Moving the Plants in for the Winter

I am battling a miserable head cold.

The nights are now dipping into the 30's in Michigan

so I moved all my plants inside from my green house.

  I don't heat it in the winter. 

I wish this house had better light.

It's always a struggle for me to find a place for them,

especially since  they grow so much in the summer outside in the shade.

I over winter a few annual flowers inside that would

not survive the winter here.

Here you can see my Geraniums in big pots.  This pic 

was taken at the beginning of the

growing season.  They get as big as shrubs simply

because they are about 3 yrs. old.

There are all sorts of ways to over winter

geraniums.  I have tried others with

less success and for me this works

best.  I replant them in  large plastic pots with

new dirt.  I cut back the plant otherwise 

they would never fit inside.  This year they were pretty 

shocked so I weakly fertilized them to get over

the shock.  Usually you only want to cut them 

about 1/3 back. Then I just treat them like a house

plant throughout the winter.  They usually

stop blooming 1/2 way through

winter but the leaves stay green.

In April I usually move them out to my green house.

I fertilize them and with the added sunlight they

perk back up and start filling out and blooming.

Then in the spring they get planted back in my 

large planters. I like how big they get in the summer.

Honestly I have never seen Geraniums this

large for sale in the spring at any

garden centers.

With the dark winter ahead  I can

enjoy my green plants inside.

I have to gather them around my windows and hope for the best.

I'm not a fan of the falling back time change. 

I know we gain an hour of sleep but for

me that means I will go to work in the dark and when

I go to the barn at after work it will be dark.  The only

time I'll be able to ride my horse outside is on the weekend.

Does anyone one else hate the time change business?

I sure hope I feel better soon....