Culture and Propagation of Geranium

Hints on Culture

The geranium (Pelargonium) grows in any ordinary soil, provided it is not deficient in potash, and in a minimum temperature of 55 to 60 degrees with full sunlight. Contrary to popular belief, plants require constant watering. Keeping them on the dry side delays flowering. Good growth and heavy flowering depend on steady fertilizing. Give weekly doses of half strength fertilizer as the buds form.

Pythium, commonly called black leg disease, is a form of rot. To prevent it, sterilize the soil before planting and spray with 2-2-50 Bordeaux to keep older plants free of this infection. One commercial geranium saved an entire collection by repeated dosages of the tar derivative, Carco-X. Another effective fungicide is Orthocide.

Propagation

Propagate geraniums by seed or cuttings. Sow the seeds in a loose soil, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Cover lightly with soil and set in a warm greenhouse. As the seedlings grow, prick them off into 2- and finally 4-inch pots. Seeds sown in August produce spring-flowering plants.

Geraniums respond well to hand pollination; the slender seed pods ripen in about 6 weeks. Do not depend on these homemade hybrids for your first salable crop, however. Seeds sold by specialists are gathered from selected varieties and will give you just the type of plant you want to sell.

Cuttings strike root easily when taken in September. Insert them in a flat of moist vermiculite, spacing them so that leaves do not touch. They will be ready for sale within 4 months. These plants need not be shifted from small to large pots; instead pot them directly into 2- and 3-inchers.

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