The different cranesbill species delight with their beautiful, colorful flowers. However, with some geranium varieties this is over quickly and the eponymous fruit sets appear. However, some of the early flowering species and varieties are capable of producing a second flower - provided you want to cut them back in time. The plants then sprout again and bloom again in late summer or autumn.
How should the cranesbill be trimmed after flowering?
In order to trim the cranesbill properly after flowering, you should cut off the dead shoots just above the ground. This so-called remontant pruning promotes a second flowering in early-flowering species. Further pruning is recommended in late autumn or spring to keep falling apart plants in shape.
Cut cranesbill after flowering
Gardeners refer to this cut as remontant pruning, the plant in question is “remonted”. To do this, cut off the dead shoots of the carnations to just above the ground. To stimulate the second flowering, you can also supply the perennial with some liquid complete fertilizer (€18.00 on Amazon). Depending on the species and variety, you have to wait between six and eight weeks before the replacement flower can be seen. However, the second flower is usually not quite as lush as the first. A replacement pruning is mainly possible for the geranium varieties that bloom early - around May / June - while late-flowering types usually do not bloom a second time.
Note flowering times
In many guides you can read that stork beaks are generally cut in July. As a result, many gardening enthusiasts were surprised when their plants didn't want to bloom - they were simply cut back before they bloomed. Although many cranesbills bloom from May / June, there are also late-flowering species such as the Siberian cranesbill (Geranium wlassovianum). Of course, these should not be pruned in July, otherwise the flowers will fail.
Pruning in late fall or early spring
Furthermore, many cranesbills tend to “fall apart” over time. For this reason, further pruning is recommended either in late autumn or early spring, before new growth. This particularly applies to the following geranium species:
- Cambrigde cranesbill (Geranium cantabrigiense), pruning in spring
- Grey cranesbill (Geranium cinereum), cut back in spring
- Heart-leaved cranesbill (Geranium ibericum), pruning in spring
- Splendid cranesbill (Geranium magnificum), pruning in late autumn or winter
- Gnarled mountain forest cranesbill (Geranium nodosum), pruning in autumn
- Blood-red cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum), pruning in autumn
- Siberian cranesbill (Geranium wlassovianum), pruning in late autumn
Tip
Whether you cut back your cranesbill after flowering also depends on its reproduction. Many geranium varieties (except for hybrids such as the cranesbill) self-sow quite reliably, although this is only possible if the fruits and seeds can form.
