Gardeners have traditionally favored geraniums. They smell wonderful, are colorful, and are simple to grow. How to cultivate geraniums in your house and garden is provided here!
(Note: This page is about Pelargonium plants, sometimes known as geraniums or storksbills. This is not a page about “hardy geraniums, also referred to as cranesbills.
Geraniums are normally kept indoors to overwinter, even if they may be kept outside throughout the warmer months of the year. In contrast, if given enough light, they can bloom all year long indoors.
Geranium or Pelargonium? A Case of Mistaken Identity
Early in the 18th century, Dutch traders who were traveling through South Africa brought the plants that we now refer to as “geraniums” to Europe. Botanists misclassified these new plants into the same genus because they resembled the hardy wild geraniums that are already present throughout Europe.
Botanist Carl Linnaeus of Sweden included them in the genus Geranium in 1753. Pelargonium, which refers to the long, sharply pointed shape of their seedpod, was used to reclassify these new “geraniums when it was later revealed that they differed from European geraniums in the shape of their petals, the number of stamens, and other features.
However, people still refer to them by their old common name, “geranium,” even if we really mean “pelargonium.”
- You can grow geraniums as annual blooms or as indoor plants. They can be kept outside in a sunny area throughout the warmer months of the year (between your local frost dates).
- If keeping geraniums as indoor plants, make sure to do so in the late summer or early fall when overnight lows begin to consistently fall below 55F. (13C).
- Pay great attention to the size and color of geraniums when purchasing them. Healthy stems and leaves will not be straggly or discolored on top of them or underneath them. A plant with evident insect indications should also be avoided. Mealybugs, whiteflies, and spider mites are typical indoor plant pests.
- To prevent root rot, put plants in containers with drainage holes.
- When planting in pots, use a well-draining potting mixture rather than heavy, clayey soil. Geraniums dislike being planted in mucky, compacted soil.
- Place the plants where they will receive 4-6 hours of sunlight per day for the best bloom.
How to Care for Geraniums
- After letting the soil somewhat dry between waterings, water it again well.
- Water plants significantly less throughout the winter, but make sure the roots are not completely dried up. Given a time of hibernation throughout the winter, when they consume less water and don’t grow as much, geraniums thrive. For additional overwintering tips, see the section below.
- Regularly deadhead spent flowers to promote blooming.
- Pinch back the stems to encourage bushiness and prevent legginess.
- Fertilize approximately every two weeks throughout the active growing months. Half-strength a fertilizer that is water soluble When the plant should be dormant in the winter, avoid fertilizing.
- Repotting geraniums can be done in the spring to promote new growth or if they appear to need revitalization.
Overwintering Geraniums
- If they receive plenty of sunlight, geraniums that have spent the summer outdoors can be kept indoors. The sun may not be strong enough in northern regions in late winter to promote buds on some cultivars.
- Lift the plants before the first fall frost (you can find your local frost dates here), and use a sharp, clean knife to shapely prune the stems back to about 6 to 8 inches. In the low-sunlight environment they are about to enter, they shouldn’t have to maintain substantial amounts of leaves. A simple technique to increase the number of your plants is to save a few stems for rooting.
- Place the “mother plant” in the smallest pot you can find—just big enough to hold the roots—and fill it with ordinary potting soil.
- The plants should be kept in the shadow for a week before being moved to a sunny location and kept cool.
- Geraniums thrive in temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10 and 16 degrees Celsius) at night during the winter, but they can also withstand lows of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) and highs of 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius), provided they are kept relatively dry.
- Cut off all the old leaves when the spring growth begins.
Keeping the new growth alive is the only challenge that can compare to getting it to appear. Here is some assistance with that:
- Only offer tiny quantities of water when the leaves begin to droop. Don’t feed or fertilize the plants. These plants must have some downtime.
- Pinch back your overwintered geraniums in February if you want them to bloom by Memorial Day. Take the plants outside and move them to beds or pots, as you like, once warm weather returns and all threat of frost has passed.
- Containers are ideal for growing the Common or Zonal Geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum) (as well as outdoors).
- Hanging baskets, window boxes, and containers are all extremely popular places to use Ivy-Leaf Geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum).
How to Root Stem Cuttings
The majority of geraniums readily take root from stem cuttings when placed in soil, sand, water, perlite, or another rooting medium.
- Make a slanted incision 4 inches below the tip of the stem, above the node where the leaves emerge, with a clean, sharp knife. Cut the grass immediately below a node. Remove all except two or three leaves, any buds, and the stipules that resemble leaves at the base of leaf stalks.
- To ensure that the cut end of the stem will seal and not rot, roll the stem cutting in newspaper or place it in the shade for 24 hours.
- Place the stem in a wet rooting media container and keep it there for two days in a warm, shaded area. Give the cutting indirect sun after that. Just as needed, moisten the medium.
- Apply crushed geranium leaves to small cuts to halt the bleeding.
- Scarlet geranium is the flower that speaks of foolishness. More floral meanings can be found here.
- You won’t have to worry about those bothersome bugs because geraniums are known to be harmful to Japanese beetles.
- Keep geraniums out of the reach of curious youngsters and animals (cats, dogs) as they might cause indigestion or vomiting.
Low light, overexposure, and underwatering are common issues. Yellowing leaves are a sign that you are watering your plants either too little or too much. Try to water the geraniums evenly in this situation, and transfer them to a more sunny location.
What degree of cold is too much for geraniums?
