrees day after day with no problems at all. The difference
in last winter vs this winter is not just the temperature but in
moisture. Last winter it rained constantly and even iced over several
time. This year is dry as a bone and no humidity. I lost a lot of
plants that are normally evergreen and I'm sure it was mostly due to the
dry air.
However, if mine, I'd wait
> until spring to remove the remains as one never knows with plants;
> one or more might have been sufficiently protected by other plants to
> come through. Think, however, you might consider lining up new
> plants for next season...
I have left them in place as 'mulch' around the roses and other plants
they were under and will wait a while to clean them out. These are huge
patches of them and they were so gorgeous. I will plant more in the
spring since it may be ten years before we get that cold again or have
the combination of dry and cold, no way to tell.
Thanks for the info, I can stop worrying about them now. :-)
Linda
Leming, south of San Antonio, TX
zone 8b
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