Sunday, January 22, 2012

When should I take cuttings from my geraniums?

I have some geraniums in containers that I would like to come back next year- can I take cuttings from them- and how should I do it?

Thanks
When should I take cuttings from my geraniums?
You've asked this question at the right time, now!!! leave at least four leaves from the top, cut below a leaf, dab on some rooting powder and then pot, they will have to be kept indoors over winter, and pot out after the last frost next year.



Good Luck.
Reply:I am a complete novice, but I dropped my geranium on the floor about a month ago and I planted the broken pieces in a pot at a joint in the stem. With hardly any attention except for water to keep the cuttings moist they have taken. These have gone on to flower already and I have continued to take cuttinga all through August.
Reply:Your will likely get many new answers to this one. Some people hang their Geraniums upside down in a frost free area for the winter and start cuttings from them in the spring. Other people - growers for sure - take cuttings in the fall and place in damp vermiculite, Use a rooting hormone for "soft wood" on each cutting and be sure to remove any leaves that would be in the growing medium. Place in good light and do not let dry out.
Reply:i take cutting off mine at any time and they do ok. i just put them in a jar of water until they get a good root, then put them in a pot and off they go.



i keep some indoors and put some outdoors in the summer. if you can bring your outdoor pots inside for the winter they will last for years.

good luck and happy planting x
Reply:At the end of the summer you can take cutting from the plants that have been in your garden over the summer to produce plants for use next year.

Geranium cuttings stage by stage

Remove a cutting with about 2 or 3 leaf joints from the top. Cut the stem just below a leaf joint and remove the lowest leaves to produce a bare stem that can be inserted into the cutting compost.

If the cutting has any flower heads on it they should be removed so that the cutting directs its energy into rooting.

The compost for the cutting should be a mixture of 50% sand and 50% peat. This will produce compost that is open so as not to rot the stem before it has rooted.

Place three cuttings into 75-mm pots and water in. They will need to be placed on a windowsill or in a glasshouse. The most important consideration is to make sure that the temperature is even through the day. I.e. not becoming cold at night and too hot during the day.

The cuttings should root in about 10 to 20 days. Once rooted they will need to be transferred into there own pots 75mm to 100mm using standard potting compost.

Once the cutting has rooted you will need to pinch out the top to encourage the new plant to produce side shoots.
Reply:Excellent information here on geraniums...it is the site I swear by for mine!



Take a moment to read it...the information you need is near the top!
Reply:Heck, you don't even need to take cuttings if you don't want. I have several geraniums that are 6 and 7 years old, (left in the same original terra cotta pots I planted them in) When the weather man calls for the first frost bring them in. If they are still blooming well, I leave the blooms until I get sick of cleaning up after them. Prune back the plant well, leaving about 2-3 inches of the best stems. (it will look terrible, but that's okay) Store in a cool garage or basement where they get at least a few hours of sun light each day. Water about once a week. When it starts getting warm next spring, start setting them out each day when temps reach upper 50's or so. Once the night temp stay above freezing, leave them out. You will have to trim them up, but with in 2 weeks they'll be hearty and strong again. If you want to double your pleasure, take the cuttings from the original fall hack job and stick them in a few pots and water well for a month, and then treat as you would the "mother" plants. All you need is a good quality potting soil, a pot, a cutting of any size and water. I fill the pot with soil, remove the bottom leaves a nice stalk, and jam it deep into the soil. After a while the larger leaves will start going down hill, just pick them off and little baby leaves will soon appear. Just make sure you water well for that first month.
Reply:I take cuttings all summer. As soon as there is a good shoot I take the cutting and pop it in a pot. It's so easy and hey presto it hardly ever fails. All of mine have taken this summer. I sometimes put rooting powder on, but it works equally well without. Good luck.

No comments:

Post a Comment