You should prune a perennial geranium after it has bloomed all season and starts to wither. This helps the plant store energy for the spring while simultaneously keeping it dormant for the winter. This could need to happen any time between August and late October, depending on your zone. Cut perennial geraniums down to 2 or 3 inches above the soil with a pair of trustworthy shears, ideally at nodes or new growth points. Take out any more flowers or foliage. You’ll have a collection of thick stems that is really ugly. But don’t panic, your blooms will return in full bloom the following spring.
Pruning Geraniums After Winter Dormancy
The optimum time to prune geraniums is in the early spring if you put them into dormancy for the winter or if you live in a region where they lose some of their leaves over the winter.
Take off all of the geranium’s brown and dead leaves. After that, remove any diseased stems. Squeezing a healthy geranium stem will feel firm. Cut down the geranium plant by one-third, paying particular attention to stems that have begun to turn woody if you want a less woody and lanky plant.
Cutting Back Geraniums That are Wintered Alive
The best time to prune geraniums is in late fall or right before you bring them inside, if you intend to bring them indoors. If you do not put your geraniums into dormancy for the winter and they remain green in the ground or in containers year round.
Trim the geranium plant back by one-third to one-half, paying special attention to lanky or woody stems.
How to Pinch Geraniums
In order to make the plant grow more bushy and compact, geraniums are sometimes pruned. You can pinch either newly purchased bedding geranium plants or geraniums that have been overwintered. Pinching of geraniums begins in the spring.
When a stem on a geranium plant reaches a few inches (7.5–10 cm), cut off 1/4–1/2 inch (0.5–1.5 cm) of the stem with a sharp pair of scissors, or even with your fingers. Repeat over all stems. The geranium will be forced to produce two new stems off of the original stem as a result, which will result in a bushier, fuller plant. If you prefer, you can keep pinching geraniums all throughout spring.
Geranium pruning is simple and improves the appearance of your plant. You may enjoy your geraniums more now that you know how to prune geranium plants.
Hardy Geraniums vs. Pelargoniums
Pelargoniums should not be confused with hardy geraniums. You might be wondering what makes a geranium different from a pelargonium. Similar to some siblings, they are both members of the same plant family, but they could not be more unlike.
Pelargoniums cannot withstand frost, while hardy geraniums can. True hardy geraniums are perennials that come back each year, while pelargoniums die in the winter and are frequently treated like annuals, re-planted each year.
Prune your Hardy Geraniums
Your sturdy geraniums will look their best and promote new growth if you prune them properly. By correctly pruning your hardy geraniums after the blooming season, you can encourage repeat blooming. The majority of geraniums can be cut back twice in a single season, which allows them to bloom at least three times.
When to Prune
Your hardy geraniums should be pruned in accordance with the season you are in. Rozanne will require various cuts in the spring, summer, and fall. To maintain your blooms rich and healthy, mark your calendar and adhere to our seasonal trimming recommendations.
What tools you need
Your geraniums may be pruned fairly easily. All you’ll need is the ability to prune, a pair of sharp pruners, your favorite mulch, and your favorite gardening gloves. Watch this video to learn more about pruning strategies in detail.
How to prune
You shouldn’t be concerned that pruning your flower’s back will harm her. The majority of hardy geraniums require trimming to promote new growth and prevent them from encroaching upon other plants.
Trim the plant back to within a few inches of the ground or to about an inch above the main stem once the flowering is completed or you find old growth. Remove any brown stems or yellow leaves after that by going inside.
Soon after trimming, more leaves will start to appear. Some resilient geraniums even have the ability to blossom again. Maintaining correct pruning on your plants encourages new development and keeps them from spilling out throughout your landscape.
What pruning advice do you prefer? Share them with us in a comment on our Facebook page!
When and how should I prune geraniums?
Geraniums and pelargoniums are undoubtedly resilient and simple to grow, however they cannot be considered “no maintenance plants.” Giving them a hard prune at the end of the summer, when the flowering is winding down, is an excellent idea to prevent them from getting too leggy. In March or April, Jane advises cutting back geraniums and pelargoniums by a third to a half. The plants will grow quickly in the spring, bush out attractively, and produce a magnificent flush of blooms.
Don’t discard pruning cuttings; they make excellent propagation materials. Trim them to a length of 10 cm, remove all but a few of the lowest leaves, and set them aside so the ends can dry out. The cuttings may be potted up after a couple of days, and you’ll have some lovely new plants for your space come spring!
Should leggy geranium plants be pruned?
Not sure what to do with geraniums that are too leggy? Aim to prune. You should prune your spindly geraniums by approximately a third before bringing them inside (often in late November). Make sure to get rid of any stems that are sick or dead as well. Geraniums that are too lanky can be pruned to keep them from overgrowing and looking unattractive.
Another method for tying up lanky plants is pinching. This is typically done to mature plants to encourage bushier growth. Once new growth has reached a couple inches (8 cm) high, pinch out around 1/2 to 1 inch (1-2.5 cm) from the tips. This can be done during active growth or soon after trimming.
Provide Full Sun
Make sure to give geraniums a lot of sunlight to encourage blossoming. A full day of four to six hours of sun will work wonders! Give your potted plants exposure to the south and west for profusion of blossoms.
Deadheading
Geraniums must be deadheaded in order to bloom all summer. To encourage the plant to produce new blooms, remove the spent flowers. To concentrate the plant’s energy on growing new flowers, cut off fading blooms and stems.
Don’t Grow in Large Pots
When growing geraniums, be careful not to choose pots that are wider than 7-8 inches. With enough soil held in place and a healthy plant that will continue to bloom, this size is ideal.
Remove Sick and Yellow leaves Regularly
Regularly remove the dead and yellow foliage to keep the plant looking tidy and to direct its energy toward growing new blossoms.
