How to propagate geraniums at home
Content:
Pelargonium, or as it is popularly called - geranium, is a common indoor and garden plant, characterized by unpretentiousness and ease of care. At the same time, the flower pleases with the beauty of flowers and the delicate aroma of leaves. The popularity is due to the fact that the reproduction of geraniums is not difficult to carry out at home.
Features of breeding geraniums at home
Gardeners are divided over when is the best time to propagate the plant. It all depends on the chosen method. Experts agree on one thing: the best period is spring or autumn.
Composition from varieties of geranium
If the purpose of breeding geraniums is rapid flowering, then it is worth starting reproduction in March. Then, already in July, it will be possible to get lush buds on a young flower. The survival rate of spring plantings is 90%. It is more correct to start pruning cuttings in September, then the flower will grow and develop intensively, flowering will come next year. The planting survival rate during this period is 80-90%.
The most unfavorable breeding period for geraniums is mid-summer, in which case the percentage of established plants is minimal. It is optimal to start sowing seeds in March, when there is already enough sunlight. If you plant seeds earlier, the gardener should provide crops with an additional source of light.
Geranium can be propagated using a leaf at any time of the year. The method is relevant in cases where it is impossible to obtain a cutting. Working with royal pelargonium or ampelous (ivy) is more difficult than with ordinary one.
How to propagate royal geranium by cuttings at home
One of the most beautiful geranium species is royal pelargonium. Breeders have bred a large number of varieties of royal and ivy pelargonium, but all of them are more demanding in care and reproduction compared to other species. To know how to propagate royal geranium by cuttings at home, you need to follow the step-by-step scheme used by experienced growers.
What does a geranium stalk look like?
How to cut geraniums from a mother plant
To obtain new plants of royal geranium, it is better to propagate by cuttings from late August to early September. Since pruning occurs after flowering, propagation cuttings will be strong and healthy.
In the spring, the plant wakes up from hibernation. All vital processes begin to activate, and if you choose the right time, you will be able to enjoy the lush flowering already in June. The opposite result may also occur, and then flowering will come only after a year. How does geranium breed?
Geranium propagation should be carried out from a healthy and robust-looking mother plant.The average cutting length is 8-20 cm, depending on the size of the original flower. Shoots on which more than 5-6 leaves are located are not recommended to be taken due to the low probability that the cutting will give back roots.
Rooting methods
There are several ways to root geraniums from cuttings obtained:
- using plain water;
- landing in light soil;
- apply a specialized peat tablet.
Each method has its own characteristics, and the success of any method depends on the technology for obtaining the mother bush. By choosing a similar scheme, the chances of a positive result are increased and rooting is faster.
Getting rootlets with plain water means changing the fluid every 2-3 days. An opaque container is filled with water no more than 3-5 cm and placed on a well-lit window. After the roots appear, the cuttings are planted in temporary pots with rich soil.
Using the method of planting in light soil, the planting material is pre-dried for about 2 hours, the cut sites are treated with charcoal and planted in the ground without waiting for the roots to appear.
The best method of vegetative propagation of royal pelargonium is considered to be rooting with a peat tablet. This method does not involve planting shoots in the ground, but is based on the use of a special medium of peat and nutrients. This substrate promotes rapid root growth of the plant. The probability of stem decay is minimized, but before putting the shoot in a peat tablet, it is kept in water for 5-15 days until the first roots appear. When the roots completely entwine the tablet, they immediately begin to plant them in a spacious pot.
Peat tablets for rooting geranium cuttings
Planting in the ground and further care
Cuttings of royal geraniums are popular because of their fast rooting, subject to all the rules of this procedure. After the formation of the root system, the first sprouts begin to appear on the cuttings within 3-4 weeks, at which time watering is increased.
An increase in watering does not mean that the flower is ready for full-fledged care like an adult plant. It is necessary to wait another month before starting to gradually harden the flower in the sun. After a while, the plant is transferred to the care scheme as an adult.
Transplantation into permanent soil is carried out only after the formation of a strong root system. If you do a transplant earlier, there is a chance that the plants will not take root. The soil is prepared from compost (humus, sand, leaf and sod land in equal proportions).
In the cold season, the flower is at rest. Cultivation in winter takes place at a temperature of +15 ℃. If such conditions cannot be created, the plant is left dormant until March. The shoots are shortened, the roots are cleaned of soil and pruned, wrapped in newspaper or film and then hung in the basement.
Planting cuttings in the ground
How to propagate geraniums by shoots at home
Diluting geraniums by trimming the shoots is not difficult. To do this, leave a stump of a given height, and on the residual shoot under the bud itself, make a large number of circular cuts through one bud.Repeat the procedure to the very top.
As a result, a large number of cuttings are formed from the cuts, which develop their root system directly on the mother plant. After the young shoots have grown stronger and the root system has become powerful enough, the plants can be planted, the cuttings obtained in this way will quickly take root.
How to propagate a geranium leaf at home
In some cases, it happens that a healthy, strong stalk cannot be diluted. In such cases, a plant leaf is used. A leaf by itself cannot take root, it can be helped. To do this, leave part of the stem together with the leaf. After cutting off the stem with the leaf, processing is carried out as for grafting. Preparing the soil follows the same principle as with conventional cuttings. Next, a transparent cup is filled with a substrate, in which a stump with a leaf must be planted. The care scheme for such seedlings is identical as for the care of cuttings.
Leaf propagation
Seed propagation
Seed propagation is another way to get a lot of plants. It has a significant drawback - plants grow from seeds that differ in characteristics from the mother. The color of flowers, their shape, terry are lost. If the main task is to quickly plant the garden, then propagating by seeds is an excellent option. In this case, seeds collected from their flowers are used. To create certain color compositions, seeds are bought at a flower shop.
Before planting, they prepare their own seeds - scarification. The shell of pelargonium seeds is very dense and tough, which is why they can lie in the soil for 3 months before germinating.
Scarification technology consists in gentle grinding of seeds between two sheets of fine-grained sandpaper. When sowing geraniums with seeds, factors are taken into account:
- the correct time for sowing seeds (you can start planting from the end of December or the beginning of January);
- the dependence of the temperature regime and the timing of germination (the substrate temperature should be maintained within 18-20 ℃ above zero);
- substrate (turf, sand and peat in a ratio of 2: 1: 1);
- correct picking and sprout care.
Do not delay with a pick, otherwise the root system will grow and intertwine. Seedling development will be delayed. After the appearance of the sixth leaf on young plants, they are pinched and shaped so that in the future geraniums grown from seeds at home will please with lush flowering.
Growing pelargonium from seeds
What difficulties can you face
Reproduction of geraniums at home is not difficult to carry out, but it is still worth remembering some aspects. Sometimes pelargoniums affect diseases and pests. The main problems when growing geraniums:
- Yellowing of the lower leaves with a lack of moisture.
- Redness of the edges of the leaves when the plant freezes.
- Darkening of the shoot at the base with a lesion with a black leg. Unfortunately, such a plant cannot be reanimated.
- Exposure of the stem with a lack of light.
- The appearance on the leaves of gray mold with excessive moisture.
Home-grown geranium
Breeding geraniums at home is not difficult, the main thing is to choose the right time, choose a more convenient breeding method and the right substrate.In this case, you can grow a real beauty on the windowsill, which will be a true decoration of the house.
