I rotated the pic..tried to edit but GW wouldn't let me..here it is..

I never bothered to save them before..the garage has a door in back with a window..the garage gets some light..I don't have a greenhouse..when the weather's decent I could move it in and out until it's time to go out permanently..thanks for the advice..

It’s great that you have new growth, that’s an excellent sign!

I second floral_uk, I think they will be fine. The ones I keep in my garage look similar, most of the leaves will die off or I will cut them off.

I keep the soil on the drier side to prevent rotting, but do give them a little sprinkling of water if the soil is getting close to completely dry.

I keep the temperature in the garage above freezing, it is usually about 5-10C/41-50F in my garage. Here are some of my geraniums stored in the garage yesterday:

If I want to use some as houseplants, I cut them back and bring it inside the house and put it in front of my sunniest window. Inside the house, they regrow full size leaves in about a month or two.

Here is one I decided to bring inside. Before and after cutting:

As long as the stem is alive, it will grow back. Here is a close up:

prairie..yours are much greener..and some of yours are much bigger..have you had them more than just one season?..my plan is once I have a nice day to take it out by the compost bin, remove the dead and prune it..can't wait..I didn't know that it would live..might consider taking it inside next year..

Nicolsworth55, yes, I've had some of these geraniums for almost 10 years. I bring them into the garage or inside the house every year. I have a friend who says she has kept geraniums alive for over 20 years!

Some varieties grow much bigger and faster than others. The big ones you see above are about two years old. I didn't prune these ones last year because I am trying to grow them extra tall. I'm trying to shape them to be like this:

They are more green because I'm too lazy to cover them, and some light comes into the garage. I also kept the garage a little warmer compared to past years, which causes them to grow a little.

The ones in my other post I moved from the garage to inside the house at about the end of December. This is because I wanted to have some to enjoy as houseplants over the winter.

This is why I love geraniums (pelargoniums) so much, they grow well outdoors in the summer, they can be saved from year to year, bugs rarely bother them, and they can grow indoors in the winter as houseplants if I want. I just have soooo many it's not practical to bring them all inside the house! :)

prairie..so good to know this!..before I started this post I looked for a summer pic of my geranium but didn't find one..it was very pretty which is why I decided to save it..that pic in your comment is gorgeous..I'm always dying to have mophead hydrangeas which aren't easy here but that big blooming geranium would be a good substitute..

Yes, I'm having a bit of a contest with myself to see how long many years I can keep some of my geraniums alive. I'm starting to narrow it down to my favourite ones which are worth keeping each year.

Do hydrangeas not do well where you are in Indianapolis due to the weather conditions, or is it the soil?

I love hydrangeas as well, they provide great fall blooms. Hydrangea 'Incrediball' is also known to grow well in colder zones, it looks a bit like a mophead. I grow mostly the paniculata types, which have more pointed shaped flower heads. This is a helpful thread for some tough cold-hardy hydrangeas: [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/hydrangeas-on-the-prairies-dsvw-vd~1892389?n=105[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/hydrangeas-on-the-prairies-dsvw-vd~1892389?n=105)

It's the weather..too cold..I do grow the cold hardy types and for a couple of years now I overwinter some mopheads in my shed..some pics..

Those are absolutely lovely!!! Gosh I wish I could get mine that big, unfortunately my paniculata types die back quite a bit each year here in zone 3, but they seem to grow back quite quickly.

With the direction I'm going perhaps I'll be converting my garage to a huge overwintering shelter for plants in the future, lol.

Thank you!..I completely understand about overwintering..pics of my pots in the shed from yesterday..I have pots in the shed, garage, kitchen and entryway..sigh..

Has anyone had trouble with fungal disease when overwintering pelargoniums indoors? A few years ago I had some scented types that succumbed to gray fungus which attacked the growth tips (I think it was botrytis). I think captan might help, as well as better air circulation.

Sam..this is the first time I've overwintered pelargoniums..no fungus yet but by the time they can go out who knows??..

I overwinter my pelargoniums in paper sacks in a cool closet after I shake off the dirt and pulled off many of the leaves. I lost of few plants but many of what I put away this winter are growing nicely now. I potted them up and they're under lights in my basement now covered with green leaves!

maryjo..my first try at this..kept the pot in my garage until it started growing then I brought it in..just took this pic..will trim it eventually..

nicholsworth55, how are your geraniums that you were trying to overwinter doing?

maryjo..just fine..they're living in my kitchen..still cold here..I wish they could go out..I know it would be good for them..and for ME!!

Yes, I can't wait to take mine out but too cold here in Iowa too. Today we had snow! What was that about! Next week looks better and I'm wondering if I can take my geraniums and other plants out on a rolling shelving unit for parts of the day and moving them into my garage (with plastic on it if needed) during the colder nights. I am so out of room with my plants under lights and am getting more this week to put under lights!

Nicholsworth55, glad to hear yours are doing well too!!!

maryjo..we might get snow tonight..this spring? is the worst I've seen..

Nicholsworth55, today we had sunshine!!! So much appreciated! Hope you get yours tomorrow!

maryjo..technically we had flurries last night but it didn't stick..today was a little chilly but sunny!!..I was outside for hours with a fleece coat and I was completely comfortable..tonight only high 20's..tomorrow looks good..58°..tomorrow night is warmer 35°..

I think tonight is our last freeze temp so tomorrow I hope to get plants onto a shelf to roll in and out of my garage. not sure which of my plants are hardiest but will have to think on that. Do you know the lowest temps the pelargoniums can tolerate outside. I know they have to be hardened off too.

I think 60 or above should be fine..but I don't really know!..I've heard this as a guideline for annuals..not outside until Mother's Day..do they say that in Iowa?

Pelargoniums (zonals and martha washingtons at least) revel in cool sunny temps, as long as it's 40 or above, should be fine.

What they won't like is cold and wet.

dbarron, thanks. that's what I am hoping for! I won't water them too much. I think it will be the same with my fuchsia too right?

nicholsworth, I won't plant any annuals in the ground yet. Will wait for that warmer ground temp! Eventually my plan is to leave my pelargoniums in their pots and place on our picnic table in the back yard.

maryjo..I was making a safe guess..dbarron says it doesn't need to be that warm so they could go out for some real sun now during the day..

Yes, I was talking about my other annuals!

I wait a bit longer to buy annuals than I used to..I got tired of hauling them in at night..