Pelargonium is an ornamental plant with a solid set of advantages. Those who already have it, for sure, will never refuse to grow it. More often you can hear another name — geranium, although this is not quite correct.
As a rule, gardeners propagate existing plants in the spring by cuttings, they usually take root well without any special tricks. But to start a new variety, you have to buy a seedling, and the cost is quite high. You can buy seeds, the choice of which is now huge, and grow this plant yourself. Pelargonium is propagated by seeds throughout the year, so if you do not have time to do it in the spring, it is quite possible to do it in the summer.
Seed propagation
I always pre-process the seeds with hydrogen peroxide, since the seed shells are quite hard. Then I sow them, sprinkling a thin layer of earth, and arrange a greenhouse. I sow pelargonium in cassettes or cups made of non-woven material, 2-3 seeds in each container.
After the seedlings grow up, I transplant them into pots. The soil mix should be quite fertile (I have 3-4-year-old compost), loose and moisture-intensive. I do not remove the non-woven material of the cups, I plant them as they are. Don’t be afraid to use such seedling containers! They are very convenient, everything grows perfectly in them and you do not need to take out the plants — the roots grow perfectly through them. After planting — abundant watering.
I want to say that I grow pelargoniums in simple plastic pots. As a rule, they have quite large drainage holes, which is very good. The fact is that geraniums do not like frequent manipulations. When moving to a permanent place, I do not remove the plants from the pots, but put them simply on the ground of the flower garden or dig them half.
Preservation of old plants
Although I sow geraniums with seeds every year, I never throw away old plants — I just feel sorry for them. In autumn, when it becomes clear that the frost is about to begin, we bring the pots with pelargoniums to a cool, but non-freezing room. Then I take the paper bags that are sold in supermarkets and put in them pots of plants — in each one, as many as will fit. The only thing I do with them is water them once. Then the geraniums are sent to the cellar in paper bags.
When it’s time to get the old pelargonium? If this is done early, when the days are still short, the plants will stretch out. So I start to “Wake up” their flowers at a time when it will be able to accurately place them in the greenhouse. First of all, I cut it off, and I do it quite short-1-2 cm from the soil level. And then they slowly, with natural speed overgrown with young green shoots, which develop harmoniously and then bloom luxuriantly.