Geraniums in My House

~ By Jus Kuntree ~

Believe it or not, I've actually been able to keep three geraniums going for several years now. I keep them inside in the winter, and move them outside in the late spring after the danger of frost has passed. When inside, I put them where they'll get lots of bright sunlight, and feed and water regularly. I also repot them into larger pots every now and again. Now after several years, I decided I'd do some reading up on them as houseplants. *S*

One problem I have with mine is that they tend to get tall and spindly. So, I need to find out what to do to improve their looks, as I'd really like to see them looking more full and compact.

Right off the bat I discover that perhaps my flowers are getting too warm. That is a situation that can cause them to become spindly. I find that they really like it when the surrounding temperature is around 65 degrees in the day time, and 55 at night. Oops! Well that right there might be part of my problem.

Poor light can also cause them to become spindly, but I'm not convinced that's the problem here. However, I'm not very good about keeping them pinched off or trimmed, to encourage fuller growth, so that's something I need to work on.

Now although there are many different kinds of geraniums, mine as just the usual, run of the mill, bedding type plants that you find in your local garden centers in the spring.

In researching information on geraniums, I found that fertilizing them monthly in spring and summer, then every other month through the rest of the year, is recommended. At least I've done one thing right, well maybe two, as I also found that using a water soluble fertilizer was also recommended.

Now I wonder if perhaps I shouldn't do a pH test on the soil in the pots? I have no idea what kind of test results I'd get, but a pH of 6.5, which is slightly acid, is ideal for geraniums. Well, I didn't know that!

Ok, now cuttings are supposed to be easy to root, and start new plants. Hmmmm....well, I definitely have failed in that department! So far, I have yet to successfully start new plants! I could cry when a friend of mine talks about actually throwing geraniums away because she has so many, she can't get rid of them all, cause she's such a whiz at starting new ones! Evidently I haven't been doing something right. So, I may try one more time, .....just once!

During the age of enlightenment, I find that fall is a good time to try this. Somebody forgot to tell the "Geranium Queen" this! It works for her any time, all the time! So, I'm going to snip about 3 or 4 inches from a healthy growing tip of one of my plants. Hey, this serves two purposes! Trimming them back, and collecting some pieces to grow into new plants! Nifty huh? Or, I can snip and put in a vase, because they do make nice cut flower arrangements too. See, either way, no waste really.

Now then, clean the leaves from the lower part of the stem, dip the tip into a starting hormone, poke it into a nice, sandy, starting soil, then put them somewhere out of the direct bright sunlight, and keep the soil moist. Sounds easy enough! Guess we'll find out! And yes, I've even used that there rooting hormone stuff, and the doggone things just got stinky rotten.

Just in case I manage to succeed in getting some cuttings started, once those little roots start to grow, then I can put them where they get more, nice, sunlight. At the same time, being careful not to keep the soil too wet, or they'll rot.

So off to new adventures with these geraniums. I've already brought them back inside for the season, so the first thing I'm going to do is go in there and do a little pinching or snipping. Then I'm going to make sure they're not getting too hot. And just as soon as I work up enough courage, I'm gonna try starting some cuttings that one last time. Who knows? Maybe this time I'll succeed! And of course if I do, then it won't be the last time I try it after all!

         

All ideas, concepts, and content including text, content and graphics are owned by
The Garden of Friendship and its members unless otherwise noted and should not be
taken or duplicated without expressed written consent. © 2000 and beyond.
The Garden of Friendship