The hanging geraniums, also known as ivy geraniums, love the sun, warmth and nutrient-rich soil. They should be supplied with a special fertilizer for flowering plants weekly in summer so that they bloom until the first frost. In areas prone to frost, the sensitive plants should overwinter in a cool greenhouse or conservatory. Hanging geraniums are also easy to propagate.
Hanging geraniums are easiest to propagate via cuttings
Propagation by cuttings
Hanging pelargoniums - as the geraniums, which are not to be confused with cranesbills, are actually called - are propagated by cuttings in late summer / early autumn. The reason for this lies in the nature of the shoots, which are already half-ripe at this point in time - if they are too soft and still green, they will mold quickly and the attempt at propagation will fail. So cut in August / September
- about 10 centimeters long, non-flowering shoots.
- Remove the lower leaves directly at the leaf axil
- and leave only the top leaves on the cutting.
- Now let the freshly dried shoots dry for two hours.
- Now plant the cuttings in a mixture of compost and potting soil,
- You can also put several shoots in one pot.
- However, the cuttings must not touch each other.
- Water the freshly planted cuttings thoroughly
- and put a clear plastic bag over it.
The young plants can be potted individually as soon as new leaves appear. The young hanging geraniums are then overwintered in a cool place.
Propagation by seed
It is also relatively easy to grow hanging geraniums from seeds that you have either collected yourself or bought. It is possible to bring this forward as early as January, but this should be done by February at the latest.
- Fill the seed pot with seed or potting soil.
- Plant the geranium seeds in there,
- but only cover them thinly with the substrate.
- Keep the substrate evenly moist
- and place the planter in an indoor greenhouse.
- Alternatively, you can put a clear plastic bag over it.
- The plantlets are separated as soon as the first leaves appear.
- Put them in a light and not too warm place.
- Start hardening off the young plants from the end of April / beginning of May.
- Put them on the balcony during the day and bring them in at night.
After the ice saints, you can finally move the young hanging geraniums to their final location.
tips
Older hanging geraniums from about four to five years old can also be propagated by division.