Grow geraniums as indoor houseplants or annuals outside their hardiness area. Geraniums can endure cooler temperatures and even light frosts, but when temperatures dip below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, they are subject to harsh lethal freezes, which can cause freeze damage and even lead to plant death. The minimum temperature for geraniums in Celsius is -7 degrees.
What degree should you bring geraniums indoors at?
Geraniums do best in climates between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 55 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Horticulturists at the University of California claim that scented geraniums only require four hours of sunlight each day. Install a fluorescent light a few inches above the plants if you are unable to provide them with this. When you bring your potted plants inside after it gets below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the sudden warmth may shock them, turning their leaves yellow and making them fall. Bring the plant indoors for a while before it becomes cold outside, ideally at night, to prevent this. Each day, gradually lengthen the time. This will ease the plant’s transition and minimize major stress. Give the plant more care and ensure that it receives the right amount of water, light exposure, and trimming until it recovers if it still exhibits indications of shock.
Are geraniums tolerant of 40 degrees?
Any of the more than 250 different species of succulent, evergreen shrubby plants endemic to southern Africa are referred to as geraniums (Pelargonium spp.). Only 20 species, according to the “A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants,” are frequently utilized to produce the numerous variations grown in gardens. To survive, they require lots of sunlight, low humidity, and well-draining soil; prolonged subfreezing temperatures completely destroy plants. Only U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 9 and warmer allow them to survive outside year-round.
When can you plant geraniums outside?
You should wait to put your geraniums in the garden until the earth has warmed up and all threat of frost has passed. I plant my tropicals at the end of May or the beginning of June in my zone 6 NJ garden.
They prefer well-drained, somewhat acidic soil. After planting them, give them a vigorous watering, and for the remainder of the growing season, water them frequently, letting the soil dry out between applications.
For the best appearance, they require at least 4 hours of direct sunlight, ideally in the morning. They require shade in the middle of the day in regions with extremely hot summers. They will stop blooming if there is too much heat or not enough sunlight. In the summer, mulching the area surrounding your plants will keep the soil cool.
Fertilizing geraniums should be done every 4 to 6 weeks. Your plants will become bushier if you pinch them. The growing tip of the plant is removed by pinching it with two fingers. The plant will regenerate two or more new growing tips, making it bushier, once the growing tip has been removed. To promote reblooming, make sure to remove any dead flowers.
If you want to grow plants in containers, make sure the container you buy is big enough to fit the roots of the mature plant, which can grow up to 2′ tall. Typically, dwarf geraniums grow from 6 to 8. There must be a drainage hole in the container. Water frequently, letting the soil dry between applications, and fertilize every two to four weeks with either a delayed release fertilizer or a liquid fertilizer. You should place your container somewhere that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. Remove any dead flowers to promote reblooming and pinch the foliage to promote branching.
Geraniums can withstand frost.
According to the University of Florida, one of my favorite container plants, geraniums, cannot withstand a cold. However, if they have had some time to acclimate to the chilly weather, they may endure a light frost.
I’m not sure if it switched from frost to freezing because I was away during that brutal cold snap in mid-December. It appears to have been below freezing, at least out here in the hinterlands west of State Road 7, based on what I heard about the temperatures.
But when I got home, my potted geraniums were the only thing in my yard that looked truly decent. The majority of them were covered in large, colorful flowers despite not being moved, covered, or even watered.
Another surprise was that the orchids, predominantly dendrobiums, that I have attached to trees received no particular care. When the weather went northerly, many spikes had buds, but now they are all in flower. Even though some of the flowers are not as spectacular as usual, they still seem good.
I suppose I’ll pay attention when I do my research in the future before planting a bunch of one kind of shrub and notice the warning “extremely cold sensitive.” When I positioned a dozen vibrant copper leaf shrubs across my back fence this past spring, I simply glossed over it. They went brown and crunchy after the first cold snap and quickly lost all of their leaves. I don’t really want a whole line of plants that will make me think of my Chicago yard in the winter every time the temperatures drop and then take the rest of the season to recover. However, after about a month there were a few tiny signs of life. They’ve left.
I intend to replace them with coco plum, a gorgeous native bush that creates a nice hedge, once I am confident that the worst of the bad weather is behind us. The coco plum has been described as “sensitive” in certain writings, but the majority of the study I did shows that once they are established, they are hardy. They appear to hold up reasonably well based on what I have seen so far this year. Definitely superior to both my copper leaf and my ficus, which was badly damaged.
How can I describe my ficus? They’re supposed to be recovering from the white fly infestations of the summer during this time of year, right? Sadly, it turns out that these plants, which were formerly thought to be indestructible, are also cold sensitive. They don’t seem to have ever looked this horrible to me. The weeds that snake through them and span the tops, which at least had the advantage of keeping them looking green most of the time, turned black from the cold, adding insult to injury. The 200 feet of ficus along the side of my property line was undoubtedly the worst gardening decision I made during my first year in South Florida.
Given that South Florida does not frequently experience this kind of weather, you might not anticipate native flora to handle it very well. But my geraniums are the only item that look better than mine because they have been such soldiers.
Geraniums can they withstand 35 degrees?
Geraniums won’t typically withstand a strong winter, with the exception of a few of the more esoteric species. Temperatures below 25 F will also damage stem tissue.
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.
Can a geranium be kept indoors?
Pelargonium species, which come in pots, make great indoor plants that may be grown all year round. They normally become available in March through June, and if given enough light inside the house, they will bloom continuously. There are several fresh varieties, like vining and hanging basket cultivars. They are available in many different types of containers and at varying stages of development.