Summary: The well-known bedding Geranium is immune to most insect pests. Its round, velvety, scented foliage is attractive with brilliant long-lasting flowers, is an excellent potted plant.
There are many different geraniums grown under the name – Pelargoniums. Below we’ve assembled some answers to questions in growing and caring for the lovely geranium.
Question: How is geranium grown so that it develops a standard or tree form?
Answer: To make a tree geranium, start with four or five-inch cuttings of a vigorous growing variety in February and root in a mixture of sand and peat or vermiculite.
- A month later, after roots are well developed, pot in 2-1/2″ containers. Begin to feed with liquid fertilizer in April
- Stake plants when they reach about 10″ tall.
- Pinch off all side shoots as they appear, forcing growth to the head.
- Keep shifting pots at monthly intervals, or as plants develop, until the middle of August.
- Stop pinching side shoots when plants are about three feet tall to allow the head to develop.
- Bring inside and stop feeding by the end of September.
Geranium Propagation
Question: When is a good time to take slips of geraniums, and what is the best way to start them?
Answer: Geraniums start easily from cuttings. Geranium cuttings may be taken from outdoor plants any time from midsummer until frost. From plants inside, cuttings taken from fall up to December 1 will make lovely blooming plants the following spring.
- Cut an end from two to four inches long from a well-matured branch.
- Remove the lower leaves
- Plant the cutting firmly, one inch deep in a small pot of ordinary rather heavy soil.
- Water the cutting thoroughly, place it in a light warm place
- From then on until it is in active growth, water it sparingly and not too often.
- When growth starts, increase the watering gradually.
- Geraniums handled this way root almost 100 percent of the time.
Growing Medium and When To Take Geranium Cuttings?
Question: When is the best time to take geranium cuttings and what is the best rooting medium? – E. H., Indiana
Answer: Geranium cuttings can be taken any time of the year so long as you take them from soft and not hard stems. Hard stems root slowly, if at all, and the resulting plants also grow slowly.
The best rooting mediums are pure sand well compacted or a gritty perlite mixture kept moist during the rooting period.
Propagating Martha Washington Geraniums
Questions: What is the best time to take Martha Washington geranium cuttings and what is the best procedure? R. D., Indiana
Answer: There are two possible times to take cuttings of Martha Washington geraniums. Spring, just after the flowering period, or September, just as new growth is beginning. The latter time is preferred. Root the cutting in pure moist sand or vermiculite. Don’t take long cuttings, possible 3″ inches.
Question: I have heard that geranium cuttings should be the tender green growth, but the stems of my geraniums are always hard, making them almost impossible to start new ones. Why won’t the stems grow green and fresh?
Answer: Pinch your geraniums. When a geranium plant is pinched back in spring or summer, it soon sends out new shoots, ideal for cuttings. These cuttings, or slips, if rooted in summer, make good house plants for the winter.
Geraniums Winter Storage
Question: Is It Possible to store Geraniums this winter? I have many geraniums with no place to keep them this winter. Someone told me I could pull them up and store them where they would not freeze and would be kept dry and that they would keep all right. Is this true? Should they be aired or given sun during this time?
Answer: The hardiness and will to survive of the geranium is attested to by the fact that a plant may be pulled in the fall and hung in the basement over winter and still show signs of life in the spring if it has not dried out too much. But this is not an accepted practice.
If you are forced to store geraniums in some such manner, it is better to:
- Cut the plants back severely
- Pot them up
- Store the potted plants in the basement.
Then they can be given enough water to keep them from completely drying out. When the plants are set out in the spring, they will soon start growing.
Here is a more complete Answer:
It is possible to carry geraniums over winter if they are large, well ripened plants. Hang them by their roots in a cool dark place. In early spring, the earlier the better, take them down, prune the tops back severely and pot the plants in sandy soil.
Keep them in a warm light place and water moderately. Soon new shoots will appear and the plants will be ready to set outside when danger of frost is past.
You will probably have better results if you take cuttings from the old plants in the fall and plant them in sandy soil. Keep them cool and rather dry.
By January they should be rooted and ready to jump into larger pots. Increased temperature and watering should start them into active growth and produce good plants for spring bedding.
Geranium Blooming Secrets
Question: Is it true if I disbud geraniums now, they will bloom better later on? FN, Iowa
Answer: Removing the bloom buds and even pinching the branches back should increase the amount of summer bloom on the old plants.
Question: Please tell me how to get a geranium to bloom. I have had one for two years, and it gets the best of care and sunlight but doesn’t bloom.
Answer: Every bit of sunshine your window will afford is the first requirement for bloom. Next in importance is watering.
Geraniums should not be kept constantly moist.
Continuously moist soil that delights an African violet will keep geraniums out of bloom.