Apply High Potash Fertilizer
Feed geraniums a 9-6-12 mix to keep them blooming more. The high potassium concentration aids in photosynthesis by supplying nutrients evenly to every area of the plant. Dosage and directions should be found on the label.
Apply all-purpose liquid fertilizer that has been diluted to a fourth of its strength every 4-5 weeks while the plant is growing as well.
Water Only When the Soil is Dry
Keep the soil dry; geraniums are more susceptible to damage from overwatering than from underwatering. Remember to water when the topsoil feels a little dry to the touch. Ensure the container includes drainage holes as well.
Why are my geraniums’ leaves going yellow?
Having too much moisture or overwatering is one of the most frequent reasons of yellowing leaves. Geraniums typically have yellow leaves at the bottom when they are overwatered. They could also get water patches that appear pale. If so, you should cease watering right away so that the plants can dry off. Remember that geraniums do not like excessive amounts of water and are drought-tolerant plants.
Geranium yellow leaves can also occur when the water or air are too cold. Since geraniums prefer warm climates, they struggle in cool climates. Geraniums with yellow leaves can be caused by prolonged cold weather, particularly cold, wet weather, or by cold snaps in the spring.
Additionally, a nutrient deficit could be the reason why the geranium leaves turn more yellow than green. Every third watering or once a month, geranium plants should be treated with a comprehensive, water-soluble fertilizer (ideally one with micronutrients). Geraniums’ yellow leaves can be avoided using fertilizer, and the plant will grow larger and produce more blooms as a result.
A geranium with yellow leaves sporadically indicates the presence of a disease. Verticillium, for instance, is a fungus that can result in stunted growth, withering, and brilliant yellow leaves.
What about the yellow-edged geranium leaves? Dehydration or a lack of water are frequently blamed for geranium leaves that have yellow margins or yellow tips. Geraniums require some water even though they can withstand drought. In these situations, you can use your fingers to feel the soil to gauge how dry the plants may be and water accordingly. Trimming the yellowing growth off might also be beneficial.
You can see that geraniums with yellow leaves often only require a little tender loving care in order to recover. If you provide a geranium with what it need, the leaves won’t turn yellow.
How come my geraniums are so lanky?
Leggy or spindly growth is a surefire indicator of a lack of light. Geraniums strain for sunshine, which is why they become tall and slender.
Four to six full hours of sun every day are necessary for geraniums. It will take more time if they are receiving dappled sunlight, such as if you have your geranium planted under a tree’s canopy.
The stems are reaching towards the sky because there isn’t enough sunshine. Instead of a rich, beautiful shrub, the outcome is a geranium plant that looks rambunctious.
Can I store my geraniums for the following season?
Amazingly, annual geraniums (Pelargonium hybrids) thrive and flower wonderfully from spring till frost with little effort. The next spring, these resilient tiny plants will take off and grow once more if you dig them out in the fall and store them in a cardboard box or paper bag for the winter. Learn how to preserve your geraniums over the winter so you can enjoy them year after year by watching our video and reading the article below.
Do geraniums survive the cold outside?
- Make sure you thoroughly inspect your geranium plants before bringing them inside for the winter. Look for symptoms of pests and illnesses like rust and remove any dead leaves or wilting blossoms. Only zonal pelargoniums are impacted by this, but it is becoming more widespread. It arrived in the nation for the first time in 1968, and it does best in the moist summer or fall months. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to spread to the plants quickly and is simple to treat, so merely plucking the afflicted leaves is an effective management. You might also consider using the fungicide Dithane 945 as a spray.
- Placing your overwintering plants somewhere bright and sunny will help them retain their need for light throughout the winter. Your plants will receive 50% less light if they are placed more than three feet from a window!
- Because your plants continue to thrive throughout the winter, keep the roots moist. While geraniums frequently survive droughts, they rarely flourish. Show plant growers take special care to keep the roots of their plants damp but never soggy during the winter.
- Ventilate as frequently as you can to maintain a dry environment surrounding your plants. Your plants will turn into a moldy, rotting heap if you don’t allow the air to circulate. The greatest electric fan heaters are those that operate automatically since they circulate air while simultaneously raising air temperature.
- Geraniums are fairly inexpensive to overwinter in the greenhouse because they only need to be kept frost-free. To keep temperatures above freezing, however, we do advise utilizing a heater. Set the thermostat on your heater to 5C, which is 41F. The plant will not survive if the stems become frosty! The winter months are a great time to store your delicate pelargoniums in porches, sunrooms, or conservatories.
We hope that we have provided you with enough of tips so that you can continue to enjoy your geraniums year after year. Visit our geraniums hub page, which is brimming with useful resources, for additional details on how to cultivate and take care of these well-liked plants. And do get in touch with us through our social media outlets to share your personal favorites; we’d love to hear from you.
How long do geraniums in pots last?
My geraniums are no longer blooming. I fed them, but it was ineffective. What’s the issue?
You might be feeding them too much. Pelargoniums, a genus of geraniums native to the Mediterranean, flourish in full sunlight and relatively infertile soil. Overfeeding can be the issue if you have a lot of foliage growth and the plants appear healthy. For a while, stop giving them food. But if your plants are becoming older and their stems are getting lanky, it might be time to propagate. Although they can live much longer, geraniums typically only bloom for two years on average before becoming woody and losing their blooming ability. Thankfully, geranium propagation is simple. Simply cut stem tips with at least two pairs of healthy leaves from a four-inch stem. Cut the stem at the lowest point, dunk it in hormone rooting powder, and then plant it in a mixture of half sand and half peat moss. In around three weeks, repot in ordinary soil after providing adequate watering and covering with plastic to assist preserve moisture. Sticking the cutting in water and letting it grow roots before potting is a simpler method.