Surprising geraniums.

I've been dead heading all my potted geraniums this morning and was surprised to notice the ones on the shady side of the garden seemed healthier than those on the sunny side. There was less dead heading to do and the colours were vibrant & fresh.

Has anybody else noticed this with geraniums?

Re: Surprising geraniums.

I am glad you brought up the subject of graniums as I would like to ask about preserving them /cuttings over winter I have several lovely plants in pots .
Any advice please ?

Re: Surprising geraniums.

Just bring your plants indoors for winter and keep watering to a minimum.
As for cuttings...short cuttings with just a few small leaves left on will take best..I dip in rooting gel and plant in a sandy compost.Geraniums unlike other cuttings are best left uncovered as they are prone to mould.

Anyone wanting to propogate fuchias...cut six inch twigs,strip lower leaves and leave in a glass of water...they should produce a mass of roots within weeks when they can be potted on....but kept indoors until spring.

Re: Surprising geraniums.

Thanks PD
Should I cut them back they are quite large ?
Re fuchsias I have some in the garden and don't do anything with them they just come up every year..

Re: Surprising geraniums.

You can cut them hard back if you want...that's what provides you with the cuttings.
Hardy fuchias can be propagated the same way if you want more.
All members of the ivy family root easily in water too.

Re: Surprising geraniums.

There must be something in what you say carol, because the ones at the front of the house where there is less sun seem to keep blooming forever and unless it's really snowing they seem to survive winter. The ones on the sunny patio do not. I thought this was down to more shelter at the front but maybe it's more complicated.

I would love to preserve the bourbon and sweet scented varieties over winter, but the trouble is the pots are just too heavy to move about to where there is room, plus central heating doesn't go well with some of these varieties. So each year we have new ones.

Re: Surprising geraniums.

Annie it might be worth leaving them where they are and covering the pots up.

Worth a try - nothing to lose.

Re: Surprising geraniums.

Thanks for the tip Carol. I will try that as I bought some of that insulating material earlier this year when we had that un-seasonal cold spell. It would be really lovely to have them again in the spring as there is nothing as lovely as the special variety pelargoniums, the flowers that just keep on giving.

Re: Surprising geraniums.

I've been thinking about this and there might be something in what you say. Some years back there was an old lady living in the house in front of us and she grew the most amazing geraniums. I asked here one day why didn't she put the long growing boxes she had them in along the balcony rail and she said that there was too much afternoon sun and it got too hot. I never really thought that much about it until I read this. Also in the winter she kept them in the cellar.

Re: Surprising geraniums.

Hi Muddy, there is some excellent clear advice here from the RHS about pelargoniums. It also covers the over wintering procedure too.
They are classed as 'tender' so must not get frosted.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=338