- Soak a geranium plant, then don’t water it again for a week, or at least until it becomes good and dry.
- See that it is potted tight in rather heavy soil. Under such treatment, it should bloom all summer.
- The plant may be kept for years and will grow into a giant specimen.
- In the fall, place the plant in a cool place, about 40° degrees Fahrenheit, near a window
- The plant will remain almost dormant and require little water.
- From December through March, feed the plant every two weeks with a fertilizer high in phosphorus.
- Prune the plant back a little
- Around the first of the year, bring it into a warmer place
- By the middle of April or before it should begin to bloom.
Question: How should slips of geraniums be pinched after they are growing to make them branch?
Answer: To produce a well-branched geranium, a single-stemmed plant should be hard pinched, leaving only from three to five leaves.
If the leaf nodes are far apart, cut the stem back to three leaves. New breaks will soon appear, and buds will show in about two months.
Question: I would like to know when to slip geraniums to have them in bloom by May 30.
Answer: Slips taken in October and pinched once or twice as needed until the latter part of February should make well-branched four-inch geraniums in bloom for May 30.
Slips taken as late as January and not pinched should make blooming plants in three-inch pots by the same date.
Martha Washington Geraniums Not Bloomed
Question: My Martha Washington geraniums haven’t bloomed since they were purchased. The plants are growing but just don’t bloom. How do you force them?
Answer: Martha Washington geraniums or pelargoniums are definitely early spring blooming plants. When long days and hot weather come, these cease to bloom.
- Keep the plants growing during summer.
- Pinch them to shape in September
- Repot in the smallest pot that will hold them
- Grow them on the cool and dry side until February or March
- Then start to crowd them
- Keep the plants pinched as necessary up until February.
- Then get the well-grown, well-shaped plants into bloom for early spring.
- Do not expect much from the plant after June
Geraniums – Disease & Conditions
Question: My geraniums look sick. The plants are stunted, with the leaves turning yellow, withering and falling, starting at the base. The stems are black and rotted inside. My cuttings also rot upwards from the base. Can I save my plants?
Answer: Bacterial stem rot is a serious disease once it gets started. You can’t save the sick plants, but you can protect the remaining ones. Here’s what to do.
- First, separate the healthy plants from the rest.
- Take only tip cuttings from disease-free, vigorous plants.
- Sterilize the cutting knife and other tools by dipping in or swabbing with denatured alcohol.
- Dip cuttings before planting in a solution of zineb or captain.
- Plant in a sterile rooting mixture in a sterilized container.
- Avoid overwatering or sprinkling the foliage.
- Keep down the humidity and increase air circulation.
Question: What causes the setback to my geraniums when I bring them outdoors into the sun porch in the fall? The leaves turn yellow, and the stems sometimes turn black and rot.
Answer: Geraniums grow and bloom best when they have plenty of light, lots of heat, and a fair amount of water.
Plenty of light means not only sunlight but long hours of sunlight of midsummer. When fall comes, the conditions almost reverse themselves, and the best care is necessary to keep geraniums presentable.
- First, bring them in before they harden from cold nights, which may approach frost temperature.
- Next, prune them back heavily, making the plant short and stubby.
- The short days and cool nights do not permit enough transpiration to maintain the large soft growth of summer on the plant when fall comes.
- Finally, water with caution. A four-inch pot containing a good-sized geranium should take about a drinking glass full of water at one time.
- Extend the number of days between waterings slowly.
- Allow the plants to dry until the leaves are almost droopy before watering again.
- With this method, transitioning from outdoors to inside and from summer to fall may be made without much difficulty.
Trouble Growing Ivy-Leaved Geraniums In The East
Question: My ivy-leaved geraniums grew and flower so well in California. Why do my ivy-leaved geraniums have so much difficulty raising good looking specimens in my garden in the east?
Answer: Although ivy-Ieaved geraniums do not flower as profusely in the east as they do in the west, they do respond well if given certain needs.
- Keep them in full sun.
- Do not water too much, rather keep them on the dry side.
- Pinch back shoots frequently, starting when they begin to flower.
- Feed with superphosphate, particularly before flowering.
Also try the variety L’EIegante Geranium, which does well in eastern gardens. It has salmon-pink flowers and silvery-green leaves edged with white, turning eventually to magenta.
Question: I have a rainbow leaf color geranium with deep pink blossoms. The color in the leaves starts with white, then red, brown, green to-ward the center, but the red color has disappeared. Can you tell me why and how to treat it to bring the color back?
Answer: The red color is still present but hidden by an excess of green due to an abundance of chlorophyll. Any treatment that will cause the growth to be less vigorous will probably bring back the red color.
Poor soil, less water, a little less light, and cooler temperatures should aid in this process.