Sunday, February 23, 2014

Waking up my Geraniums

It is that time of the year when my dormant geraniums are coaxed out of their sleep to begin sprouting leaves and blooms. Actually, it has been over 45 days since I planted some of the geranium plants that I placed in a plastic garbage bag last Fall. Right before the frost hit last October I dried out at least two dozen strong specimens before putting them in my storeroom to go to sleep for a few months.
What you see on this page are a few plants that sprang back to life after being dormant for at least three months. The  geranium below is a variegated variety that is a beautiful pink color. The other plant you are looking at has rich dark green leaves and I believe this is my hot pink variety.

I started some ivy geranium cuttings in January but I believe my watering was not consistent  and the severe cold caused too much temperature variation. Only one of them germinated.

Last year I grew over 20 Ivy geraniums from cuttings. I hope you experiment with  your own cuttings. Let me know if you have any questions about the amazing results you can have by propagating geraniums from cuttings.

   

       
 

2 comments:

Lee said...

I took a few cuttings last year; about half of them are viable. I've had them out in the garden in their containers for about a fortnight and already two of them have got a stalk and flower buds growing. I'm very pleased with my efforts.

Dennis James Deegan DTM said...

Hello, Lee, I am glad you have had success with the cuttings. What planting medium (mix) do you use? A peat moss base with pearlite seems to work best for me; though I have also used plain water and plain sand. I have to make more cuttings in the next few days. Mother nature is just amazing how it will generate roots. I succeed in rooting 24 cuttings last year. See you in the garden. Digger