LoveToKnow Garden:AllComments

From LoveToKnow Garden

Comments

Hi Kathryn,

Yes, you can cut back your geranium to about half its current size. This will eliminate the legginess and it will still come back nicely in the spring. A grow light is an excellent idea if you do not have a nice sunny window for it to sit in.

It sounds like you're on the right track! Keep up the good work.

-- Contributed by: Kathleen Roberts

Hello, I just brought my potted geraniums in for the winter. Can I give them some extra lighting indoors? Also, they are a little leggy, but if I cut them back by half that will take off most of the foliage and they'll just look like sticks - will they come back from that? Thanks very much for your help!

-- Contributed by: Kathryn

Hi Candy,

Yes, you can probably go ahead and cut them back now. It is just easier to cut it back before you bring them in at the time you are getting ready to dig them up. Prune, dig, repot...it's just a simpler process. However, you're plant shouldn't care.

Cutting it back encourages the plant to focus its energy on making strong roots so that it's nice and healthy when you are ready to put it out again in the spring. In the spring it can focus on flowers.

-- Contributed by: Kathleen Roberts

Can I still cut them back, now? They have only been in for about a week? Why should they have been cut back prior to bringing them in?

-- Contributed by: Candy H

Hi Candy,

Usually if you elect to keep your geraniums potted and bring them in for the winter, you should cut them back about half of the original size before you bring it in. The part still in the soil (the main plant) is what you keep growing.

You can certainly root cuttings from healthy plants if you would like to. Take a section of cutting that is about three or four inches long. Remove any leaves from the bottom half of the cutting and then dip it into a rooting hormone such as Rootone. Stick it in some potting soil in a pot of your choice.

For best results, create a "greenhouse" by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Be sure it has been well watered and in bright light and the greenhouse bag will keep the moisture and humidity inside to help your cuttings root and grow with in six to eight weeks.

-- Contributed by: Kathleen Roberts

Hi,I live in AZ zone 7-8 and have about 7 geraniums that I brought indoors last winter and back out this summer they have for the most part done amazingly, but I have a few concerns: Some people tell me I need to cut back my geraniums by 2/3 every year so do I cut off 2/3 of the plant and keep 1/3 still growing or visa versa. Also when I cut it back if the arm that I cut off is example 9" long and I cut off 6" can i then cut that in half and start 2 new plants? When starting new plants: Do I just shove the cut part into soil? or should I root it? What kind of root stimulate do you recommend? Also can anyone recommend a brand name fertilizer? Liquid verse granulated etc. If I keep bringing them in the winter can they live for ever? Thanks for all of your help!

-- Contributed by: Candy

Some geraniums are prone to this. You could try a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) or you may need to give your plants more sun.

-- Contributed by: Kathleen Roberts

what is wrong when geraniums start to lose color of the flower leaves?

-- Contributed by: maryon moore

Hi Connie, Take care of them the same way you would when they are outdoors. They need about 6 hours per sunlight per day and need to be kept moist. Pinch off dead flowers as needed. Geraniums traditionally do very well indoors.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

Nothing tells me what to do with my geraniums in the winter months. I brought them indoors, now what?

-- Contributed by: Connie M

Hi JRT, There are several things that can cause this problem. The first is environmental- air quality can affect the health of your plants. Second, climate is a factor. Warm and wet weather can cause a fungus problem, so check your plants if this might be the case. Finally, not pinching the plant will cause it to become lanky and produce less than perfect blooms. If you want the kind of blooms you see on plants when you get them from the greenhouse, they need to be pinched to force them to bloom and grow in an upright position. Remove any dead or dying blooms immediately from the plant.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

This year all of my geranium blooms are never in full bloom. Each bloom is black and dead in the middle with all the flowerettes around the middle of the bloom doing fine. Not one plant has a complete bloom.

-- Contributed by: jrt

Hi Nora, Geraniums need a slow-release fertilizer and the right amount of water. Allow the plant to dry out completely between watering. Make sure the plant has well-drained soil so it receives enough oxygen; repot if necessary, to the next size pot. Geraniums like to be root-bound.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

I have two Geranium plants that I've wintered over twice. They're out in full sun all day and are blooming pretty well but they have almost no leaves. All the large leaves fell off and now there are some small ones starting to form but not nearly as many as before. What's going on?

-- Contributed by: Nora

Hi Brenda, Geraniums like to be a little root bound, so don't put them in a pot that is significantly larger than the one it has come from. As for the long woody stem, you can always prune the plant back a little to make it bushier instead of leggy-looking. I'm not sure why you would want to put a geranium stem under the soil. If you do this, the stem will probably rot.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

Hi Nancy, Pinch off the skinny little stem attached to the flower. I find it easier to use florist shears to do this since these stems are a little tough.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

My geranium plants have developed a long woody stem. I need to re-pot them. Do I leave the stem or place it under the soil surface?

-- Contributed by: Brenda

When the flowers die, do I pinch off the dead petals so the stem will bloom again, or what do I do? Thank you.

-- Contributed by: Nancy

Hi Laura, Just cut off the skinny stem the flower is attached to- not the main stem of the plant.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

When removing the dead flowers do you cut off the whole stem or just the flower?

-- Contributed by: Laura

Hi Sonja, It seems everyone has an opinion on how to force the blooming of geraniums. I'll share a few of these:

Use Peter's Super Bloom (follow instructions carefully- don't over-feed)
Cut back the plant
Don't fertilize at all
Make sure it is getting 6-8 hours of full sun per day

If your plant is new and recently purchased, it may not need to be cut back just yet. I also don't know if you've been fertilizing it, but if you have, stop. Sun is a very important part of getting this plant to bloom; it usually won't bloom at all in the shade.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

Hi Bob, Leaves on a geranium can turn a rusty color, then turn yellow and drop off. When this happens, remove the affected leaves and be careful not to splash water on the leaves when watering the plant. Don't use cuttings from this plant either. As for the white flower varigation on your plants, this could be the result of crossing different plants and propagating your own plants from your geranium cuttings. Flower leaves can also fade to a white color before the blooms fall if the plants are in full sun all of the time, especially with the pale pink varieties.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

I bought a large geranium that looked so healthy in a hanging pot. When I got home I realized the plant has no buds. What can I do to bring on the buds? Cut back, fertilize?

-- Contributed by: Sonja Wise

What causes leaves to turn a rusty color? What causes flowers to develope a white varigation after a spell?

-- Contributed by: bob kay

Hi Greg, Use a pair of sharp pruning shears or even a pair of sharp scissors to cut the dead flowers from the plant. If you try to pinch or pull them off with your fingers you may damage the plant.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

I'm not finding anything on trimming or removing the flower stems after flower's fall off, do you just cut them off or is there a specific area?

-- Contributed by: Greg Barnhary

Hi Baker, I'm guessing that there are no signs of pests in the flowers. The flowers won't bloom fully unless the plant is getting about 8 hours of full sun each day. If they are in partial shade outdoors or indoors, trying moving them to a more sunny location for better blooming results.

-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber

My geraniums appear healthy to me, i.e., no yellow leaves, etc., but they never produce a full flower bloom...only the top part of the bud blooms, the bottom part remains bulbs only.

-- Contributed by: baker

Most any type of geranium will grow successfully in California. Start with the ones that appeal to you the most. Pick one or two favorites and go from there.

-- Contributed by: Kathleen Roberts

I am planning to breed some hybrid geraniums. Do you have any suggestions? what type of geranium would be best? I live in northern california with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees each summer.

-- Contributed by: dylan
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