Lawn & Garden • Winter Care • Updated October 29, 2026

How to Overwinter Geraniums Indoors: 3 Easy Methods

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A hard frost ends geraniums outdoors, but the plants themselves can live for years. If you overwinter geraniums indoors, you keep your favorite colors, save money every spring, and start May with big, blooming plants. Iowa State University Extension describes three ways to do it. Here is each method step by step, which one suits your house, and four simple tools sold by Amazon.com.

The short answer

Bring geraniums in before the first frost, and only save healthy, disease-free plants. Then pick one method: pot them up and grow them in a bright, cool window; take 3 to 4 inch cuttings and root them; or shake off the soil and store the plants bare-root in a paper bag at 45 to 55°F. Potted and bare-root plants get cut back in March, and all three methods give you plants ready to go outside in May.

3 ways to overwinter geraniums

Method 1: Overwinter geraniums as potted plants

1. Dig carefully before frost and set each plant in a 6 to 8 inch pot with potting mix. Plants already in containers can simply come inside.
2. Cut back to one-half or one-third of the original height and water thoroughly.
3. Give strong light. A bright, sunny window works, or ISU suggests fluorescent lights no more than 6 to 8 inches above the plants for 11 to 12 hours a day. A small LED grow light works the same way.
4. Keep it cool. ISU recommends daytime temperatures around 65 to 70°F with slightly cooler nights. Warm, dim rooms make geraniums tall and spindly.
5. Water when dry, and pinch tips now and then for bushier plants.
6. Prune in March. By late winter plants are often lanky; cut them back by one-half to two-thirds and they will regrow quickly.

Geraniums often turn paler and drop some leaves indoors. That is normal, and they recover once they go back outside.

Method 2: Root geranium cuttings

1. Cut 3 to 4 inch tips from the ends of healthy shoots with a sharp knife or snips.
2. Strip the lower leaves and dip the cut end in rooting hormone.
3. Stick them just deep enough to stand in a pot of coarse sand, perlite, vermiculite, or a sand and peat mix, in a container with drainage holes.
4. Water, drain, then cover the pot with a clear plastic bag to keep cuttings from wilting.
5. Place in bright light, not direct sun. ISU says cuttings root in about 6 to 8 weeks.
6. Pot up each rooted cutting on its own and grow it in a sunny window, pinching tips to keep it compact.

Method 3: Store geraniums bare root

1. Dig the plants before frost and gently shake all the soil off the roots.
2. Bag them: put one or two plants in a large brown paper bag, or hang them upside down.
3. Store cool and dry at 45 to 55°F. ISU suggests an unheated bedroom or indoor porch.
4. In mid-March, prune away shriveled, dead material back to firm, green stem.
5. Pot up and water thoroughly, then move to a sunny window or under lights. They should leaf out within days.

This method takes the least effort but is the least reliable, so it is worth trying alongside one of the other two the first year.

Getting geraniums back outside in spring

Geraniums are frost-tender. Harden them off for a week or two by setting them outside in shade for a few hours a day and gradually increasing sun and time, then plant out after your area’s safe frost date, usually in May in Iowa. Check your town in our last frost date in Iowa by city guide.

Tools to overwinter geraniums

All four were listed as sold by Amazon.com at the time of writing. Check the current listing before you buy.

For digging up plants: Fiskars Ergo Garden Trowel

A sturdy cast-aluminum trowel with an ergonomic handle that makes it easy to lift geraniums with a good root ball, even from heavy Iowa clay. It also handles the rest of the fall cleanup and spring planting.

For cuttings and pruning: Fiskars 6-Inch Micro-Tip Pruning Snips

Stainless steel blades that cut all the way to the tip, which makes clean cuts for 3 to 4 inch cuttings and for the March prune-back. Clean cuts heal faster and root better than torn stems.

For winter light: LEOTER Clip-On LED Grow Light

Iowa winter days are short and gray, and low light is the main reason indoor geraniums get leggy. This clip-on light has 80 LEDs, 10 brightness levels and an automatic on/off timer, so it is easy to give potted geraniums the 11 to 12 hours ISU recommends. Keep it close to the plants. For bigger setups, see our grow lights guide.

For potting up: Lifemaster Plastic Plant Pots with Drainage, 5-Pack

Five pots from 4.8 to 7 inches, each with drainage holes. The 6 and 7 inch pots fit dug-up geraniums, and the smaller sizes suit rooted cuttings and the bare-root plants you pot up in March.

Conclusion

To overwinter geraniums, act before the first frost and choose the method that fits your space: potted plants for a bright, cool window, cuttings for many plants in little room, or bare-root storage in a cool, dry spot. Prune back in March, harden off in spring, and plant out after your last frost date.

FAQs

When should I bring geraniums inside?
Before the first frost. In much of Iowa the first fall freeze arrives in early to mid-October, so plan to dig or take cuttings by late September or early October.

Can I store geraniums in a paper bag?
Yes. Shake the soil off the roots, put one or two plants in a large brown paper bag, and keep it at 45 to 55°F. In mid-March, prune to green stems and pot them up.

Why are my indoor geraniums leggy?
Too little light and too much warmth. Move them to the brightest window or under a grow light, keep the room cooler, and cut them back in March.

How long do geranium cuttings take to root?
About 6 to 8 weeks in coarse sand, perlite or vermiculite, covered with a clear plastic bag in bright, indirect light.

How often should I water overwintered geraniums?
Water thoroughly only when the soil is dry. Geraniums indoors in winter need much less water than in summer.

When can I put geraniums back outside in Iowa?
After the last frost, usually in May, once they have been hardened off for a week or two.

Sources and review scope

This guide was prepared on October 29, 2026 from the following sources and from the product listings on Amazon.com. Homingwell did not perform hands-on testing. Sellers were checked on Amazon.com on the same date.

• Iowa State University Extension – Overwintering geraniums (RG 320)
• ISU Yard and Garden – How to overwinter geraniums
• ISU Extension (via High Plains Journal) – Get a start on geraniums for summer
• ISU Extension (via The Gazette) – Three ways to overwinter geraniums

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