I had cut this way back in the fall and then just put the pot on a west facing window
sill and this is what happened over the winter. This has never happened to me before
and I'm beyond thrilled it looks so good. My question is will she bloom this year??
I bought her last spring and she had salmon colored flowers. Should I leave her be or should I cut her back so I do get flowers??? Thanks :>) Christine
Isn't it exciting..did the same and I've a couple of blooms..this particular plants is in it's second year of being place in my back bedroom..the few others that I included this year have also done well..my neighbor has her entire kitchen and dining room with these geraniums and many over 5' talls...have to love it!
Christine,You shouldn't need to cut her back to get flowers, she should start blooming as soon as she gets back outside. The only reason I'd cut back is for size depending on where you plan on putting her :)
Steven
I have the geranium plants and citronella plants without flowers on them, they are still pretty green right now; but, I live in NW Florida and we are getting prepared for nasty weather ahead, as in cold, it gets cold here in the winter. Being a beginner at planting, what do I do for my geraniums and citronellas? They are in pots, should I bring them in the house? Should I cut them back and leave them or what?
joy112854
Christine,
like SW gardener said you don't need to cut it back to have flowers. just feed it with a high potash plant food and give it bright light and it should flower.
I have one in my kitchen that never goes outside and it blooms a lot.
You can pinch the tips of the growths for the plant to branch out( just the very little young growth at the very tip) and you can also cut some branches and make cuttings. Just stick the stems in some humid perlite and place them in a bright position being careful to keep them on the dry side and they should root in about one month.
Joy, bring them back as the cold will kill them. You can do the same as I mentioned to Christine. You don't need to cut them back. They will grow during the winter. Just cut some tips, about 3" long if you want to propagate them.
They can live for many many years with the right treatment and they are such lovely plants.
At the moment I have 19 geraniums (also called pelargoniums or tender geraniums) that i am growing for next year.
Spider07: I brought them into the house, the two citronellas are in my bedroom and the two geraniums, one in each of the other bedrooms, and the two shamrocks in the living room. That heavy rain we got yesterday is our tip that we have a full weekend of it to look forward to, with a huge cold spell afterwards even though I live in Florida, I live in the NW part of it where it does get cold. I love my geraniums and citronellas, they keep the mosquitoes off the deck, they won't go near geraniums or citronella plants and each plant wards them off for about 10 square feet per plant. Mine are getting so huge though, they are more like trees. LOL
joy112854
Joy, why don't you make cuttings? You could have many more plants and it is so much fun to watch them root and grow.
We have lots of rain today.
Spider07: I'm just a beginner gardener and afraid of killing the plant, wish I knew how to prune plants back, as they could definately use it, and I'd have plenty to start startings from. Can you explain it to me?
joy112854
I occasionally accidently knock off a stem from my geraniums. I just stick them back into the pot or another pot with Miracle Grow potting soil and they always root. I have one now that I put into a pot 6 weeks ago and has blooms on it. Geraniums are by far the easiest to propagate.
I have overwintered mine on my front porch, well watered and covered on freezing nights and they make it. I used to live in SW Florida and we would water everything well when freezes were expected. The water would act as insulation around the roots, then just cover the plant with a sheet.
Now NY is another matter. Brrrr! But a cutting or a stem broken off will make it in a good potting medium.
what I do is to cut the stems about 4' long just under a node (the bit where a leaf comes out. Take most of the leaves out just leaving the top 4 ones.
Fill a pot with perlite and water it well. Leave it so the excess of water comes out and the perlite is humid ( about 10 minutes).
Place the cuttings around the edge of the pot. Place the pot on a bright , warm place without any direct sun. Do not water them for about one week. Stick your finger in the middle of the pot. If the perlite there is humid ( it would stick to your fingers) do no water. If you see that the perlite is completely dry, water around the edges where the cuttings are with just a tiny bit of water. They should root in about 4 weeks.
I like spraying the leaves with Superthrive once a week. you can get it from Walmart.
Thanks, I have the Miracle Grow Starting Mix and the Schultz's Take Root, and Miracle Grow's Perlite; so, will give it a try, as the plants are getting ready big and I'd like to thin them out a bit and it would be nice to have more Geraniums. Geraniums are like Citronella Plants in that if you put them around your deck, they ward off mosquitos for up to 10 feet per plant, it really works too. My grandbabies love playing on the deck, which is huge, 12 x 30; so, they are protected from mosquito bites that way.
joy112854
Joy, citronella is a type of scented geranium, also called pelargoniums. the "real geraniums" are the hardy geraniums that are found in Europe although you can get them here if you are lucky.
Scented geraniums have lots of different varieties with different scents. Apple, Rose, ginger...etc.
Spider07: Mine have no blooms on them but have a spearmint scent to them and their foilage is a pretty green.
joy112854
Joy,
they should flower with adequate light and high potash feeds. The flowers are not very attractive they they really complement the plant.
Spider07: Mine don't have a single flower on them, just really green leafs. They are scented though.
joy112854
I brought in my two trailing ivy leafed geraniums and one is good and one is turning yellow at the leaves.. what gives? they are under bright light...
Hi Wife,
you didn't overwater them did you?
I brought mine indoors about two weeks ago and in most of them some leaves turned yellow. If you didn't overwater it could be difference in lights or being indoors. They need to adjust to the new conditions.
I would pick the leaves that are yellow and dry and leave them to adjust to the new place. They should recover.
Did you repot them into new potting compost?
