Geraniums, which are actually a genus of plants with about 200 species and is called Pelargonium, are one of the most valued and popular flowering plants on balconies and terraces of all kinds when the warm months arrive. These plants, which are also not demanding in their care, are as striking as they are decorative and have another great point in their favor: their easy reproduction.
Although we can reproduce geraniums naturally, from seeds, doing it by cuttings is much faster and more comfortable, and this method of multiplication rarely fails with this plant. If you want to learn how to do it, keep reading this article in which we explain how to do and how to plant geranium cuttings step by step .
How to make geranium cuttings
The first step will be to cut a mature and healthy geranium. Keep in mind that the cutting will grow as a copy of the plant from which it has been extracted, so it should be made from a strong geranium in good condition. Follow these steps to make geranium cuttings :
- Start by selecting the stem or stems to cut. Choose stems that do not have buds or flower buds to punish the plant as little as possible, since forming them requires a lot of energy and in the cutting you will have to remove them anyway. However, if you see that there are no flowers without a flower, you can use a healthy one with a flower, but we recommend that you take advantage of it for decoration or other purposes.
- Select a suitable tool, such as a pruning shears or pliers. It is very important that it is as sharp as possible and that you sterilize it before making each of the cuts.
- Cut it above the second armpit. As with pruning, don’t cut the cut completely straight – giving it some slant will help the plant heal better.
- Leave about the top 15 cm of the cutting, discarding the rest so that it is not too large. Also remove all the leaves except the top two.
When to plant geranium cuttings
The cuttings cannot be cut and planted at any time, since it is necessary to attend to the life cycle of the plant so that the trauma is not too much and at the same time the new cuttings have a good chance of growing, despite the fact that in the case of geranium it is a plant especially resistant to the process.
The best time to make and plant geranium cuttings is in the warm months, spring through fall . In the winter months is when the plant is in a state of rest, and the cutting may not take root until the arrival of the heat again. In midsummer you also have to be careful, as especially hot and dry days can be a lot of punishment for a newly planted cutting.
How to plant geranium cuttings step by step
We recommend using the geranium cuttings method in water , since it allows you to prepare several cuttings in very little space, because a single container can be enough and, in addition, it allows us to see how the roots evolve with the naked eye. Take note of these steps to plant geranium cuttings , starting by putting them in water to take root and ending by planting them in a pot or soil.
- Prepare a container with enough water to cover at least the bottom half of the cut cuttings. The leaves must always be out of the water.
- The next thing is to place the cut stems in the container. To prevent them from sinking too much or slipping, you can use a small string or ribbon that ties several stems together loosely, just to hold them, taking care that the leaves do not bend or crush each other.
- Place the container in a bright place but where it does not receive direct sunlight and change the water in the container every 48 hours to avoid the appearance of diseases.
- When the cuttings have developed roots, we can plant them in their final location in a pot or garden.
- It is advisable to prepare a particularly nutritious substrate in these first steps. A mixture that works very well is that of coir with humus and peat, which it is worth to add some vermiculite and perlite . It gives a light substrate, with great drainage and very nutritious, which will greatly favor the new plant.
Basic care of geraniums
These are the main geranium care that you should take into account to care for them at home, whether it is an acquired plant or one that comes from the geranium cuttings that you have made.
- Geraniums have two big key needs: sun and watering. These plants need a minimum of 6 hours of daily light if we want them to grow and flower well, but direct exposure to the worst hours of light could also burn them.
- Find a location where they receive light during the morning, but sheltered from the hours of the hottest afternoon.
- When it comes to watering, the plant needs to maintain a certain level of constant humidity in its substrate during the warm months. Be careful not to overdo it, because a wet substrate does not mean that you will water it. If you go overboard, you will drown the plant. That is why it is necessary for the pot to have drainage holes and the soil to drain well.
- In the cold months, it will be necessary to space the waterings much more. Finally, the plant will appreciate a contribution of fertilizer with the arrival of the heat and on a monthly basis, as well as an autumn pruning that favors the next flowering.
