Cuttings
Over the winter, I keep geraniums, one of each colour, on the windowsill. A great way to multiply the number of plants in your garden is to take cuttings of your current plants. This week I took cuttings of my geraniums. Geraniums are easy to grow and they stand up to the hot Okanagan summer.
To take a cutting, remove a 5 to 6 cm section of the plant’s stem with a sharp knife. Pinch off the leaves from the lower half of the cutting and dip the cut end into a rooting hormone. Rooting hormones are sold in powder or liquid form. I use the powder number 2 or number 3.
Stick the cuttings in a moist, well drained rooting media. Nothing beats a good commercial medium because it is sterile and free of unwanted weed seeds. I also like to put cuttings in individual pots.
Ideally, cuttings root best in a moist, warm environment. I don’t cover the cuttings because in my experience they rot if the humidity is too high. The pots should be placed in bright but indirect light. Check regularly to insure they remain moist and not too wet. If your medium is too wet your cuttings will also rot.
The cuttings will root in about 6 weeks. Pinch shoot tips back to force branching and prevent spindly growth. At this point, it is time to start fertilizing, choose a good liquid fertilizer and use a weak solution once a week. Fertilize only lightly. Excessive amounts of nitrogen will promote leaf growth at the expense of flowers.
Last Tip: *Geraniums in containers bloom better when they are slightly root bound.
One Response to “Cuttings”
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Excellent advice Lori
I love cuttings and have plants all over the house. My friends are always asking me for clippings and I enjoy starting them before I give them away.
We, my wife and I, have not tried this with anything we have growing in our backyard garden but this will be our first years actively working our yards so I am sure I am in for a lot of learning.
I think your post would have been even better with a couple of photos of how you do your cuttings.
Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.