Spider, thanks, I just brought them in , watered them with a "mix" for winter, put under the lights in the basement..
one plant is fine.. it is flowering.. the other one is yellowing.. I have broke ff the longest stems and saved the tips in the same basket, no water , since they are still damp... I watered them once a week outside under the eaves, maybe in here I don't need to do that since it is not 100 degrees down here.. did not change soil, too meshed up with roots.. added soil and vermiculite tho..
Wife, just water them when the soil feel really dry so you don't run the risk of killing them with too much water. If you are not sure, do not water.
The yellow leaves should fall off and be replaced by new green ones.
If you want to propagate the tips just fill a pot with damp perlite and place them around the edges of the pot. Keep them on the dry side and they should root in about 3 to 4 weeks. It is more difficult to be successful while propagating them in compost. They rot easily.
good luck!
thanks! will try that.. ;)
Ya'll I decided to solve my overwatering mine by buying Aqua Globes, I have a tendency to overwater myself, my geraniums thus far seem to be doing well, my citronellas on the other hand seem to be drying out; but the aqua globes should be in this week. I didn't change the soil though, just added some fertilizer spikes for house plants to the planter.
joy112854
Joy, let me know how they do.:o)
wow, rooted starts already! you guys rock with the advice here.. thanks so much! ;D Debra
Spider: Will do, not too optimistic though, as you know television advertisements right? LOL
joy112854
Joy, just keep the globe away from the roots so they don't stay wet.
this is what I do not to overwater: I stick my finger in the soil. If it comes out dry and clean I will water. If it comes out humid and with bits of soil stuck in it the soil is humid and do not need water. I also pick up the pot. If it feels light it is because the soil is dry.
In doubt, do not water. It is easier for them to recover from too lite water but to much water will kill them.
Debra. great job! How many did you root?
Spider: Thanks will remember that, I'm just a beginner, the reason I my veggies in earth boxes instead of the ground, I could imagine the mess I'd make of that one. LOL
joy112854
spider, I have 6 shoots rooted and nubbing already of the ivey leaf geranium! I will take pics tommorrow and post. thanks so much, I dearly love geraniums.. my citronella plant has not "revived" yet.. here is hoping...
Hi Debra,
I have a BIG passion for geraniums (pelargoniums). If you like the zonal ones or fancy leaf go to DG watchdog, click on H on the alphabet bit and visit Hobbs nursery.
I ordered about 15 pelargoniums from them. You get big plants for a very good price. Let me know if you like them. I am completely addicted to all of them.
http://www.hobbsfarm.com/
I did it for you.:o)
here are the plants I have brought in and quit drowning, and the starts are doing great too..
All mine seem to being doing ok, growing very huge though, I put them back outside though, as the one I wanted to repot up, I think it will help to have them repotted, so did that. Then I picked off most the yellow leaves, it was nice out today and thought they could benefit from direct sunlight for a change. Ieft them outdoors as it doesn't really get too cold here in Florida. So; unless it gets really cold I think they will be fine. The strange weather we have been getting has all my plants so confused. My daffodils have all sprouted stems already, some of their bulbs shooting up past the soil I planted them in (I have them in pots), so, raced to the hardware store to pick up more to cover the bulbs back up before the sun cooks them. If they bloom this pretty this Spring/Summer it will sure be colorful around here. LOL
The geraniums are doing really well, only the one citronella seemed to start turning yellow and that was due to my attempt to replant it, I fixed that I think yesterday.
joy112854
Joy what did you do to fix the citronella.. mine is not doing as well as the geraniums down here in my basement garden.. it is lit up and warm like spring for sure..had to bring it in as well as m others that do not tolerate 15 degree weather as it is right now..curious tho, the prenneniel geranium ( cranes bill?) was still green this am even to it has been in the teens the past few nights..
I repotted all mine, added the Jobes fertilizer spikes too, put two of them in each planter which holds one plant. The weather here has been warming up. I hope it doesn't hurt my strawberries any, as they grow here from November to March, I got a late start on them. My daffodils are all coming up now. Hope they remember to do that this Spring right? LOL
joy112854
Joy, bulbs will be back.. mine had tips here.. but it is in the low teens now.. covered them up with leaves before the freezing...will try to repot the citronella.. thanks!
joeswife: I think they use up all the nutrients in the medium you pot them in after a while, that is why I usually change out the medium after a while, give them some fresh medium. Then I make sure I give them fertilizer from time to time also. They seem pretty carefree here; but, of course, I live in zone 8B also in Florida. It's been pretty warm here lately, has all my plants confused, and if it's sunny outside, hey, I'll move my plants outside so they can take advantage of it, then move them back inside if the weather forecast looks bad.
joy112854
I'm in S.W. VA--my daffodils are coming up too.
I keep my geranium looking great by giving them 15-52-15 fertilizer and they bloom year round
I just love flowers in the house in the winter keeps the blas away
Mine are blooming away down here in the basement..the sticks grew leaves !
arent they just wonderfull how they know when to start growing like that
my grandmother use to grow so many of them since she had so many south facing windows, so when I moved and DH asked what I wanted in the new house, all I wanted was as many south facing windows as possible and I now have 15 of them yes
so I want a green house but I have what is second best all these wonderfull windows
this is a pic of a morning glory that I grew from seed and it has been 54 days since it emerged from the soil and it has three buds on it
oh thats awsome, I have had grandpa ott and soh blooming away for me, and purple blizzard as well.. here is the bloom on the geranium ( I wish I had a greenhouse or wonderful windows, but the basement garden is sufficient for me..
