Instead of throwing away the faded geraniums every autumn - which are actually botanically called pelargoniums and should not be confused with the cranesbills called "geraniums" - and buy new ones in spring, you can also overwinter the flowers and even do so yourself breed and multiply.
How can you grow geraniums yourself?
To grow geraniums yourself, you can either take cuttings or sow seeds. For cuttings, cut off half-ripe side shoots in August and plant them in potting soil. For seeds, sow in potting soil in January or February and cover lightly with soil.
Growing young geraniums from cuttings
It's quite easy to grow geraniums vegetatively by planting half-ripe ones in August - i.e. H. Cut off shoots that are already slightly woody and leave them over the winter. Shoots that are still green and soft are not suitable for this purpose as they rot too quickly.
- Cut off approximately 10 centimeter long, half-ripe side shoots from a suitable mother plant.
- This should be robust, richly flowering and strong growing
- As a clone, the cutting inherits 100 percent of their properties.
- The shoot must not have any flowers or buds.
- Remove all but the top two leaves.
- Plant the freshly cut shoots in small planters with potting soil.
- Place the planters in a bright and warm place,
- but avoid direct sunlight.
- Keep the substrate slightly moist.
Overwinter the young geraniums in a bright (but not full sun!) place at temperatures between 10 and 15 °C. Water the plants regularly, but not too much and avoid fertilizing. The young plants are finally planted in nutrient-rich compost soil in February / March at the latest.
Growing geraniums from seeds
Many balcony gardeners are also successful at growing their own geraniums from seeds. These should be sown in January or February at the latest. Please note that geraniums are light germinators and should therefore only be covered thinly with soil - it is best to only sift a very fine layer of substrate over the grains.
- Sow the geranium seeds in potting soil.
- Ideally place the planters in an indoor greenhouse (€29.00 on Amazon),
- which you place in a bright and warm place.
- Geraniums germinate best at temperatures between 20 and 22 °C.
- Keep the substrate slightly moist
- and prick the plants as soon as they have four leaves.
The young plants can finally be gradually accustomed to the weather conditions outdoors from the beginning to mid-May and thus hardened.
Why don't my geraniums produce seeds themselves?
Balcony gardeners often find that their geraniums rarely set seed pods and that these usually remain empty. There are various reasons for this:
- The geraniums are sterile, so they can only be propagated vegetatively.
- Geraniums are rarely visited by pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies or bumblebees.
- Ergo, the flowers are not suitable as bee pasture,
- because the possibility of fertilization is missing.
Tip
You can also root geranium cuttings in a glass of water instead of planting them straight away. However, with this method you should regularly replace the water with fresh water.
